My wife is practical. She always prefers to flip a switch or press a button, instead of asking Alexa or Google. And even though I’m the one who put a cheap smart speaker in every room of the house, I often have to agree: It’s usually more reliable to just whip out my phone when I want to arm an...

Good Bluetooth adapter / speakerphone; Can pick up voice commands over wind and music; Makes music requests easy

Alexa is really dumb about location; Doesn’t handle cellular handoffs well; Car-friendly skills need an overhaul

But at no point does Amazon Alexa forget that it needs to be practical and seamless. Which is great.

The Amazon Echo Auto puts Alexa in the car, but it doesn't bring anything new to the game.

Easy to set up and use; Excellent microphone support

Doesn't work without a smartphone; Functions mainly as an intermediary; Bulky and bland industrial design

Amazon's Echo Auto brings Alexa smarts to your car for under $50, but it doesn't offer native voice-guided driving directions, and occasionally lost connection in our tests.

Easy to install; Reasonably priced; Multiple microphones; Offers all Alexa functionality.

Uses your phone's data plan; Lacks native driving directions; Air vent mount not very secure; Occasionally dropped connection to phone in testing.

The Echo Auto is great for older cars without a modern infotainment system, but you'll still need your phone and mobile data to make it work.

Mics work well even in a noisy car; Hands-free Alexa while driving;

Doesn't add much to modern cars; Not easy to hide wires;

Great product. Easy to set up, and works seamlessly for listening to music from spotify without having to muck around with my phone when driving. Also works well for making phone calls hands free. Only takes a few seconds to connect to my phone once I turn the car on then it's good to go. Excellent purchase, will be buying a second for my partners car.

Its good for the kids to play games and trivia, but it not worth the money. 1. Have to have vehicle on Bluetooth constantly so you are limited to internet radio or other online sources. 2. It constantly looses connection with the phone. 3. You still need to use the phone when asking for directions and confirming the route, so why not just use the phone. It has a lot of potential but needs some serious software updates to iron out the bugs.