Amazon Echo Dot (2nd Generation) review – CNET
The Good The second-gen, mini-sized Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker is just as smart as the first at nearly half the cost, and it’s better at hearing you, too. It’s also the only Echo product you can connect to an existing audio setup.
The Bad Amazon’s Echo products still can’t offer audio that syncs across multiple devices in multiple rooms.
The Bottom Line The new and improved Echo Dot takes Amazon’s best-in-class smart home speaker and wraps it in an ultra-affordable package.
Apple is rumored to be working on a Siri-powered smart home speaker with built-in cameras. The Google Home smart speaker could go on sale as soon as tomorrow.
Alexa finally has some competition.
That’s almost certainly why we have a second-gen Amazon Echo Dot. With the price slashed to a near-absurd $50 (or £50 in the UK, where Alexa launched just last month), Amazon’s goal is obvious — get its virtual voice assistant into as many homes as possible now, before people have other options. That means that the Dot is designed to sell, sell, sell. And to step all over the arrival of Google Home.
Not that it needed much help. The original Echo Dot, launched just last March as a pint-sized follow-up to the surprise smash hit Amazon Echo smart speaker, was by all accounts just as successful as its predecessor. It sold out quicker than even Amazon had anticipated and won rave reviews, including an Editors’ Choice distinction here on CNET.
Now, after being out of stock for months, the Dot is back, and more affordable than ever. (It isn’t available in Australia, but were you to import one the price converts to about AU$65.) It’s just as smart as before, too, with all of the same Alexa tricks along with plenty of new ones thanks to a rapidly growing library of third-party voice app “skills.” And, despite the lower cost, it’s an even better performer than the first generation, with microphones that do a better job of hearing your voice commands over music playback or background noise.
In other words, the already-great Echo Dot got a compromise-free price cut. It was an Editors’ Choice-winner back in March — now, it’s close to a must-buy for just about anyone who’s reading this.
The Amazon Echo Dot is back (and even better…
See full gallery
1 – 5 of 13
Next
Prev
Alexa in a nutshell
The Echo Dot is always listening for its wake word, “Alexa.” Say it, and the Dot will light up and listen to your question or command.
Tyler Lizenby/CNET
“Alexa” is Amazon’s cloud-connected, voice-activated virtual assistant. She’s Siri in a speaker. You wake her up by saying her name, or by saying one of your two other wake word options, “Amazon” or “Echo.” The array of microphones inside of the Echo Dot is always listening, and when they hear the wake word, they’ll record whatever you say next and send it off through the cloud to Amazon’s servers. Those servers will figure out what you’re asking for, then tell Alexa how to respond. All of it happens in about a second.
You can ask Alexa to do all sorts of things. For starters, she can stream music from Amazon Prime Music, Pandora, or Spotify. She can can play podcasts from iHeartRadio or TuneIn. She can set kitchen timers. She can look up facts. She can wake you up in the morning. She can tell your kids painfully bad jokes. She can read off the day’s headlines from whatever news sources you like (including, ahem, CNET). All you have to do is ask.
On top of that, Alexa keeps getting smarter thanks to an increasingly robust market of third-party voice apps called “skills.” There are over 3,000 of them at this point, and each one teaches Alexa a new trick. The Uber and Lyft skills let you tell Alexa to call you a ride. The Capital One skill lets you tell Alexa to make a credit card payment. The Domino’s skill lets you tell Alexa to order a pizza. A skill called The Wayne Investigation lets you talk your way through an interactive mystery set in Gotham City. You can browse through them all in the Alexa app, then pick which ones you want to enable. You can also just ask Alexa to turn one on by saying something like, “Alexa, enable the Jeopardy skill.” And, as of now, none of them cost anything.
Alexa can control a growing list of smart home gadgets, too, including connected lighting setups, smart thermostats, and popular smart home platforms. Ask her to turn the kitchen lights off or raise the temperature a few degrees, and she’ll happily comply. Here are some of the most popular options:
- Philips Hue connected LEDs
- LIFX connected LEDs
- Ledvance Lightify connected LEDs
- Lutron connected lighting setups
- Haiku smart lights and ceiling fans
- Belkin WeMo Switches
- August Smart Lock
- Scout Home Security system
- Ecobee3 Smart Thermostat
- Nest Learning Thermostat
- SmartThings connected home platform
- Wink connected home platform
- Insteon connected home platform
- GE smart appliances
- Garageio garage door opener
- Logitech Harmony Hub entertainment controller
- Control4 smart home setups
- Nexia smart home setups
- Crestron smart home setups
We’ve been using Alexa to control gadgets like these in the CNET Smart Home for over a year now, and she’s terrific at it. If you have any interest in smart home tech whatsoever, then the Echo Dot is an absolute no-brainer.
Small, but mighty
The new Echo Dot is a little smaller than the original, with two new volume buttons replacing the volume ring. It’s now also available in white.
Tyler Lizenby/CNET
The new Echo Dot is a little shorter than the original because there’s no longer a ring around the top that you turn to control the volume. Instead, you turn things up and down using two new volume buttons on the top of the device. It’s also a bit lighter, with a glossy plastic casing instead of the matte black body of generation one. And, of course, it’s available in white now (which looks quite good, in my opinion). Other than that, this is the same Dot as before: same plug-and-play simplicity, same voice-activated smarts.
Like every other Echo product, the Dot is really just an access point for the Amazon Alexa cloud platform. That means that you’re getting the exact same Alexa features as you would with the full-size Amazon Echo or the battery-powered Amazon Tap. The Dot just has a less powerful speaker.
There’s an ace up the Dot’s sleeve, though, and that’s the fact that you can connect it with existing speakers and audio setups over Bluetooth or via line-in cable. Do so, and you’ll essentially make an Echo out of whatever speakers you like. The Echo and Tap can’t do that — with both, it’s the built-in speakers or it’s nothing.
You can connect the Echo Dot with your existing audio setup using Bluetooth or a line in cable (not included).
Tyler Lizenby/CNET
That makes Dot the most flexible of the three, and the most intriguing, too. After all, music is a big part of the Alexa experience, and most music lovers already have an audio setup they’re happy with. The Dot lets them give that audio setup a brand new brain.
Vizio SB4551-D5 review – CNET
The Good The Vizio SB4551 belts out top-notch home theater sound for the price. The unique, flat-as-a-pancake subwoofer easily slides under your sofa and the wired surround speakers add immersion. The sound bar offers a wealth of connectivity in addition to Google Cast multi-room functionality.
The Bad The Vizio’s display is a series of dots that are hard to decipher. Music replay isn’t the equal of some rivals. Google Cast is still not as reliable or as fun as a Sonos or Play-Fi system if you’re looking to do multi-room music.
The Bottom Line The Vizio SB4551 sound bar offers an enveloping experience with movies that competitors can’t touch, while also including some tasty streaming features.
Speakers are often designed to appeal more to the eye than to the ear. That’s why many modern sound bars are incredibly small — barely an inch tall. They still sound better than the speakers in your TV, however, and the best can pack a full-sounding punch thanks to separate subwoofers you can stash in a discreet location.
At the high-end you have brands such as Definitive Technology and Bose, while at the more affordable end you have LG and Vizio. We were quite impressed with the features and sound of the $400 LG SH7B, but the Korean company’s peaceful idyll is about to be disturbed by Chinese-American Vizio.
Despite a few usability quirks and an awkward name, the $500 Vizio SB4551-D5 is one of the best sound bars you can buy for home theater. It includes actual surround speakers — yes they’re wired and not wireless, but they still create an immersive soundstage that bar-only systems can’t match — and one of the most discreet subwoofers we’ve seen. These components help create superb sound for the money, and Google Cast is just icing on the flat cake.
Design
View full gallery
The Vizio SB4551-D5 is one of the best sound bars you can buy for home theater.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The key to the sound bar’s size lies in that awkward name. This is a 45-inch wide sound bar that measures 2-inches high and deep. Vizio has again taken design cues from Definitive Technology, aping the faux aluminum endcaps and black steel mesh.
View full gallery
Controls on the sound bar.
Sarah Tew/CNET
At the top of the main speaker lies a line of controls including input selection, Bluetooth pairing and volume. Unfortunately the front display is just an inscrutable series of small dots, and there is no on-screen display that can appear on your TV. The LG SH7B one-ups the Vizio with its large, easy-to-read alphanumeric readout. In its favor, Vizio’s well-designed remote does display the input and other pertinent information.
View full gallery
The subwoofer is in this box.
Sarah Tew/CNET
That big flat box contains an 8-inch subwoofer. Just 3.5 inches tall, it’s slim enough to be stashed underneath the couch, and comes with a pair of feet which enable it to stand on-end. As before the rear satellite speakers connect via really long cables to the subwoofer.
View full gallery
The remote for the sound bar.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Features
For the Vizio’s $500 asking price most companies will only sell you a 2.1-channel sound bar sans satellite speakers, and any “wide” mode it uses to fake surround sound will seldom be convincing. The SB4551’s included rear speakers really kick up the immersion a notch.
View full gallery
The included rear speakers help bring out more sound from your movies.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The SB4551 offers plenty of inputs which include HDMI in and out, coaxial and optical digital, 3.5mm analog, USB, Bluetooth and 802.11n wireless. The sound bar also comes with an Ethernet port, but if you follow the setup routine the Vizio will blithely ignore it and urge you to use Wi-Fi anyway.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
Unlike some sound bars the Vizio will decode DTS and Dolby Digital.
The bottom line: Our quick verdict on the Apple Watch Series 2
The Apple Watch Series 2 is what the company should have put out last year: It’s faster than the original, with longer battery life, a more intuitive OS, brighter screen, built-in GPS and waterproof design. If this were Apple’s only new smartwatch, we would have given it an even stronger recommendation than we actually did. The problem is, the company does indeed have another wearable on offer. The Series 1, as it’s called, costs a hundred dollars less and is basically last year’s model, upgraded with the same dual-core processor used in the Series 2. It, too, runs watchOS 3 out of the box. As an all-purpose smartwatch, then, the experience should be similar to what you’d get on the souped-up version.
Meanwhile, though the GPS inside the Series 2 mostly matches readouts on other devices, the difference is often big enough to have big implications for estimated pace. That shouldn’t be a big deal for walkers, but more serious athletes who train for events where speed matters won’t want to give up their dedicated sports watches just yet. Given that, the Series 2 mostly makes sense for either swimmers or people who want distance tracking but don’t care about accurate pace tracking (like we said: walkers, hikers and joggers). Everyone else, save yourself a hundred bucks and get the Series 1 instead.
GE ADT521PGJBS review – CNET
The Good The GE Artistry dishwasher features an appealing retro design and a solid list of features. It cleans quickly, quietly and more-or-less effectively.
The Bad It’s not as good at cleaning as similarly priced competition. You’ll want to rinse your dishes before you load them. You might not be able to fit large pots and pans — this dishwasher lacks any fold down tines and changing the height of the upper rack is a pain.
The Bottom Line You can find more well rounded and better performing dishwashers for the same price, but if you factor design heavily in your buying decisions, the GE Artistry dishwasher does everything else well enough to be worth your consideration.
It feels like we’ve been down this road before. The GE Artistry Series dishwasher looks a lot like the other GE Artistry appliances we’ve reviewed — simple colors accented by curved silver handles and an old fashioned GE logo. That’s not a bad thing — the designs would go well together if you bought them as a set and all of the models in the series look great in a cool, retro fashion that reminds me of a classic Cadillac.
Other than its cool design, though, the $500 ADT521PGJBS doesn’t have any competitive edge over the similarly priced $700 Kenmore 13699 or $650 Frigidaire FGID2466QF. Both are better cleaners and have comparable features. If you prioritize design when buying appliances, the ADT521PGJBS holds its own as a cleaner and is worth your consideration. Otherwise, go with the Kenmore for the best cleaner in this price range, or the Frigidaire for the most well-rounded dishwasher of the bunch.
If looks could kill, you’d have to arrest…
See full gallery
1 – 5 of 12
Next
Prev
Making way for modernity
Thankfully, the beauty of the GE Artistry ADT521PGJBS isn’t just skin deep. Pull the curved silver handle, and the old fashioned exterior gives way to modern features and design trends — such as the control panel hidden on the upper lip.
The ADT521PGJBS is missing a delicate cycle, but otherwise has a useful quartet — AutoSense, Heavy, Normal, and Light. The Light cycle does a good job of cleaning up recently dirtied dishes in a snappy 40 to 50 minutes. The Frigidaire FGID2466QF has a 30-minute quick cycle, but 40 is suitably fast and much better than the hour and a half “quick” cycle on the $700 LG LDS5040ST.
GE’s quartet of cycles provide a standard but useful variety.
Tyler Lizenby/CNET
The options on the ADT521PGJBS help its limited selection of cycles feel more robust. You can run a cycle on the upper rack or lower rack only. You can change the temperature of the water, and you can add a steam pre-wash to help the dishwasher loosen stuck on dirt.
Make any changes to the cycles or the options, and the display will update the estimated time to completion, which stays on and updates as the cycle runs.
The Artistry’s list of options is plentiful.
Tyler Lizenby/CNET
You can buy the GE Artistry ADT521PGJBS dishwasher at AJ Madison, Home Depot, JCPenney, and other large appliance retailers. Head to GE’s site for a list of retailers in your area. As usual with large appliances, you’ll find the ADT521PGJBS for less than its $500 price tag. Currently, Home Depot has it for $450. You won’t be able to find the ADT521PGJBS overseas.
Inflexible interior
The inside of the ADT521PGJBS is plain, and not in the understated, striking way of the exterior. It has a plastic tub — which will be a drawback for some as a stainless steel tub helps save energy over time — but the plastic tub is a big part of the reason the cost of the ADT521PGJBS is so reasonable.
The Artistry lacks fold down tines, but I like the movable silverware basket.
Chris Monroe/CNET
The racks themselves lack flexibility — none of the tines fold down, so you’ll have a tough time fitting larger pots and pans. That said, they’re not poorly designed, and comfortably fit standard plates, bowls, and the like. We had plenty of room for our ten place settings and the ADT521PGJBS can fit as many as 15 of them.
Amazon Fire HD 8 (2016) review – CNET
The Good The latest Fire HD 8 delivers faster performance, a bigger battery and more base storage than the previous version for almost half the price. Its 8-inch screen is bright, the speakers are loud and it offers expandable microSD storage and ample parental controls. Amazon Prime members can access gobs of free video, music and other content with their subscription.
The Bad Display isn’t as sharp as that of current iPad Mini models; to truly take advantage of what the tablet has to offer, you need an Amazon Prime membership; slow charging (takes 6 hours to fully cap battery).
The Bottom Line Despite some small drawbacks, you just won’t find a tablet with these features and performance at this price.
Amazon’s new Fire HD 8 looks a lot like last year’s Fire HD 8, but there are a few key differences, the biggest of which is the new lower price tag. Much lower, in fact: $90 or £90. (It’s not available in Australia so far, but the US price converts to about AU$115.) By comparison, the similarly sized Apple iPad Mini 4 costs $399, £379 or AU$569 and the Mini 2 costs $269, £239 or AU$369. Both now start at 32GB capacities, but you could literally buy three or four Fire HD 8s for the price of once Mini.
The previous generation Fire HD 8 started at $150 (£130 or AU$215). That model came with only 8GB of storage while this new one includes 16GB, with an expansion slot for adding microSD memory cards up to 200GB in capacity.
While the 1.3GHz quad-core processor in the 2016 HD 8 is a new chip, Amazon says the real performance boost comes from a bump in RAM from 1GB to 1.5GB. And a larger battery delivers up to 12 hours of juice, up from 8 hours. Amazon says that 12-hour battery rating is for “mixed-use,” so it’s hard to determine in our own tests if the new HD 8 lives up to those numbers, but the battery life, while not exceptionally good, seemed significantly improved from the old HD 8 during the week I used the tablet. The biggest hit it took was with heavy use of Wi-Fi and playing more graphics-intensive games.
The new Fire HD 8 comes in four colors, including tangerine (shown here).
Sarah Tew/CNET
The other noteworthy feature addition isn’t available yet, but will be in the next few months: Alexa, the cloud-based voice service, makes its debut on Fire tablets. To activate Alexa, you’ll have to press a virtual button (with the Echo you simply have to say her name — so long as you’re connected to the internet). You can use voice commands to tell Alexa to play music, launch games, read audiobooks, deliver weather reports and more.
Those who bought an Amazon tablet recently, fret not: Alexa is also coming to the entry-level Fire, Fire HD 10, and 2015’s Fire HD 8 tablets via a free over-the-air software update in the coming months.
Available in four colors, the new HD 8 does feel zippier than the previous model — I thought apps loaded reasonably quickly and the device didn’t feel sluggish (we knocked last year’s HD 8 for mediocre performance).
Thanks to the stereo speakers tuned with Dolby audio, the tablet outputs a good amount of sound and works well for movie watching. The front and rear cameras are pretty basic by today’s standards (the rear captures 720p video), but at least they’re there and available for such apps as Skype.
Fire HD vs. iPad Mini 2 with Retina display.
Sarah Tew/CNET
You’re looking at a handful of drawbacks. While this is an 8-inch widescreen HD display with 1,280×800-pixel (189 ppi) resolution, it’s not as sharp or vibrant as the iPad Mini 2’s more squarish 4:3 screen and its 2,048×1,536-pixel resolution (326 ppi). But that tablet costs about three times as much. It will be fine for most people, but if you’ve used an iPad before, you’ll feel it’s a step down. Even Amazon’s late, great Fire HD 6 has a better-looking screen because it has the same resolution as the HD 8 but packs it into a 6-inch space at a denser 252 ppi (pixels per inch).
AIVAnet 