Meeting up with Alexa certainly opened several doors to ways of doing things.

Brilliant little speaker, and so versatile

“What time is it?” I feel dumb wasting my breath to ask this question out loud to my all-knowing smart speakers, but it’s the question that I ask the most — and I’m not alone. Amazon says it’s one of the most commonly asked questions to its Echo smart speakers.

Powerful sound for the price; You’ll no longer have to ask for the time; Can also display weather info and timers

The clock adds $10 to the price; Can’t be mounted without additional accessories like the Nest Mini; Display could use a scheduling tool

Amazon has created another smart speaker that brings practical smarts to the kitchen counter or the bedside table. It's not as adventurous a device as other Echo products, but it's one of the most wallet-friendly and practical.

The Echo Dot with Clock brings all the best elements of 2018's third-gen Dot and adds a smart quality-of-life upgrade in the form of an LED clock display.

The $60 price tag edges the new Dot out of the super cheap range shared by the standard Dot and Google Nest Mini; Plus, the LED display can't adjust color or color temperature, which makes it a little annoying in a dark room.

The new Echo Dot is good enough to be the default Alexa speaker in most rooms of your home. It no longer sounds horribly tinny, and it's half the price of the bigger Echo. If you want better sound, you can easily hook it up to a larger speaker of your choice, or match it with another Dot as a stereo...

Much better sound than previous model; Still the best inexpensive Alexa speaker; 3.5mm jack for more powerful speakers; Alexa remains the best voice ecosystem for smart home control

Alexa isn't up to Google Assistant's level at answering broad information queries

For smart home control and filling your home with Alexa devices, the Echo Dot has always been a popular choice. The old versions had two main problems: they were a little ugly, and a little quiet.

Clear and loud audio; 3.5mm and Bluetooth audio outputs; Same price as old model; Improved design

No longer USB-powered; Not ideal for music

The new Echo Dot is the best compact smart speaker on the market by a wide margin.

Impressive full sound quality; Inexpensive introduction to smart home control; Alexa smarter than ever; Improved aesthetic befitting modern home design; Better microphone sensitivity

Fabric covering could show dirt over time; New power port is less universal

Adding a simple display turns the third-gen Echo Dot into a great bedside alarm clock, but it can also be useful in the kitchen as it can also show timers. Here’s our Echo Dot with Clock review.

The new Dot is fantastic. It sounds a lot better, looks a lot better and is still as cheap as ever. There are no playful colours on offer, and you can no longer power it from a USB power bank, but these are minor quibbles and are somewhat offset by the fact you can use two Dots as a stereo pair and even add an Echo Sub for 2.1 sound.

Amazon's third-generation Echo Dot ($49) looks good and sounds great. With vastly improved audio, it's now a distinctly better smart speaker than the Google Home Mini, and can replace the larger $99 Echo for less picky folks. That makes it our Editor's Choice for entry-level smart speakers. If you already own an old Echo Dot and use it to power a bigger, better speaker, there's no need to upgrade. But if you use your Echo Dot as a primary speaker, you'll want the new one.A Cuddlier Dot The Echo Dot is chubbier and cuddlier than the previous model, although it's about the same size. Instead of just hard plastic, now the speaker has a fabric wrap in one of three shades of gray. Choose wisely, because unlike with the full-sized Echo, you can't change the wrapping after you buy the speaker. Like previous Echo Dots, the speaker has a colored light ring around the edge and four buttons on top: volume buttons, a mic mute, and an action button. I like the Echo Dot's volume buttons better ...

The new Amazon Echo Dot delivers dramatically improved sound, making it an even better buy for an entry-level Alexa speaker.

Much better sound than previous model; Still the best inexpensive Alexa speaker; 3.5mm jack for more powerful speakers; Alexa remains the best voice ecosystem for smart home control

Alexa isn't up to Google Assistant's level at answering broad information queries