Amazon Tap

1-Day Deal: Amazon Echo and Tap 15% off – TODAY ONLY

April 19, 2016 by M.B. Grant Leave a Comment

thank_you_amazon_banner In honor of being recognized as the #1 most reputable company in the US, Amazon is gracing us (customers in the United States) with a 1-day 15% discount on its voice-activated speaker and home automation hub, the Amazon Echo (see our Echo review here), and its portable Amazon Tap Bluetooth speaker (see our Tap review here).

(There is no discount on the Echo Dot.)

If you’re still on the fence about which one you want, go with the the Echo. The voice-activated convenience gives Echo an edge over the Tap, the Tap’s speaker isn’t that great anyway.

Get ’em while supplies last!

Amazon Echo ~~$179~~ $153.71
Amazon Tap portable speaker ~~$129~~ $111

They don’t do this often – I got my Echo on discount back in October 2015 and this is the first I’ve seen of a Tap getting discounted.

Amazon Tap vs. Bose SoundLink Color speaker

April 13, 2016 by M.B. Grant 2 Comments

Apparently, I have a Bluetooth speaker fetish. Over the last several years I’ve accumulated: a Bose SoundLink Color, a Bose SoundLink Mini (1st gen), a Bose SoundLink III, and (most recently) an Amazon Tap. Oh, and an Amazon Echo too, if that counts.

I also have a lot of opinions about how a speaker should sound, so let’s get started.

Launched March 2016, the Amazon Tap is Amazon’s first foray into the Bluetooth speaker market.

The Bose Color is a couple years old now, but despite being Bose’s most inexpensive speaker it’s still out-performing significantly pricier speakers.

Amazon Tap vs. Bose SoundLink Color

Audio (bass, clarity, overall quality): Bose SoundLink Color, hands down.

Bose Color has much richer bass and audio quality. It does one thing and it does it well.

The Color can get very, very loud. I’ve never even pushed it up to its limits, that’s how loud it gets. I thought my eardrums might burst.

Some reports measure it around 90 db without any sound distortion, which is probably louder than you’ll use it around your house unless you like to DJ for parties or use it outdoors. My family uses it outdoors near our pool (not close enough to get wet – it’s not water resistant) and it’s plenty loud, even without being at max volume.

Bose = strongest, loudest, clearest, bass-iest audio.

If there’s anywhere the Tap has the Bose Color beat on audio quality it’s the directional output. Color seems to output sound in a direct line from its front, and there’s a noticeable drop-off in quality and volume if you are to the left/right of the unit. The Tap outputs its audio in 360 degrees, so it doesn’t matter if you’re “behind” it or to the side of it – the sound is the same.

The tradeoff, of course, is the quality of that sound. The Tap just isn’t as rich sounding, especially on bass-heavy songs.

Portability: Amazon Tap

The Tap is smaller and lighter than the Bose Color (by about half a pound) and just seems to fit nicer in bags I’ve carried it around in. As another bonus, it projects its audio 360 degrees, so if you lay it down (like I’ve done inside my bicycle bag) you don’t have to worry about “facing” it a certain way to hear it.

The Tap also has a nice charging base that the Color does not. To charge the Color, you just plug it in to a wall adapter, but that plug in / unplug step hinders its “grab it and go” portability just a teeny bit, and that little bit of friction doesn’t exist for the Tap (just lift it off the base).

You can get a “sling” for your Amazon Tap, but it covers up the charging connection on the bottom (boo, hiss) but it does let you clip the Tap onto your bag (not that it won’t feel like a 1-pound brick swinging around…).

Battery life: Tie

The Bose has about 8 hours of battery life, the Tap about 10.

Battery charging: Amazon Tap

The Tap gets an edge on all things battery-related thanks to its convenient base. Just rest the Tap on top of the base (orientation doesn’t even matter!) and it’ll charge. You can use it while it charges. (You can use the Color while it charges, too). To charge the Color, you have to find the other end of its micro USB cable and plug it into the speaker hardware. Not a huge hardship, but I’ve rooted around under my desk enough times for the fallen end of the Color’s cable to take note of this convenience.

Closeup of the Tap’s base and charging cradle.

Price: Tie

You can usually find either of them for about $129.

“Personal assistant” features: Amazon Tap

This is where the Tap shines. Tap’s integration with Alexa, Amazon’s voice-controlled “personal assistant” service (it’s free, even if you don’t have Prime) is pretty powerful once you learn your way around. I use Alexa to turn my Philips Hue lights on/off every day, control devices that are hooked up through my WeMo plugs, access playlists that I set up on Amazon Prime Music (“free” if you have Prime)

Connectivity and ease of pairing: Amazon Tap

I’ve had far fewer long waits / unexplained failures to pair with my Amazon Tap than I have with any of my Bose speakers. I regularly switch up which device is paired with my speakers (an iPhone, an Android phone, and a MacBook Pro laptop) and I just seem to go through more connection failures with the Bose speakers than I have so far with the Tap.

It’s also worth pointing out that the Tap has WiFi capabilities as well and can directly stream music over services like Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio via WiFi, but the Bose Color only receives your music over Bluetooth (not that you can’t stream those services over Bluetooth via your Bluetooth enabled device, it’s just another step to be aware of).

Physical styling: Tie

Bose Color comes in a bunch of colors, many of which are pretty fun. The plastic case doesn’t feel overly rugged, but given that it’s a $129 speaker you are probably going to want to at least try to put it somewhere safe. The top of the Color speaker features an array of control buttons embedded in a single rubbery control panel. The inclusion of physical buttons is a nice addition, allowing for easy on-device control of the song selection and volume.

The Tap only comes in black, but it’s very nice looking up close (the speaker fabric in particular has a good texture to it). Like the Color, the Tap has a nice rubbery top with an array of control buttons with the same buttons for volume and song selection.

Bose Color comes in any color you want, as long as that color is blue, teal, red, black, or white. I feel like a baby pink one would’ve sold like hotcakes, but Bose didn’t consult me on color choices. 😉

Both speakers have the same drawback: they can both be tipped over with relative ease. Neither is particularly squat or bottom-heavy, so if you have small children or cats (or are just prone to flailing about), you’ll need to watch out for tipping. I’ve tipped both my Color and my Tap over flat on their sides, though, and no harm has come of it.

The bottom line

Assuming you don’t want to spend more than $129…

… for the bestest audio you can get, go with the Bose Color. It’s a great speaker and you’ll get years out of it.

… for streaming over WiFi and giving voice commands to Alexa (and you’re okay with the tradeoff on audio quality) go with the Tap.

Wait, what’s your price range?

If you’ve got a bit more than $129 burning a hole in your pocket, and you want rich, high quality audio (and booming bass) delivered to your ears via Bluetooth then you can go straight to the higher end of the Bose SoundLink series of speakers.

Yes, you will pay more than you would for a Tap or a Color, but the price difference is worth it. There is a noticeable step up from the SoundLink Color to the SoundLink Mini to the SoundLink III. Get the one at the top of your price range – you won’t regret it.

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The SoundLink line is sturdy, loud, and the rechargeable batteries last a long time on a single charge. These speakers that shouldn’t get left behind (technologically speaking) for several years to come. When Bose refreshed their product line and updated the Mini from the 1st gen to the 2nd gen, they barely changed a thing.

The SoundLink Mini is great for placing on your desk or in your kitchen as you work and for $100 more, the SoundLink III can fill the room with crisp audio and make you think you’re listening to a 3-speaker setup, complete with subwoofer. (And if you can tolerate the NFL branding, you can sometimes find the NFL-themed SoundLink III for just a few more dollars than the price of a Mini… depending on the season and how the teams are doing). I use my SoundLink Mini primarily as a TV sound bar these days, and it’s indistinguishable from more expensive sound bars I considered. Heck, the SoundLink Mini is even just as portable, if not moreso, than the Tap or the Color.

Of the four Bluetooth speakers in my rotation, the SoundLink III and the SoundLink Mini are still the two dedicated speakers getting the most use in my home.

Review: Amazon Tap unboxing and hands-on review

April 3, 2016 by M.B. Grant 4 Comments

Last updated: 4/3/2016

Our Amazon Tap rating:

I’m still super in love with my Amazon Echo, so I pre-ordered an Amazon Tap when it was announced and eagerly awaited its March 31st arrival. I was hoping for a slimmer, lighter, less-expensive alternative to my Bose Mini SoundLink and while the Tap lags behind my Bose in terms of audio quality, I found many other reasons to love the Tap over the past several days.

Read on for my hands-on Amazon Tap review!

Amazon Tap speaker is smaller than Echo and portable (up to 9 hours on battery charge)

Amazon Tap review: the Tap at a glance

Tap is basically a smaller, portable Echo with some notable tradeoffs. Its primary function is to be a portable Bluetooth speaker, but it’s greatest weakness is its bass quality. It’s not bad audio, per se, and oddly enough – it seems to have gotten better after using it for several days – but it’s definitely not the room-filling bass you’d get with a Bose Color Mini or a Bose Mini SoundLink (two similarly priced Bluetooth speakers that I already own and use around my home).

The big Tap advantage, of course, are that you get access to all that Alexa has to offer in this speaker (provided you have it on a WiFi network – no Alexa at the beach). It used to be that you had to hit the microphone button to wake up Alexa, but Amazon updated the software to allow Alexa to be “always listening” on a Tap.

You can ask Alexa to announce the weather, ask her to play one of your Amazon Music playlists, ask her adjust your home’s temperature (if you have a smart thermostat that is Alexa compatible such as the Ecobee3), or turn your lights off (like I do every day with my Alexa-integrated Phillips Hue).

There’s more: the Tap holds about 9 hours of battery life, which is competitive with other Bluetooth speakers in its price range. It’s also one of the more portable Bluetooth speakers I’ve ever owned, weighing about 1 pound and with no hard edges and no particular “facing direction”.

» See current Tap stock and prices on Amazon.com

How is Amazon Tap different from the Amazon Echo?

Tap runs on an internal battery charge (up to 9 hours), whereas Echo must always be plugged in to a power source
Tap has a 3.5mm audio in jack – note this is not for headphones, it’s for audio input
Tap is smaller than Echo – the Tap is maybe 65% of the size of an Echo
Tap can be tap activated or voice activated – you can decide whether the Alexa in your Tap is “always listening” or only listens when you press the microphone button. The other on-unit buttons let you skip songs, change volume, turn it on/off. This is true even when the Tap is docked.
Tap is supposedly a slightly, but not significantly, better speaker than Echo (both are 360 degree omnidirectional speakers, though) but I think the bass is lacking
Tap costs less than an Echo

What do Amazon Tap and Amazon Echo have in common?

Both Tap and Echo have access to Alexa, Amazon’s voice-controlled “smart hub” system. You can issue all the same Alexa commands to Tap as you can to Echo (just press the mic button first).
Both are 360 degree omnidirectional speakers
Both support streaming/playing music to the device over Bluetooth and WiFi

Amazon Echo and Amazon Tap side by side – notice the Tap is smaller and has more on-unit controls.

What is Amazon’s Echo Dot for?

It’s a voice activated “control center” that you hook up (via Bluetooth or the included aux cable) to another speaker set, such as a Tap, a Bose system, a Sonos system, or your choice. (I don’t own an Echo Dot). Echo Dot has its own little speaker inside, but the idea is to take the brains of the Echo and transplant them onto whatever (presumably awesome) speaker system you happen to already own.

Think of Echo Dot as Amazon’s way of saying, “You don’t like our speakers? Fine, you can hook this Echo Dot up to your own speakers – and still enjoy our voice-activated Alexa stuff”. It’s the best of both worlds.

As of this writing, the Echo Dot can only be ordered by people who already own an Echo, but you can still check out its features and specs via that link.

How does the Tap audio quality compare to other Bluetooth speakers?

The Tap’s audio quality is about what you’d get from a $120-ish Bluetooth speaker. It lags behind similarly priced speakers from Bose. It’s strength is in the Alexa integration – if you only care about audio quality, get a Dot and hook it up to a better speaker.

Weirdly enough, I thought the Tap sounded borderline terrible right out of the box, but after a weekend of heavy use, I swear it sounds much better. My partner insists this is because it’s gone through the speaker break-in period, which I’d never heard of before but it makes sense and the Internet agrees it’s a thing and the Tap really does sound better after many hours of use.

I also don’t think I just got Stockholmed into accepting it – when I compare side-by-side with my Bose Mini SoundLink after a weekend of use, the difference between them is still noticeable (the Bose sends waves of bass through my desk) but the Tap isn’t THAT far behind – not as much as it was when I first unboxed it.

If audio quality is everything to you, though, then look at the speakers Bose makes. I can personally recommend the Bose SoundLink Color (slightly less expensive than the Tap) and the Bose Mini SoundLink (slightly pricier than the Tap).

The Bose SoundLink Color in particular has a much fuller audio range than the Tap, comparable battery life, and identical on-unit controls. (However, it’s worth mentioning that the SoundLink Color is 50% (half a pound) heavier and slightly larger than the Tap).

Bluetooth Connectivity

The Tap really stands out at connecting over Bluetooth quickly and painlessly.

The best thing? You can wake up the Tap speaker over Bluetooth without first having to press a button on the Tap to turn it on. This means you don’t have to get out of bed to fire up the Tap, just connect to it from your phone. (As if my Echo wasn’t already contributing to a massive amount of laziness around here.) This works whether the Tap is on its base or not.

This ease of connectivity merits mention because of the many struggles I’ve had in the past with getting my family’s various iPhones and my partner’s LG to sync with various Bluetooth devices, including my Subaru Forester, his (incredible sounding) Bose SoundLink III and my own (beloved) Bose Mini SoundLink.

Bluetooth can be janky and annoying to get connected, so when the Tap just quickly accepted my phone (and my partner’s phone) it was like wow.

Amazon Tap unboxing

Just like its Echo ancestor the Amazon Tap arrives in a beautifully packed box. The narrow box to the right of the speaker unit contains the charge cable, wall adapter, charge base, and a small instruction booklet.

Inside the box

Amazon Tap speaker hardware
charging cradle
USB cable for charging via cradle or Tap unit
wall-outlet adapter so you can charge from a traditional electric socket

Tap’s charge base

Something I noticed right away with the Tap is how perfectly it docks with its cradle. With similar Bluetooth speakers, I’ve encountered occasional ambiguity over whether the speaker was actually docked or not.

Not so with Tap – it’s pretty much impossible to set it on the base in a way that makes it look properly docked without it actually being docked.

You can also get extra bases and charge cables on Amazon.com

Top of Tap unit (audio controls)

Play/Pause
Volume up/down
Previous song / next song
Microphone (wake Alexa up)
Row of 5 LED lights indicate when Alexa is listening

Back of Tap unit (pairing and power)

On the back of the unit, from top to bottom:

power button
3.5mm audio jack (so you can take audio input from another source, such as a tablet or TV)
a Mini USB charge port (use as an alternative to the charging dock base)
pairing button that is used to enter Bluetooth pairing mode or to help it get on your WiFi network.

The narrow port above the pairing button is the Micro USB port. You can charge the Tap via its cradle or plug it into the charge cable directly. Not having the bring the cradle with for charging makes the Tap even more portable.

If you already have an Echo

Think of Tap like a second generation Echo instead of an addition to an existing family. Echo and Tap do not communicate with each other.

I know, I was bummed about this too, and there’s a chance that it might change with a firmware update in the future. I mean, why not? Why not have the option to have the Tap listen for Alexa commands as long as it’s plugged in or on its base? I could see some potential for conflict if they both use the same wake word, but this problem doesn’t seem insurmountable.

Taking Amazon Tap along for a ride

My Tap is surprisingly well-traveled for having only been in my possession for a few days. Already, it has watched over several games of pool down in my apartment’s rec room and ridden along for many miles on a muddy bike trail.

Below, I stuffed the Tap speaker into my bike bag, turned up the volume, and became the only party bike on the trail Saturday morning. If you’re heading out with a group of people this summer, be it for a picnic, a trip to the beach, a party at someone’s backyard pool, a ride on the bike trail – you might get a kick out of having the Tap along to play some music for your group. My partner and I definitely did.

What could Tap do better?

It’s a competent entry into the low-end Bluetooth speaker market, so my wishlist is pretty short on this one:

Better bass – I am all about that bass, and even after the break-in period, the Tap isn’t quite where similarly priced offerings from Bose are on bass levels.

(I used to have an item here for “let it be always listening like the normal Echo” but Amazon added that, so this list got shorter!)

The bottom line

It’s a solid speaker with a lot of nice extras thanks to Alexa integration. If you already have an Echo and want to keep doing things you do with the Echo, you can keep doing them with a Tap.

Mostly, it’s about tradeoffs: with a comparably priced Bose, you’ll get richer bass but you won’t get access to Alexa features and I think the Bose physical designs are somewhat less portable than the Tap.

» Check out the Amazon Tap on Amazon.com