Echo Pop (newest model), Lavendar Bloom, bundle with Alexa Emergency Assist (monthly auto-renewal subscription)

Overall, I’m very happy with this Alexa device. The sound quality is good, setup was easy, and it works very well for daily use like controlling smart devices, setting reminders, and general questions. The only downside I’ve noticed is that sometimes it has difficulty understanding or recognizing certain songs, even when I pronounce them clearly. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it can be a bit frustrating on occasion. Aside from that, it’s a solid product and does exactly what it promises. With some improvements in music recognition, it would easily be a 5-star device.

I love the Echo Pop's compact size, but what surprised me most was the sound quality. It's clear and powerful enough for a room. Plus, Alexa responds quickly and makes everyday tasks much easier.

The device itself is fantastic. Great sound, volume, the mic picks up commands from around the room without multiple devices answering at once. Response time is good, sometimes it will cut you off mid sentence because it thinks it knows what you want. Pretty sure it doesn't have a battery. Aside from that I would like to take a second to talk about Alexa itself. It isn't a great application. It seems to be a bunch of containerized apps jammed together with little to no active connectivity. It is almost like there is no backbone to the system and it is just a bunch of apps individually communicating with each other one by one. Even the echo devices have trouble interacting. I have this one and a normal Echo, the Echo pop is in my bedroom and is responsible for my morning alarm among other things. I was having issues with the music being too serine and it putting me back to sleep instead of waking up. I attempted to change the settings through the other Echo device only to be told no Alarm existed. I tried to get this Echo to realize the other Echo did have an alarm set for 6, it kept telling me no such alarm existed. As to not waste anymore time I instructed Alexa to create an alarm set for 6am and it responded that an alarm already existed... "Do you want to replace it?" Yes, replace the alarm with a new one. "Something went wrong" "Do you want me to replace it?" Yes. "Something went wrong" "Do you want me to replace it?" No. It was stuck in a loop. I decided to order the steps myself, Alexa, delete my alarm a 6am. "Alarm deleted" Alexa, create an alarm at 6am. "An alarm has been created for 6am". The functionality is there, it just cannot complete certain actions without individual direct commands. It's ability to perform multiple steps in a single command are lacking, this leads me to believe it's recognition and comprehension skills are non-existent. A similar thing happened when I tried to connect Alexa with my Spotify account. My phones OS is too old to connect via mobile app so I had to get the PC app (not easy to find) and after a lengthy conversation with Alexa it came out that the PC app did not have the functionality of the Mobile app. It doesn't make sense to have two separate apps for the same product. Regardless, I asked for a workaround and Alexa got stuck in another loop of giving me instructions to connect through the PC app only for me to have to correct her about the PC version not having the capabilities. I tried to change the wording but we kept going through the same dance. IT'S LIKE TALKING TO A GOLDFISH. There is limited memory. You could have the same conversation 10 times and every time is a new experience with Alexa. It blows my mind that with all the amazing AI around today Alexa is so bad. Amazon, the huge megacorp cannot figure it out with their flagship product in the space.

I never thought about doing the 'Alexa' thing then read the reviews and thought I'd give it a shot. The sound is great in such a small speaker. Voice response is very quick and smart. I added TP-Link smart outlets and now I can turn on my office lights, turn on my 3D printer, turn on and off my bedroom light, all with simple commands. You can even rename it to a list of names. I'm a Trekkie so I renamed mine 'Computer'. So like in Star Trek, I can just walk into the room and say, "Computer, set my wake-up alarm for 5 am tomorrow." Then she (or he if you want) confirms it in a normal speaking voice. It will even whisper responses if you whisper first! I can set up routines like the 5 am alarm with Sirius 80s music, and tell me the weather, then turn on my bedroom lamp. This is so neat! I bought 2 more in different colors. Lavender for my wife, teal green for me, while keeping the charcoal one in my office. These things are really cool! Only ONE issue I have. They should have an internal battery. Maybe it's just Amazon's way to make a few more bucks, because you CAN buy a battery base for it. Anyway, you should consider these. I'm thinking of getting the Alexa thermostat for the house. Just plug-n-play for most systems. Merry Christmas, everybody!