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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 July 2023
All right, even on a brilliant Prime day deal, it is a bit expensive for a bedside clock, but then again what bedside clock can tell you the weather forecast, give you the latest news or play any radio station you can think of, launch into any song you want, even find music to help you drift off and then wake you up on time with music, radio station or annoying ringing if you need an alarm clock.
And I did need an easy to read digital clock. One of the features of reaching the more mature years is that sleep becomes episodic, often dictated, real or often imaginary, by a siren call of nature and it is so useful to know how much of the night has been used up and how much is left.
This is the sixth Alexa device I own, seven if you count Fire TV, and they become part of the family. The early dots had sound that would have been astounding in the trannie radios of my youth but were probably more in the pretty good for the price and size category at the time of their introduction. But then no one ever claimed it was hifi.
My fourth generation dot was a big improvement in sound and this fifth generation model takes it up another notch. It is not a huge improvement, after all, the last generation was pretty good, but the sound is noticeable rounder, fuller and richer with the larger speaker installed, 1.73in against 1.6in.
Speakers that size are never going to compete with studio or even decent bookshelf speakers with woofers, mid-range and tweeters – in speakers size really does matter. But they are pleasant and clear to listen to, and, if you want more they can be linked to more accomplished speakers by Bluetooth.
Dots up to this generation had a 3.5mm stereo socket for headphones or wired speakers, now it is wireless by Bluetooth, something I already did with my other dots occasionally when needed. It is something to think about if you want to link speakers up.
The selling point for me was the accurate clock which takes its setting from the internet. I have the white version and was a little concerned that white LEDs on a white surface might not show that well, but it is fine. The time is easy to read in daylight and at night the numbers shine brightly in the dark. The brightness can be controlled, or the display switched off if it bothers you at night, but I didn’t find the dim glow any distraction.
One new feature is showing song details on rolling text when a track is played, or the weather forecast based on location, which to be honest is more of a novelty than essential. It��s useful though if you are listening to an Amazon collection, such as easy listening, if you want to know about a particular track, although Alexa will always tell you if you ask – she’s helpful like that.
There is also a temperature sensor, if you want to know the temperature where the dot sits, but more importantly you can use it as an extra thermostat if you have compatible central heating, using Alexa to turn heating on or off.
The dot is a door into the world of Alexa which seems to be getting bigger every day. You can control all manner of things from heaters to lights and ask all manner of questions, play music, podcasts, audio books, radio stations and on and on and on. All in all a brilliant bit of kit and you can find new uses every day.
Oh, and did I mention, it’s also a really attractive digital clock.
And I did need an easy to read digital clock. One of the features of reaching the more mature years is that sleep becomes episodic, often dictated, real or often imaginary, by a siren call of nature and it is so useful to know how much of the night has been used up and how much is left.
This is the sixth Alexa device I own, seven if you count Fire TV, and they become part of the family. The early dots had sound that would have been astounding in the trannie radios of my youth but were probably more in the pretty good for the price and size category at the time of their introduction. But then no one ever claimed it was hifi.
My fourth generation dot was a big improvement in sound and this fifth generation model takes it up another notch. It is not a huge improvement, after all, the last generation was pretty good, but the sound is noticeable rounder, fuller and richer with the larger speaker installed, 1.73in against 1.6in.
Speakers that size are never going to compete with studio or even decent bookshelf speakers with woofers, mid-range and tweeters – in speakers size really does matter. But they are pleasant and clear to listen to, and, if you want more they can be linked to more accomplished speakers by Bluetooth.
Dots up to this generation had a 3.5mm stereo socket for headphones or wired speakers, now it is wireless by Bluetooth, something I already did with my other dots occasionally when needed. It is something to think about if you want to link speakers up.
The selling point for me was the accurate clock which takes its setting from the internet. I have the white version and was a little concerned that white LEDs on a white surface might not show that well, but it is fine. The time is easy to read in daylight and at night the numbers shine brightly in the dark. The brightness can be controlled, or the display switched off if it bothers you at night, but I didn’t find the dim glow any distraction.
One new feature is showing song details on rolling text when a track is played, or the weather forecast based on location, which to be honest is more of a novelty than essential. It��s useful though if you are listening to an Amazon collection, such as easy listening, if you want to know about a particular track, although Alexa will always tell you if you ask – she’s helpful like that.
There is also a temperature sensor, if you want to know the temperature where the dot sits, but more importantly you can use it as an extra thermostat if you have compatible central heating, using Alexa to turn heating on or off.
The dot is a door into the world of Alexa which seems to be getting bigger every day. You can control all manner of things from heaters to lights and ask all manner of questions, play music, podcasts, audio books, radio stations and on and on and on. All in all a brilliant bit of kit and you can find new uses every day.
Oh, and did I mention, it’s also a really attractive digital clock.
