Echo Dot

[swerve]

Hi everyone, i am new to this. I was just hoping someone here could let us know when Amazon plan on offering the Dot for sale again, i can't even add it to my list which doesn't makes a lot of sense.
   Been doing lots of research about the Echo and was hoping to get maybe a couple Dots to compliment my new Echo, Ebay seems to be the only place to get one if you are nuts enough to pays like 3 times what its worth.
  I think i'm going to eventually go with the ceiling fans, Sensi thermostat, window blinds, lights and the Wink hub, the later being the most difficult decision. I now just have to win the lottery  :-)

[renegade600]

doubt anyone here would know. only amazon know if and when the dot will be available again.   

[mike27oct]

I was at the Amazon Store in Seattle recently and was told by staff manning the Echo area that the Dot is still in beta test (!) and that it would be released "soon". So, figure near when Xmas shopping season re-appears.  Be patient.

[iolinux333]

Beta really? I have two Dots and an Echo and they all work fine. I had no idea the Dot hadn't been generally released yet.

[mike27oct]

Yep, that's what they said when I asked when are they back in stock, etc.  Seems strange to me, too.  What the heck can they be beta testing at this point? For whatever reason, the Dots were only sold to Prime account members.  Maybe they are still trying to decide to put a decent speaker into the darn things!

I also have two Dots and an Echo.

[swerve]

Thanks for the info, Its just a little frustrating when we see a product that would really fit the bill but can't buy it, maybe one day i'll learn to be a little more patient, a dot would have worked great in the bedroom hooked up to some stereo speakers.

[jwlv]

After reading this thread, I decided to put my Echo Dot on eBay with a "buy it now" price of $200. It sold within 5 hours.

I figure I'll get another one when they become widely available. Besides, I already have 3 Echoes and 1 Tap.

[mike27oct]

Good idea, and the new Dot you get will be the "upgrade" I would guess.  Maybe with a better speaker, too.  After all this beta testing, one would expect some improvements to the Dot!

[renegade600]

for the fun of it, I tried ordering a dot.  was told it was sold out and said to stay tune because they are always up to something new.  Makes me wonder if there is going to be a new echo.  I do know there have been a lot of complaints about heat when streaming for any length of time.  Maybe they are doing so fixing. 

Someone said something about the dot being in beta.  Never heard of hardware or devices being in beta.  It is only software. 

[DParker]

.  Someone said something about the dot being in beta.  Never heard of hardware or devices being in beta.  It is only software.

Not true. Google "beta testing hardware" and you'll find the term commonly applied to pre-release testing of non-software products as well.

[mike27oct]

Hardware is beta-tested all the time and by many companies.

I have beta-tested a few products the past few years for a major hardware company all of you know the name of.  You may have even bought the products I have tested.  I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement not to divulge for whom and for what I was testing.  Beta testers usually get to keep the products they test.  One product sold for over $200 and the last one I tested sells today for over $600!  Being a beta tester is a fun and "profitable" hobby.  In most cases we were beta testing various versions of firmware upgrades installed in the new product and gave feedback to company.  Beta testers for this company are often selected by the company based upon the participants' past and current involvement in the user forum.  Users who demonstrate knowledge of the company's products often get selected.  Beta-testing can take a period of 12 weeks sometimes.  Some products never make it to market -- at least I never heard of one product again  after it was tested.

[renegade600]

learn something new everyday  :-)

[mike27oct]

I like your attitude! 

You, too, could be a beta tester!

[vegasguy]

In general, software beta testing is more common to the public because the cost distributing software is very low. The cost to send hardware is much higher and manufacturers want to make sure that only qualified testers are used rather than just the general public.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mike27oct]

Yep, true. I had to fill out a long form describing equipment/devices I had in my possession.  Even so, some "general public" types apparently were beta testers, too, (based upon some comments of people I read in the beta test forum).