Amazon holds the lion’s share of the smart speaker market, and for good reason. Its line of smart speakers offers a variety of options depending on your need and willingness to spend. The second-generation of the Echo Dot — the small, budget-friendly option from Amazon — is cheaper than usual on Thursday, November 1. Amazon dropped its price to $30. There is no word on how long that price will hold, so you will want to act fast to get it.
The $30 price point is $20 off the standard retail price for the device. You can also bundle it with a smart lighting starter kit from Sengled and pay just $50 (the bundle retails at $80 normally) or with the new Amazon Smart Plug for $55 (usually $65). The Sengled bundle, which comes with two smart lightbulbs and the Sengled Element Classic hub, is probably the best deal of the bunch, but you should, of course, pick the option that best fits your needs.
It’s worth noting that the version of the Echo Dot that is on sale here is the second generation, which Amazon introduced on October 20, 2016. At the time it was introduced, it brought down the price point on the mini speaker and introduced improved voice recognition. It has since been superseded by the third generation of the device, which Amazon introduced earlier this year.
The third-generation of the Echo Dot brings a new design. While the second generation is available in a black or white finish, it has the hard plastic exterior. The third generation gets a soft fabric design that makes it look a bit more like a standard speaker. The sound has also been improved on the newest version of the device. The third-generation Echo Dot has a single 1.6-inch speaker that produces 360-degree sound. Its predecessor has a 1.1-inch speaker with multiple portholes but not all-around sound.
The voice assistant features on both the second-generation Echo Dot and its successor are the same. You’ll be talking to the same Alexa no matter what speaker you use, it’s just a matter of looks and sound. If you’re not worried about those things, or you’re just looking for a cheap way into the smart speaker market, the second-generation Echo Dot that is on sale should suffice just fine. Grab it on sale from Amazon while you can.
Few things ruin a quiet evening faster than a robot vacuum roaring through the living room. Most of us end up pausing the cleaning run, which defeats the whole purpose of owning one. Matic thinks it has the answer with its new Serene robot vacuum, and the big selling point is how little noise it makes.
The Matic Serene runs at 52 decibels even when cleaning at full power. To put that in perspective, Matic compares it to the hum of your refrigerator. It is available now for $1,695, which is $200 more than the original Matic’s current price.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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