We now have some Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) speakers available here. The Echo Dot (3rd Gen) is a smart speaker with Alexa (she who shall not be named or Miss A) voice assistant built in. With "Better speaker quality than Echo Dot Gen 2 for richer and louder sound" these can also be paired for stereo sound. The sound quality is actually pretty good for such a small speaker and if you link a few of them together you have a whole home audio option with voice control that actually sounds ok.
Stream music with all the usual's Spotify, iHeart radio, Apple music, Amazon music and a few others.
Like other voice assistants Alexa can answer your questions, set alarms and timers and control compatible smart home products. Turn on lights (like our Wi-Fi Smart Switch), adjust thermostats, lock doors, and more and even create routines to start and end your day.
Amazon has skills available for Alexa, apparently "tens of thousands of skills and counting" skills like tracking fitness, playing games, and more. Skills are basically apps for Alexa, while a lot of the voice control features work straight out of the box Skills can help to integrate other services or features. It can be pretty hit and miss as to what's available for the New Zealand market or what actually works but there is plenty to choose from. Here's a list of some kiwi ones https://www.kiwivoiceapps.nz/d/.
If you don't want Amazon listening in all the time you have the option to turn the microphone off and you can also access the information they have on you. They say you can view, hear or delete them at any time but I haven't looked in to this yet.
If you would like to try the Amazon ecosystem the Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) is a great entry level product or if you already have other Amazon products these little speakers can be very handy.
Check out our products page to buy online.