Amazon Echo Dot First Impression: Desi Alexa Not Quite There Yet

Amazon Echo Dot is the first voice-assistance enabled device available in India.

Amazon Echo Dot works in tandem with Alexa, the voice assistant. 

(Photo: The Quint)

The age of smart speakers with voice-assistance is finally here, and has even reached the Indian market. Amazon might be heralding this move for the future with its Alexa-Echo jugalbandi, with Google and Apple are not too far behind.

Voice-assistants are not new to us, especially if you’ve seen movies like Iron Man (Tony Stark and Jarvis) or Her, but with devices like Echo and Google Home, what we saw in those movies are now coming to our houses.

While we wait for Google and Apple to get going, let’s take a look at Amazon’s Echo Dot, which is the most affordable version of its Echo range pairing with Alexa.

Alexa, Welcome to India

After a lot of rumours, Amazon finally released Alexa for the Indian market earlier this month. The voice-assistant, as claimed by the company, has been customised for the Indian market, is able to understand our accent, and also gives answers pertaining to the country.

You get the option to manually control Echo Dot. (Photo: The Quint)

Anybody who buys Echo in India, gets a one-year subscription to Amazon Prime (with an extension for those who’re already onboard), with a 30 percent discount (limited offer) on Echo Dot, Echo, and Echo Plus.

Also Read: Amazon Ready To Flood Echo in India With Desi Alexa This Month

Parag Gupta, Product Management head for Amazon Devices India, has categorically stated that the Indian version of Alexa will not sound or behave like its American counterpart. Gupta told Bloomberg:

We wanted our devices to talk, walk, and feel Indian. Alexa is not a visiting American, she has a very Indian personality. 

Parag Gupta, Head-Product Management, Amazon Devices India

You have to keep the Echo Dot powered up all the time. (Photo: The Quint)

After spending a couple of days with Alexa (via Echo Dot), we found her to be responsive, understands most of your queries, but the integration of Alexa in India is limited only to a few apps like Zomato for food delivery, Uber or Ola for cabs, Savvn for music, and a host of news channels.

Alexa can’t guide you with live traffic updates, but she can help you order groceries via Amazon Pantry service

Most of these capabilities or skills have to be enabled via the Amazon Alexa app (available for Android and iOS) manually, which can be rather cumbersome, but we feel that giving users the choice to nitpick skills is the right way to go.

How to Set up Echo?

• Download Alexa app on your phone
• Power the Echo Dot via adapter given in the box
• Sign in with your Amazon ID
• Pair the app with Echo Dot/Echo/Echo Plus via Wi-Fi
• Connect to local Wi-Fi linked with your Echo device
• Start using Alexa on Echo, add skills to make use of features
• Book Uber, order food from Zomato, listen to Radio via TuneIn

What you get inside the box with Echo Dot. (Photo: The Quint)

How Does it Work?

The Echo Dot is the simplest of the Echo family, and looks like the pucks used in ice hockey. The cylindrical device offers volume up/down button, microphone button, and the power to record conversations whenever needed.

Make sure you turn off the microphone on the Echo device, especially if not using Alexa. 

PSA, turn the mic off on your Echo device. (Photo: The Quint)

Amazon is said to be storing your conversations on a cloud server, to improve the quality of service that Alexa can offer you. This is the same problem that was highlighted in a report about Google Home.

Echo Dot feels like a compelling entry-level product from Amazon, which tries to make the best of Alexa (whatever it has to offer), by casually fitting in your living room, without drawing too much attention to itself.

That said, Alexa skills are a work-in-progress, with most features (the handy ones) yet to be integrated to the ecosystem. We’ll be keeping a close eye on how Alexa matures in India, and whether Amazon will be able to grab the first-mover advantage over Google and Apple before they enter the fray.

Echo Dot, Echo or Echo Plus: Which One to Buy?

Now that we’ve told you everything about Alexa, the voice-assistant, it’s time to solve the big puzzle; which Echo should you buy? And we plan to make that choice easier for you as well.

Volume and record button at the top of the Echo Dot. (Photo: The Quint)

If you’re on a budget, and already have good quality external speakers lying around, then Echo Dot, at Rs 3,149 (limited offer pricing) is your best option. This way, you can analyse how Alexa is growing in her role, and also connect the Echo Dot to your speaker via Bluetooth or audio jack.

Also, you must remember that Echo Dot is a good fit for a small-sized room only. Anything bigger than that would require you to invest in Echo or Echo Plus. Speaking of which, Echo fits right between Echo Dot and Echo Plus.

Selling for Rs 6,999 (limited offer pricing), Echo offers better audio quality (expected at this price), with a longer range to catch the audio.

You can pair Echo Dot with external speakers via Bluetooth or audio jack. (Photo: The Quint)

Echo Plus, at Rs 10,999 (limited offer pricing), the most expensive of the lot, offers all the features that both Echo Dot and Echo fulfill, and in addition, you get top-quality sound, pitting this one against the Apple HomePod.

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