Amazon - Amazon Tap Portable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Speaker - Black

As a bluetooth speaker, the Tap rocks! The sound quality is excellent, plenty loud when needed, and excellent quality with no stutters in streaming. I bought this one instead of the Echo because it is portable, and I can lug it from room to room. The charging stand is very convenient, and the Tap stays there most of the time. Having to press the button to activate each of the voice commands is not an issue for me, but is something to consider. (If you want hands free use, you may want the big brother Echo device, which is hands free, but tethered in place by a power cord, so not portable). The feel of the Tap with the black fabric cover is nice, and will not slip out of your hand. The fabric is like tough upholstery cover, so it won't stain or be easy to damage, but is quite attractive. I am glad they did that, as bare plastic would be easy to drop. I found it easy to pair with bluetooth and wireless, and it works as advertised! I mostly just use it for playing music and asking Alexa silly questions for fun! I occasionally use it for shopping lists, which shows up on my phone, and checking the weather. Who knows what the future holds,when I have time to sit down and really learn all that it can do? I understand that Amazon plans to add more Alexa skills all the time, and if one got into smart house control with compatible products, the Tap would eliminate all remotes, which I already have too many of. I think it is a really fun, cool item, and I am glad I got it! It is so much fun to use voice commands instead of typing, especially the tiny smart phone typing ! I could get used to this! I have the Alexa app on my phone, which allows certain voice commands to show up on my phone, like shopping lists, to do lists, calendar. The Tap can also check traffic, weather, movies, etc directly through Wi Fi, no phone needed. However, the Alexa phone app actually helps you figure out what you can do with the Tap. The Tap can read Audible and some kindle ebooks to you as well! BTW, I haven't had any problems having it understand me, which is amazing, since I grew up in Texas and expected a problem with my accent. Obviously, this item is ideal for people who are Amazon Prime members, so you can stream Prime Music, although it also streams Pandora and other music services, and does many things without any connection to Amazon. I guess the most unique thing about the Tap is its ability to stream wi fi music directly, without a computer or phone driving it - that and the voice control. I have paid more for smaller "just" bluetooth speakers, so to me, this was a super deal, and continues to be a source of fun and entertainment!

The Ultimate Bluetooth speaker...I have multiple Amazon Echos and a Whole Echo System set up in my house. I Love Everything Amazon...I can't stand Apple but now I know how they feel...I am a Cult Member of Amazon!!! LOL So anyway...I have been trashing this device...The Tap...because it does not have the always on feature and that is one of the things I like most about the Echo. The only flaw of the Echo is it is not portable..I tried the Triby but I did not like it...more for little kids. So on Black Friday the Amazon Tap was on super sale so I bought it. The Tap is smaller than I thought it was...about 2/3rd the size of the Echo..which is perfect for portability...But don't let the size fool you the sound is only short of Bose when it comes to volume and sound quality. Important note...You don't have to have an Echo to use this device...just The Alexa App on your smart phone. The Tap does everything the Echo does..It is an Amazing Bluetooth speaker...AND IT"S PORTABLE!!! Automatically switches/remembers different WiFi areas and can be used with a Hot Spot. The Most Amazing thing about the Whole Amazon Echo System is that Amazon keeps making enhancements and partnerships weekly. Meaning something it would not do two weeks ago it now does...Some things Even better than Google Now...and Light Years ahead of Siri. The Tap is my new favorite device...it is PERFECT!!! The only flaw is that it IS NOT waterproof...Amazon if you are listening make the next Tap waterproof!!!

I already own the Amazon Echo, so for smart speaker, it is one of the most handy devices out there. There is so many things you will find that you can do with it and the list keeps growing. Since the software update that allows you to use "Always On" voice commands like its big brother, it has become my go to device. Pros: - Wireless Bluetooth Smart Speaker - I take it to work and use it in the car, even when I travel for work - Sync's up with my popular music aps (Spotify, Pandora, etc) - Alexa is very responsive and can answer your questions quickly - The best Alarm Clock - I sync up with audio books and will use it on long car rides or business trips - Speaker is able to get loud - Control smart devices like lighting and my ecobee - Option to turn Off/On voice commands, can use tap button instead - Very long range for voice commands Cons: - Only single band Wi-Fi 2.4Ghz - Battery life when using "Always On" voice commands is short - Speaker quality is sub par for music compared to other Bluetooth speakers Overall the usefulness of this device is near perfect for my needs, with only minimal cons. I use this device pretty much every day and is small enough to make for an excellent travel companion. Tip for BESTBUY: You should carry cases for this device as I had to get my protector elsewhere

Best Buy was running a sale on these and I thought I'd give it a try. I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. I'm an Apple guy so Siri has been my "go to" virtual assistant. I must say that I am duly impressed with Alexa. She seems to understand me better than Siri does. All the Skills and the ability to play music by just asking is really great! The fact that this is all available in a portable device that I can take with me everywhere I go is so useful. The Tap remembers both wifi and cellular hotspot connections so I can use it anywhere. Unlike its non-portable brother the Echo, you push a button to issue commands to Alexa. On the plus side, you don't have to say Alexa. On the negative side you still have to push the button. I understand why this has to be the case as it would not last long on battery power if Alexa was listening all the time. Amazon should issue a firmware update to allow Alexa to listen all the time when plugged in. The sound quality is good, not great. Other speakers in the $129 category sound better. But none have all the convenience of Alexa, Bluetooth, Wifi and portability in one package. I'll be buying more as Christmas gifts!

This Amazon tap is not only a great Bluetooth speaker, which is half of the reason I bought it for. But it also has some awesome voice control. I bought a wemo switch, plugged it into an old lamp, setup some commands with ittt, and in 5 minutes I was using my Amazon tap to control a lamp. Pretty cool. I love this Amazon tap it is light, portable, smart, has a great dock so I don't have to fuss with cables, and it has a 9 hour battery life, so I can go all day playing music.Being a Google play music subscriber The only thing missing from this speaker IMO, is a way to wirelessly stream my Google play music to this device using Alexa that is built in. You can use iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, prime music, heck even Apple iTunes got some love, but no Google play music. Come on Amazon show me some love. I pay 15 dollars a month for a family plan which gives me and 5 family members access to Google play music and YouTube red. So it would be nice to use it on my tap. But alas the Amazon tap is a Bluetooth speaker so I can always use my phone as a streaming device, or hook my phone up through the aux port as well. But all in all this is a great speaker, that can do everything any Bluetooth speaker on the market can do plus a little bit extra.

Full disclosure. I own five Amazon echos including a few Dots as well as this Tap, so obviously I'm a fan of echoes. Honestly I couldn't figure out from Amazons marketing and the online review how the Tap fit in as compared to full blown Echo and the Dot. I kept thinking it was limited compared to the Echo and the Dot because you had to Tap the button to ask it question. However given that it's completely portable and runs for up to six hours on a charge it makes sense that it would wast battery if it was always listening for a voice command. IMO, the Tap sounds just as good and maybe even better the the Echo in a much smaller form factor. Since it's portable it's probably going to be sitting next to you any way so tapping to ask a question is not really an issue and in someways is better when you have a full table as you can control who gets to request music. My friends and I get into fun wars asking for different music on the full blown Echo but it can also get a little annoying when someone plays Michael Bolton over my Bruce Springsteen. Bottom line just as good of sound as the full blown Tap in a portable and smaller form. Very Happy with all my echoes but this may be my favorite.

I bought this after I bought the Amazon Echo. This was actually an impulse buy. I saw it and bought it not reading any reviews on it, because I enjoyed the echo so much. It does everything the Echo does, but the sound quality is not great. When you're playing at middle volume, it's ok. The lows are there but doesn't sound good. I'm guessing I'm comparing it with the Bose mini soundlink. When you set the volume high, the bass is almost non-existent. The mids and highs are loud with the louder volume. Another difference is that with tap, you have to press the mic button to start saying commands where as with the echo, you can just say the wake up word and it will start listening to your commands. I do like the fact that it's portable. Because of that, I'm on edge of returning it and holding off until maybe another model comes out with better bass.

The Amazon Tap puts out an impressive amount of sound for such a small device. A few things to note if you're not familiar with the Tap or haven't seen it in person: - It's roughly the size of a glass of water - By default, you do have to press the microphone button to talk to Alexa, but as of an update released on Feb 17th, 2017 there is an option in the Alexa app to make the Tap always listen without pushing the button (at the expense of battery life) - The speaker grille is not metal, though it looks like it in pictures. It's a mesh fabric, similar to what you'd feel on the end of some speaker grilles and micrphones. It's firm and comfortable to hold, but if you push hard enough it does flex. - Using a sling or other case will most likely not allow you to use the charging dock, as there is very little room between the tap and the dock for any kind of case. - You can charge the Tap using either the included dock or by plugging any micro USB cable (one is included) into the back of the speaker.