The Top Pros & Cons of the Amazon Tap

Amazon Tap is a portable Bluetooth speaker enabled with Alexa voice services that are activated by a tap of the microphone button.

• The Tap is a 2nd Gen Echo inside a battery case or cradle
  

It can survive up to nine hours of playback after a full charge with the provided charging cradle. That's plenty of time for on-the-go activities, but it's not without issues.

So does the Amazon Tap hold up to the Echo and Echo Dot?

The Amazon Tap used to have four distinct problems that made it inferior to similar products:

• 1. Needs WiFi or mobile hotspot

• 2. Wasn't always on

• 3. Required a tap to activate

• 4. Expensive

You can't always expect the Amazon Tap to work when you're out because it requires either WiFi or a mobile hotspot, which isn't always easy to receive outside your home.

When it was first released, the product wasn't always listening and couldn't be activated unless you tapped the microphone button. That defeated the purpose of what the Amazon Echo became famous for, which made its price tag confusing.

The average price is around $130, which is pricey compared to the $180 Echo or $90 Echo Dot, but it does have portability.

Luckily there are always deals on Amazon.com where the price is often $10-$30 lower than usual, so be on the lookout and this product can be a steal.

Is the Amazon Tap a failed product akin to the Fire Phone?

Maybe...

The Tap is an extension of the Amazon Alexa ecosystem that started with the Echo, so it didn't have to be a major hit unlike the Fire Phone, which was Amazon's first and last foray into the smartphone market.

Even if the Amazon Echo and the rest of these voice activated products were to flop, it wouldn't be as damaging as their smartphone launch.

Fortunately the Echo was a hit product that allowed them to create the Tap and Dot, and the Echo Dot is no failure.

• On Amazon.com, the Amazon Tap garnered over thousands of reviews and 4 out of a 5 star rating.

I didn't expect this item to be a big hit but it certainly won't hurt. In fact these products will further the Alexa ecosystem and could drive more people to get invested.

It's not like the company created a terrible device; it just felt a little too niche.

It wouldn't be fair to list bad things about the Tap without talking about the good things it has.

Here are the top 5 pros of the Amazon Tap:

• 1. Provides up to 9 hours of playback

• 2. Charging cradle + portability + battery powered

• 3. Uses dual stereo speakers powered by Dolby

• 4. WiFi/Bluetooth access to multiple streaming platforms

• 5. Integrated within Alexa's ecosystem and cloud services

With the charging cradle, you can charge it anytime and get a full nine hours of usage.

You also get good sound quality through the Dolby dual powered stereo speakers that can access numerous streaming platforms like Spotify or Prime Music.

The device is much smaller than the Echo, which makes it easier to be carried anywhere. You can even buy your own optional sling case to give your device protection against falls and bumps.

And what's seen as a negative can also be viewed as a positive. For some, having it be integrated into Alexa's platform is actually a great perk.

It can do all the things the Echo does, and it grows smarter every week because of consistent software upgrades through the cloud platform.

That's not too shabby right?

The number of Amazon Prime members are growing rapidly, and they're buying into Alexa's voice services.

What Amazon does best is create a giant ecosystem that fosters growth and purchasing power. Studies confirmed that Prime members spend a lot more on Amazon.com than nonmembers do.

Amazon Prime members spend hundreds more than non-members

The company has created the Echo and its Dash buttons because it wants customers to buy into their brand, and to be fair, they are giving us what we want.

However we want even more than we're getting. We want better products, widespread one-day shipping for millions of items, and a better Alexa enabled device.

Amazon Tap is not the product Prime customers have been dying to get, but they have become invested in the Echo.

The 2016 internet trends report showed that voice is quickly becoming the new interface and Amazon is still leading the pack.

They need to push those boundaries further for more customers to get involved because they have the strength to do so.

While Amazon customers gave the Tap four stars, I'll give it a 3.5 out of 5 rating.

I don't hate the product because it's not a horribly made item. There are several good things it does, but there are issues that irk me.

• The Amazon Tap is not quite the innovative device the Amazon Echo was.

On the other hand they could've made the Echo portable or battery powered, so why didn't they?

If the company really wanted to be bold, then they would've pushed those ideas onto an existing product instead of a new one to expand their market.

I'm glad they included the Echo Dot because at least that product is a lot cheaper and more accessible to the public. It also has a couple of cool, new features that further innovation.

So in the end the Amazon Tap is a middle of the pack speaker with extra attributes that may or may not be necessary. You're better spending much less for an Echo Dot.

In my opinion, those products are better than the Tap, but it was a valiant effort and definitely not a flop like their Fire Phone.