I have all three of the "Alexa" devices. The tap, the echo and the dot. They are all good for different things. I like the echo for my kitchen and living room (I got another one for my kitchen!) because I listen to music there often and like to ask questions, news, weather, etc. It seems to hear me best and the volume gets loud if I want it to. (although sometimes Alexa can't hear you screaming her name over her own speaker when its loud!)
I have a dot in my bedroom. I use it as an alarm and for weather mostly. It has a small speaker and isn't great for music. You can attach it to other things for better audio, but I just use it plain.
I bought the Tap before the dot (and the dots were sold out!) because I wanted a smaller item for my desk. I probably would have gotten another echo, but they are expensive. I picked this and initially didn't like that you had to push the button. It worked well for playlists and occasional questions, but I got so used to just saying "Alexa...." that it was odd having to reach for it. They did update the app so you can make it hands free now by changing it in the app. I like it much better now. I REALLY like that it is rechargeable and often take it on my porch to listen to music while gardening (which is really just me trying to stay ahead of weeds...not actual "gardening.")
I set it up so not only can it work from my home network (when in range) but also from my phone's hotspot. Now it is TRULY portable. You can control the volume with the buttons on top or by voice command ("Alexa, volume up" or "Alexa, volume 6.")
I have looked around for other functions for it and do like the Echo paired with some things from IFFT (If This Then That.) You can train alexa to do other things, even make a call. Not exactly like a real phone call, but with IFFT, you can trigger alexa to ring your phone or send a message. I often misplace my phone, so I just say "Alexa, trigger find my phone" and since I set it up, it will ring my phone so I can hear it to find it. There is also send message option (it sends the one message you have pre-set up on IFFT) which I have set as a sort of emergency. If I say "Alexa, trigger Emergency", it will text my husband and say that the emergency trigger has been activated. He works away from home often and it makes me feel more safe to have that option where I can just yell at Alexa if something happens where I should fall down the stairs, hear an intruder, etc. I haven't had to use it yet (thank goodness) but love that option. There are lots of alexa + IFFT "recipes" you can add, google for them and you can get lots of ideas.
I sometimes miss a real radio. I realize I can get internet type "radio" on here, but it isn't local. I kind of like listening to baseball, football and hockey on the radio when I am working or painting or whatever, and miss that with this. It would be nice if that were in there somehow, but most people don't use the radio anymore, so I guess it wasn't included. This is sort of like Echo Junior now that they have added the hands free option. It also has a jack for output if you want to send it to something like a stereo. I don't since I like the portability of it. It also has a port to charge it without a base, so you can attach it to something like a power brick if you are not near electricity and your charge is running low. There are no battery lights that I know of, but you just ask alexa how much battery is left and she will tell you.
Overall, I like all three items for different places. I REALLY miss it in my car, though (dang, am I spoiled or what!?) I often find myself driving and wanting to say "Alexa, play the rolling stones" or "Alexa, what is the weather for tonight?" or something like that. I suppose I could carry the tap and use the mobile hotspot on my phone, but I don't really like to use that much data unless I have to (like for music at a picnic or something.)
If you are not sure which device you want, I would probably pick the Echo. It just has the best sound. IF you want to move it around though, pick this (and it is cheaper.) The dot is the least expensive, but you likely won't like the sound for music (unless you attach it to another device.) So...basically if you want:
1. Stand alone bigger item, always tethered to electricity, very nice speaker even for a party, most expensive = Echo
2. Portable size (kinda like a 16 oz can of beer), rechargeable, okay sound for a quieter room, medium-priced of the 3 = Tap
3. Smallest (like a hockey puck), tethered to electricity, acceptable sound (like a clock radio type but attachable), cheapest = Dot
The Amazon Tap is for me, the missing link because it perfectly fills the following voids I noticed after recently purchasing the 2nd Generation Echo:
1) The Echo is not mobile being that it needs to be plugged into a wall outlet.
2) As of this writing, the 2nd Gen Echo is so new that no 3rd part external batteries are on the market yet.
3) Given the layout of my house, it just seems inefficient to buy another 4 Echos for rooms I am most likely to want to use them in.
The Tap is portable. Thus, I can carry around to any room in my house and request that play favorite music, get new updates and along services provided the plethora available of available skills.
And, as you've heard from scores of other reviewers, the sound is comparable to a speaker that is significantly larger the Tap's size. Let me tell you that I am generally no fan of portable Bluetooth speakers. But Tap's speaker is magic. It has a sound that is quite a bit bigger than its physical dimensions. And if you put your hand close to the grill while it's playing, you can feel the air move. No, it's not in the same league as some of the larger Bose, Sonos or NyneBass speakers, but when I play my favorite music on the Tap, I don't feel that I'm missing anything.
Besides the main unit, you have the option to recharge it using a standard micro-USB or the included charging base.
Downsides? Not really. Just a few things to get used to:
1) The Tap in its default configuration request you to press a button in order to give verbal commands. But a recent update allows to you speak your command without pressing the button. I use default setting because I don't want to accidentally awaken my Echo which is often nearby when I use my Tap. When you press the button, you don't need to say Alexa. You just give you command.
2) The App seems to treat the Tap as a secondary device. The songs you play do not seem to wind up in your app's history.
3) The Tap, as a product, seems not to be featured as a "mainstream" device in contrast with Amazon's Echo series.
If you are lucky enough to stumble across the Tap, amidst the much louder campaign promoting the Echo Family, I encourage you to read all the rave reviews in addition to my own.
The Amazon Tap is a great addition to the Alexa family of products including the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and new Echo Show.
Echo - http://amzn.to/2wCwxUu
Dot - http://amzn.to/2wCQMl0
Show - http://amzn.to/2w3qWCZ
I expected Alexa capabilities when I ordered the Tap, the ability to ask questions and get answers in a conversational manner. Having had an Echo for a while I was used to this, and pretty well expected that I was just getting more of the same in a smaller less expensive package. What I did not expect was that I would be receiving a top notch bluetooth speaker in the same package.
Immediately upon first holding the Tap I was impressed. The Tap has a bit of weight to it, though it is not heavy. The weight is necessary as batteries are heavy, and speakers are heavy. If there was little weight to it it would have a short battery life and have poor sound quality. Neither is the case with the Tap, and the weight is justified. Rather, the device just feels solid in your hand, not unlike a Beats Pill.
http://amzn.to/2j0vfOl
Setting up the Tap is simple, and works very much the same as the other Echo products. You need to download the Alexa app to your mobile device and then connect to the Echo device and configure it in the Alexa app so that it can connect to your Wifi network. This process does take a few minutes but it only needs to be completed once.
http://amzn.to/2eIn3ku
The battery powered nature of the Tap makes it different than the other Echo products. The Tap does not by default listen at all times to the room. This is presumably to preserve battery life for a device that is not wall powered. With the current firmware, the always listening feature can be enabled if that is your preference. For the privacy conscious this makes Echo Tap the best Echo as you can decide when or what it hears. Instead there is a button you press when you want to engage with the Tap conversationally.
Initially, the Tap was the only Echo device that supported bluetooth audio, though that feature was added to all of the other Echo products earlier this year. Still the Tap is the only Echo that works as a portable bluetooth speaker, and does so very well. When I received my first Echo, I was impressed by the quality of the sound, I expected the Tap to be not as good given it's smaller size. However, I was blown away when I first turned it up and started streaming bluetooth music to the Tap. This little speaker puts out great sounding room filling music. Of course it is no base power house, there is no replacement for displacement. Still the sound is very full and warm with out any tinny or hollowness to it, as is common with many small bluetooth speakers. It's audio quality is above par for devices in this price range and on par with devices costing 2-3x as much.
In effect the Echo Tap is an amazing portable bluetooth speaker, that is Alexa Enabled. If you aren't sure about Alexa, but curious, and would like a good portable bluetooth speaker, the Tap is an excellent choice. You will get a great speaker in an excellent package at a great price, and have the opportunity to dabble with Alexa and find out more about it.
The Echo was my first device. I pre-ordered it despite or rather, in spite of all the negative press and pre-release reviews saying it was going to be useless, etc.
To the naysayers, I can now say - nyaa nyaa!, lol. Seriously though, the Echo didn't and doesn't let me down and to this day I'm still happy with it.
I now own an Echo Show, 1st gen. Echo as well as several Echo Dots and a Tap.
This being said, I'm not so happy with the Tap. I am curious about why it hasn't gotten the features of the Echo devices. It's the only Amazon device I own that I'm not '5 star' happy with, really. I got the Tap, vs. another Echo or Echo Dot for 1 main reason, it's the device that I mean to take around with me. It travels with me wherever I go, pretty much whenever I'm going to be sleeping elsewhere. I'll also take it into the back yard when the family feels like chilling out there or whenever we BBQ. It pairs with my Wifi at home but when I travel, it pairs with my phone automatically, which is nice. On most fronts I am satisfied with the device but for all intents and purposes, this is not an Echo device and I knew that before I got it. What I didn't know is the number of features it'd end up not receiving in the long run.
Notice, it's not called an Echo Tap, it's an Amazon Tap and this is because originally, it wasn't hands-free. This feature was added through an update after lots of folks begged for it (though maybe it was planned anyway) - however, it still hasn't received some of the features the Echos have and I doubt it ever will, since it has clearly received some updates (it received "follow-up, as an example and this update came after Drop-In). At home, it lives in my master bathroom.
So, what's it missing so far? From important to not, for me.
No 'Drop In' or calling capability. This one's big for me because we use our Echos as an in-home intercom. The bathroom's where you tend to lock yourself away while you do your thing(s). What better place to have a device where someone can contact you through a hands free device and have you decline or accept and respond? This would prevent the wife or kid having to bust in there to talk or them having to text or call my cell. Likewise, if tissue has run out or my towel isn't there, I can call out to my wife or kid to grab one from the closet or pantry vs. screaming the house down or chance walking out naked and wet.
No Multi-speaker mode. Why? Again, the Echo Tap is smart enough to know when it's charging so there should be no risk to having it set for Multi-speaker mode while it's 'charging'. The mode could be 'switchable' and gray out when it's off the charger. It'd be really nice to walk out of the bathroom into my bedroom and have my Show playing the same music. It's not a huge deal because with a simple switch on Spotify I can swap it but this swap out isn't so easy through other services.
It's missing the ability to change the wake word - for me this isn't a huge deal, it's just surprising that it's not there.
Knowing what I know now, I'd have probably gotten one of those third party adapters that "convert" the Dot into a portable. For what I paid for the Tap (and it was even at a discount), that it doesn't even have the features of the much cheaper Dot is disappointing. I could have gotten a Dot + the 3rd party adapter and that set up would have been less than I paid for the Tap. I'm hoping that Amazon does something about this, though again, they have been so pro-active with the others that I'm beginning to suspect that there just isn't the possibility to do these things for some reason, maybe hardware restrictions or otherwise.
One awesome thing about the Tap is that I find the speaker to be pretty darn good. It's way, way better than the Echo Dots' and is crisp and clear, even when turned up pretty high. So that'd be the sacrifice. If you wanted a great sounding, portable Alexa device that's missing some of the newer features, then the Tap would be it. If you wanted more features (that is, full-on Echo features) with a hint of portability for whenever you go out and don't really care about sound quality or how high it can be turned up, a Dot+battery case would be the cheaper and better solution.
-1 star for lacking features typical of an Amazon made "smart speaker", like drop in, call out, multi-speaker and custom/choice wake word.
+4 stars for build quality, feel, sound, thoughtfulness of design (like a cradle + ability to charge without cradle), handsfree assistant, weight, etc.
Will update if the device gains these features.
12/24/2018 - Please note, this is a reprint of my review given to the Refurbished model listing :)
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The Amazon Tap is/was not perfect. It wasn't marketed properly in many ways and has become the forgotten orphan of the Amazon Echo family. So why do I give it 5 stars?
There is still no portable bluetooth, Alexa compatible, speaker like it. It has a great size and form factor. It is 'fully' Alexa compatible, similar to the rest of the family, where 3rd party speakers are hamstringed in many ways.
The refurbished model was actually my 2nd purchase of a Tap, my 1st one sadly being stolen by a neighbor which, as far as a product review, could be seen as a sterling endorsement. It is certainly funny that people will deride something only to then covet it as well ...or ultimately is that why they deride it in the first place.
It is also sad that my 2nd purchase had to be a refurbished model. That is not to say I distrust Amazon's refurbishing programs, the speaker has so far met all expectations set by their marketing.
The dismay came from having no other choice but to buy a refurbished model. While it was not chiefly among my reasons for a delay in replacing it immediately, the hope was certainly that there would be a 2nd Generation that would bring many of the updates the other Echo models have received. When it seemed that wouldn't happen I waited, playing the now tedious game, of waiting for a new model to go on sale similar to the price I originally received. Not knowing they had been discontinued I missed out.
I finally committed to buying a refurbished model during the 2018 Black Friday shopping season no matter what only to be stymied once again by them flying off the proverbial shelves, having to constantly check the site since they came in and out of stock faster than the e-mail notification system could keep up with. Perhaps I should have taken that as a hint from the Universe that I was destined not to have one again.
But therein lies the mystery. The product definitely has a place in the market and an overwhelming demand. Maybe it came later than the rest of the fam, perhaps it wasn’t a top seller, but the viability of the Tap is obviously apparent. There simply is no other speaker on the market that checks off all of its boxes. Within its category no other speaker is as tightly integrated with Alexa. Few can produce the same sound at that form factor for a similar price. It’s battery performance is better than many others. Why did Amazon decide it was a failure, or that it was not worth a 2nd chance i.e. 2nd generation, certainly no current Echo product matches its functionality, at least easily.
If you are looking to buy a portable Alexa enabled bluetooth smart speaker there really is no other choice and I highly recommend you purchase a Tap if you are able to do so, whether through the used or refurbished channels or, unfortunately, what has become a gouged out new channel on eBay and the likes.
Amazon, please resurrect the Tap, give it a proper Echo family name and a 2nd generation, and, to borrow from pop culture, allow this John Snow of bluetooth speakers to rise to claim it’s proper place within the ruling families!!!
Feature Product
- Just tap and ask for music from Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. Enable hands-free mode to control music and more from a distance.
- Uses the Alexa Voice Service when connected to Wi-Fi or a mobile hotspot to play music, read the news, provide weather reports, and even order a pizza
- Provides up to 9 hours of continuous playback (up to 8 hours when in hands-free mode), Charging Cradle included
- Streams all your music via Bluetooth from your phone or tablet
- Delivers crisp sound powered by Dolby, with dual stereo speakers that provide 360ยบ omni-directional audio
- Always getting smarter and adding new features and skills
Description
Wireless LAN - Bluetooth - Alexa Supported
Love this product. It is portable and provides the same hand free wake up features like the Echo and Dot. For me the better choice of the three products due to functionality and connectivity.
I understand why Amazon is doing away with this device, and normally I would hate to have bought a product no longer being sold by a company. But this might be my exception. There are limitations to it, as it is no longer directly supported, but I am so thankful I bought it before it becomes unavailable. Only limitation I have found; I can't add it to my "everywhere group" for full house music. Other than that, I highly recommend this product. Speakers are loud and clear, and it responds to all Alexa commands, including my smart home devices. It is the only portable Amazon device (that I am aware of, and I own all but the Plus), and because it's main purpose is a speaker I have moved it to the back porch (or take it to the garge when I am working). It rocks. Bought my mom one at Mother's Day so she could enjoy her music wherever she goes in her house. Maybe Amazon has future plans, but maybe Alexa and smart homes are their thing, so grab this Alexa enabled, awesome speaker while you can.
Well, I finally got it. Our house is a total Echo house. We got the Alexa a little over a year ago, loved it, and got a Dot for upstairs about six months ago. We use them all the time, love them. The Dot upstairs is connected to a Jawbone Jambox Bluetooth speaker, so we get great sound. We're redoing our patio area, and I wanted something to put out there to take advantage of my music library. So, I was gonna get a Bluetooth speaker and connect it to Alexa, but didn't want to connect and disconnect it from the main Alexa all the time. I wanted something specific to outside. I'm not gonna lie, I was put off by the Tap for a while because of two things. First, the need to push a button on it every time I wanted to issue a command (yeah, product of my time), and it seemed small and I was concerned about the quality of the sound. My first Bluetooth speaker purchase was Jawbone's smaller Jambox speaker, and I immediately sent it back for the larger one because it couldn't get loud enough for my taste. If you have the same concern about Tap, don't worry. First, the sound is great. Not just for a speaker this size, but great. I mean, you're not going to get chest-thumping bass, but it's pretty good. And this little speaker can put out volume sufficient enough for a party or an outside area, no problem. Also, Amazon realized that they had a good thing with the Tap, so now you can go into the set up software and choose to have it on and listening all the time, no button pressing necessary. It drains the battery a little faster, but it's a nice option. All in all, I'd highly recommend the Tap.
So far, I'm really happy with this. It appears to work perfectly (at least everything I've tried works). It was purchased as "damaged" but couldn't find a mark on it and it worked right out of the box. Easy set-up, charges properly and am now testing to see how much use I can get out of a single charge. I'll report on that at another time if it's significantly different from the advertised "8 to 9 hours of music on a single charge".
Update: Did the "time test" and found that after six hours of continuous play with "mic on" and music playing the whole time, I still had nearly 40% battery remaining. At that point, I turned off the music and put it on the charger, and just over two hours later had a full charge in the battery. Seems like it does what it says in regards to battery life and charging capabilities.
2nd update: Still really like this, but I'm disappointed that it doesn't have all of the capabilities of the Echo and Echo Dot--You can't put it in a group nor can you "drop in" on it. There are other features that are simply not there that I think should be. Perhaps Amazon will do something about this omission if enough users let them know what they'd like. I've gone to the Customer Service--Alexa support people and asked them about it. I received a very positive reply but I fear no action will be forthcoming, as I understand that they are discontinuing the product. Due to all of the above, I taken one star away, even though I still really enjoy the device, and I have an Echo and an Echo Dot that do all of the other stuff. This would be better than either of the others due to it's portability, if it had the rest of the bells and whistles.
The Amazon tap when I first purchased it was not what I had expected with no hands free capabilities as far as voice recognition. So it's safe to say I was not a fan at first, but now with the capability to go hands free and I don't have to press a button every time I need to ask a question or place an order. This product is very similar to the echo dot except taller and bulkier, but I believe the sound quality to be better on the Amazon tap.
I enjoy loud music so I was pleased when the max volume is very loud and clear which is hard to do in most Bluetooth speakers.
The battery life lasts for several hours fully charged unless I have the volume to a high level.
You cannot go wrong with this product if your in the market for a Bluetooth speaker to use at home, or even outside I just would not get it wet.
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