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

With a nicer design and vastly improved audio, the third-generation Echo Dot is Amazon's best, cheapest speaker yet.

Inexpensive; Nice design; Vastly improved audio

Can't change its look

With three main tech companies providing smart speakers for the home, we were given the chance to test, play and review Amazon's latest Echo Dot which is the third generation of this clever voice-controller device.

Amazon Echo Dot (3rd gen) review : Both Google and Amazon have been trying to convince consumers to spend on a smart speaker, a device which can play music, control lights and appliances and serves as a home assistant.

The Black Fridays Deals started earlier than ever in the UK. I opened the Amazon.co.uk to see what's going on – online window shopping for the things I can't afford is a guilty pleasure of mine. I noticed Amazon Echo devices on sale.

Excellent product - real fun use. Has great speakers (bass) and volume for the size.

Excellent speakers; loud enough Good bass for the size Good response

Nothing yet

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

Had this for a few months now and originally I was quite happy with it BUT this last few weeks has seen a big reduction in its ability to deliver basic services eg I quite like to check the news headlines on radio four so all I had to say was - Alexa, play radio four and it would play - but not any...

I just got 2 of these. One for the living room and the other for the bedroom. Alexa recognizes my voice at low levels and from a good distance. Lots of skills can be added to make a dumb home smart. I recommend the Echo Dot 3rd Gen. The speakers have good quality sound from such a small device.

I purchased two of these units to complement my Echo Plus, I only had too turn them on and they connected straight to my Echo plus without me having to do anything. I used one of them to work with my audio speaker, just had to plug the 3.5mm audio cable in both units and now I have Alexa's voice...