
Amazon Dot was first launched back in the year 2014 and has continued to grow by leaps and bounds. It has numerous loyal consumers today. After Alexa garnered rave reviews, Amazon finally introduced us to Echo Dot, which is a one-of-its-kind product. This device is shaped like a hockey puck and serves as a compact virtual assistant. It can fit into all corners of your house. Here’s all that you need to know about the Amazon Echo Dot.
The setup and the design
The Amazon Echo Dot comes with a distinct and stylish design. While the circumference of the Echo Dot matches that of the Amazon Echo, the appearance differs when it comes to the volume rings. Users can listen to music without any disturbance because of the two additional buttons situated on the top of the device. It also has “listen” and “mute” buttons built into its enviable form.
The Amazon Echo Dot has one light ring, which is the same as the Amazon Echo. It is essential to indicate that the inbuilt virtual assistant, Alexa, is listening to what you are saying. Alexa can hear your instructions with the help of an array of seven microphones. This light ring also indicates whether the mute function is active or not. If the mute function is not turned on, random snatches of conversation might trigger Alexa to get activated.
The height is what sets the Amazon Echo Dot apart. It is around 32 mm tall, and the device is 20 cm shorter than its full-sized version. The size makes it quite compact, and you can keep it anywhere. Another thing to remember is that you should not place the Amazon Echo Dot too close to any hardware, or else it may not be able to pick up commands efficiently.
The final verdict
The biggest advantage of the Amazon Echo Dot has to be its compact size. It packs quite a lot of features into one small package. For a lesser price, you get a device whose voice recognition technology matches that of the full-sized Amazon Echo. Imagine waking up in the morning, listening to lovely tunes from something so small that it is not even in your way! Therefore, we would rate the Amazon Echo Dot a 10 out of 10 for its size, and give it an 8 out of 10 for its upgraded external speakers.
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Are tablets losing their consumer base
Read moreThe year 2017 has not been any good for the tablet market in the first quarter of the year. An estimated number of 53 million tablets were sold around the world at the start of the year. During the same quarter, the sales of tablets fell by 20% from 66 million tablets. This data was collected by International Data Corporation.
The shipment dropped by 15.6% over the year reaching to 174.8 million devices. When asked about the massive drop, Ryan Reith, an IDC vice president, said that Tablets without a dedicated keyboard are losing their relevance among consumers across the world. Therefore, the sales were falling worldwide. The statement was given to the Fortune.
Reith further added that countries in the regions such as Africa, Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe still brings hope for being profitable tablet market. Analysts believe that fall in tablet sales is brought by increasing popularity of smartphones, lack of innovation in tablets and longer upgrade cycles.
No doubt, Apple is still leading the tablet market. Company’s iPad devices are selling well. But its sales are too affected by falling market trend in tablets, according to IDC. Apple’s tablet shipment decreased by 19% over the years to 13 million devices in the fourth quarter. Apple’s iPad Pro that comes with the physical keyboard too can’t become hit among consumers. Apple’s sales of every ten iPad include at least one iPad Pro.
The smartphone maker Samsung too experienced loss in its tablet sales. The company’s fourth quarter shipments dropped 11% to 8 million tablets. Online retail giant, Amazon was third biggest tablet sellers during the fourth quarter with 5.2 million tablet sales. The company is more focused on attracting consumers towards Prime Subscription than on selling tablets.
Huawei, the Chinese smartphone maker, shipped 3.2 million tablets during the fourth quarter. The sale increased by 44% over the years. The company has succeeded in reaching out to the consumer in Asian, Middle Eastern and European markets. Its popularity among tablet user can be attributed to embedded cellular connectivity found in its devices. In the U.S., the shipment of Huawei tablet was almost non-existence.
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3 ways to make hospitals safer
Read moreDiseases and illness thrive in a stressful, unhealthy environment; whereas all growth and recovery take place in a safe, caring zone. This fact is of prime importance for hospitals as it’s the place one needs to stay in, for treatment and recovery from an illness. Here are top ways to make hospitals safer.
- No more breeding infections
For making hospitals safer, it’s crucial that the hospital shouldn’t be a breeding ground for infections. HAI (hospital-acquired infections) can be prevented with a proper safety regime followed by the health care professionals by using sterilized medical equipment, clean masks, hand gloves, gowns and white coats. Also, care must be taken that the patient does not get infected due to contaminated bed sheets, food, water, and medications. Certain germs can survive up to 72 hours on common contaminated surfaces; hence, it is important to educate the cleaning staff to follow a stringent hygiene process including their own hand hygiene. - Support of the latest equipment
If the hospital isn’t equipped with the latest technology, this renders the doctors incapable of diagnosing diseases, and this may create a list of problems for the patient. However, when the doctors have all the latest equipment, a hospital becomes a one-stop place for treating a host of diseases and the patients can rely on the hospital as well. Often, patients are left in a state of trauma at the end of surgery when the doctors, in the middle of an operation, are helpless as they don’t have the latest treatment devices to help their patients, which is the last thing hospitals would want. - Build a good network
Treatment is only possible when a hospital has an excellent network of anesthetists, surgeons, etc. who can detect and cure the disease. It’s only possible if the hospital has kept a reliable team of experts that the patients can rely on for their treatment. Once a hospital can set up a team like this, they can come close to being a good hospital for sure.
Every hospital needs to follow all measures possible to make them safer for an overall treatment of its patients.
- No more breeding infections