Amazon Dot and Smart Plug bundle

I received my shipment of Amazon Echo Dot v3 and Smart Plug bundles today. $30 for the bundle. Such a deal!

Connecting the Smart Plug
The Smart Plug doesn't require a Zigbee or Z-Wave hub to connect to the network. That's good news. No expense purchasing an extra hub. No extra hockey puck thingy cluttering the house.

When setting up the Amazon Smart Plug, it uses Bluetooth to talk to your mobile device initially. (Note: most desktop computers and older laptops don't have Bluetooth.) You will have to enter your network password it it's password-protected. You use the camera on your device to pair the Smart Plug to your device's Bluetooth using a QR code provided. So your device must have a camera.

Once the plug is connected to your device using the Amazon Alexa app, you connect it to your home network. After that, Echo can communicate with the Smart Plug over your home network.


On the Echo Dot v3.
I powered it up, after about a minute or so, it was on-line. I'm not sure why I didn't need to set it up. My guess is that it talked to other Echo devices I have and figured out the network setting and who I was. That was a pleasure. I discovered that network passwords are stored in the cloud.

It's larger than the Echo Dot 2 and has much better sound. I haven't compared it to the Google Mini, but I think it sounds better.

The Echo Dot v2 uses a standard USB mini power adapter. The Dot 3 uses a larger power block and connects via a round connector, not a USB connector. This is probably because it requires more power.

Some things I like about the Amazon Echo Dot over the Google Home Mini:
1) You can work with the Echo using a browser on your computer. The Google Home requires an app on a phone or tablet.
2) The Echo will connect to an open network. The Google Home will not. (Well I got my Google Home to connect to an open network but don't know how.)
3) The Echo Dot can connect to external speakers either thru Bluetooth or a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The Google Home Mini has no provisions.
4) I can listen to KYW (1060 on the AM dial in Philaldelphia, PA) on my Echo, but not on the Google Home. I used to be able to listen to that station, but it was disabled a few months ago on Google.

What I like about the Google Home: it's better with Internet searches.