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With the release of Amazon's second version of the Echo Plus, the cost has gone up to $220. That makes this previous version something of a real bargain at less than $70. That means that it is price competitive with the third generation Echo Dot. While some of the features of the Echo Plus are now available on the Echo Dot -- such as being able to attach an external speaker -- there are two major and one more minor advantages that the Plus offers. The first major advantage is that the Plus has a much better speaker than the Dot. It's ideal for situations such as the kitchen, where it would be inconvenient for most users to add a separate speaker. The second major advantage is that the Plus includes the ability to link into something called "Zigbee networks". This is a low-power, narrow range (10m) network that is used to power many home automation systems. A good example of these systems is the IKEA Tradfri range. At the moment Tradfri is a little limited in Australia, most to lights, but will soon expand into power plugs, and even remote controlled blinds. Zigbee lights that can be controlled from the Echo Plus cost as littles as $12 for LEDs, much less than competing systems such as the Philips Hue range. That said, Philips Hue is also Zigbee, which means the Echo Plus can control Hue lights, without the need to use a bridge. The minor advantage of the Plus is that it has a very good system for picking up and responding to vocal commands, including the "wake word", "Alexa". It is literally possible to just whisper to it across the room, and it will pick up your voice. While there is some debate about the aesthetics of the Plus, I find the black version to be very attractive, and not out of place in a modern kitchen or living room.Read full review
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Perfect smart speaker for automation and music. I also use all my echo speakers for as Bluetooth speakers. Very convenient!
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Great value for 1st gen if you are hooking up zigbee devices with simple automation. Be sure to check which zigbee devices works with echo zigbee hub directly.
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Love this product. Amazing to say the least. Now we want to get more automaton gadgets!
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Great product needed it to pair with other one I owned and the Alexa sub
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