Gaze into the abyss, and the abyss gazes back. That's what's running through my head on my first night testing the Amazon Echo Spot. I'm lying in bed struggling to fall asleep as I sometimes do, and it's sitting there displaying the time on my nightstand with its camera aimed straight at my face.

The Echo Spot is a well-made device with a good-looking design, and it's handy for quick, voice-activated video calls; Sound quality was better than we expected, and noticeably better than the Echo Dot's

The Echo Spot doesn't currently support YouTube, nor does it offer many video sources for your flash briefings; The touchscreen adds less than it should to the Alexa experience, and it's too small to be helpful unless you're within a few feet of the device

The newest member of the Echo family is Amazon's best-looking hardware yet.

Cute; sleek looking device; Intuitive controls; User-friendly; Alexa keeps getting smarter

Video camera could be a privacy issue; Wish it had a USB port

The Spot fills out Amazon's smart speaker lineup. You now have the Amazon Echo for general-purpose use, the Tap to take out to the patio, the Spot to sit by your bed or kitchen counter, and the Echo Dot to fill in the gaps.

Super cute design; Useful display; Supports all Alexa features; 3.5mm output

Not a powerful speaker; No non-camera option

Despite its weaknesses, then, I rather like the Amazon Echo Spot. It's a rather well made, attractive-looking smart speaker that, like the Echo Show, adds an extra dimension with the addition of the touchscreen and webcam.

Amazon's latest Echo refresh has brought with it a design flourish that was sorely missing from its original line-up.

Lovely form factor; Video is clear

Round screen means video cropping; Pricier than the regular Echo

In an effort to push its own paid-for music and video streaming services, Amazon has dropped the price of its Alexa-powered alarm clock. For a limited time – I'm afraid we don't know when this deal ends – you can pick up an Amazon Echo Spot for only £95 – that's £25 off.

Useful touchscreen features; Small design

Pricey; Sound quality isn't the best

Products like the Echo Spot live and die by their features. This is the first of its kind to come through the testing rooms and it has performed well. It has a number of useful features, the display is sharp and it looks rather elegant.However, it's a much greater investment than the Echo Dot or...

Sharp screen; Good range of features; Neat design; Clear midrange

Divisive camera; Sound quality could be improved; Needs more video content

When Amazon released the Echo Show , many thought it was too expensive, too big and - dare we say - ugly. So if you were hankering after an Alexa speaker with a screen but didn't like the Show then the Echo Spot might fit the bill.

"A smart speaker is a type of wireless speaker and voice command device with an integrated virtual assistant that offers interactive actions and handsfree activation with the help of one hotword"- that's how Wikipedia describes a smart speaker.

Amazon has defined the smart speaker space with its range of Echo devices which serve as speakers of varying size and quality and also work as conduits to smart home systems, entertainment, online search and news and music playback.