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NICOLE LEE: It's only been a
few months since Amazon released

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a second jet Echo
Show, but it has

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already introduced a brand new
model called the Echo Show 5.

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That's a little strange
on a couple levels.

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One, what's with the name?

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And two, why so soon?

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Well, even though
this is technically

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the third Echo Show,
the five in the name

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refers to the screen size.

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That's a little weird,
but since that's

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how Amazon names its fire
tablets, I'll let it slide.

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The other answer is that
the Echo Show 5 isn't meant

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to replace its larger cousin.

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While the big Echo
Show is designed

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for more communal
places, like the kitchen,

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the smaller version is designed
for more personal spaces,

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like a desk or nightstand.

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The Echo Show 5 is
essentially Amazon's

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answer to the Google Nest Hub.

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The 2018 Echo Show
and the Echo Show 5

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look very similar to each
other, except, of course,

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one is a lot smaller.

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The shorter stature
of the Echo Show 5

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makes it look a lot more
like an alarm clock.

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It turns out that's no
accident, as it also

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has lots of
clock-centric features

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that are not on the
larger Echo Show.

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It comes with
several clock faces

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and you can smack the top
of it to snooze the alarm.

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The Echo Show 5 has an
ambient light sensor

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to automatically adjust
the screen's brightness

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according to its surroundings.

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It also has a sunrise feature,
where the display slowly

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brightens 15 minutes
prior to the alarm

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to simulate daylight arrival.

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However, the sunrise alarm
only works when you set

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it between 4:00 and 9:00 AM.

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That seems weird
to me, as I thought

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the whole point
of a sunrise alarm

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is that it works at
all hours, and not

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just at the conventional times.

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While the Echo Show 5 may
have a lot of clock features,

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it's still primarily
a smart display.

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Its 5.5 inch screen
has a nice 60 by 480

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resolution, which
isn't the greatest,

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but since the screen is so
small, I found it acceptable.

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The images look
colorful and bright,

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and I enjoy watching videos
on it despite the size.

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I do think it's a little
too tiny for watching longer

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flicks, like movies or TV shows,
but it was fine for short news

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clips or music videos.

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As with other Alexa
smart displays,

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the Echo Show 5 supports video
from Amazon Prime and NBC.

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You can also watch
YouTube videos

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via the built in Silk or Firefox
browsers, though it's not

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as integrated at the
YouTube experience

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on Google Smart displays.

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If you decide to use the Echo
Show 5 in the kitchen or living

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room instead, there are also
step by step cooking videos

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from sources like Side
Chef and All Recipes,

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plus how to clips from Wiki How.

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Though you can use the Echo
Show 5 as a digital photo frame,

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I found Google's Nest
app to be a much better

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choice for displaying images.

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Not only is the screen
bigger at seven inches,

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it's also easier to use.

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With the Echo Show, I had
to go through settings, home

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and clock, clock,
personal photos,

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pick my preferred source of
images, and then pick an album.

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With the Nest Hub, I can
choose my Google Photos album

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with just a few taps in the app.

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What's more, Google's
machine learning algorithms

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are smart enough to
automatically compile albums

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of my favorite people and
pets, while leaving out

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embarrassing shots
and duplicate photos.

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One of the more notable
features of the Nest Hub

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was it didn't have a camera.

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It made me a lot
more comfortable

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having it on my nightstand.

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The Echo Show 5,
on the other hand,

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still has a front-facing
camera, which

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you can use for video calls.

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Unlike its
predecessors, however,

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the Echo Show 5
does at least come

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with a physical camera shutter.

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This makes me feel a
little better about having

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the Echo Show 5 in
my bedroom, but not

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everyone will feel that way.

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After all, it's easy to
forget to slide that toggle.

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It's just something you
always have to be mindful of.

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Packed inside the Echo Show
5 is a one watt speaker,

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which I found to be
surprisingly impressive for such

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a tiny thing.

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The base is powerful and the
vocals are crisp and clear.

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There is an option of adding
additional speakers via a 3.5

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millimeter audio jack
or stereo Bluetooth,

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but I don't think
you'll need it.

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The Echo Show 5 features a new
Alexa smart display dashboard,

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which you review by swiping left
on the far right of the screen.

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It has six shortcuts
to frequently

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used skill categories, such as
music, alarms, and smart home.

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The smart home shortcut
is pretty handy,

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as it brings up a list of all
your connected smart devices,

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like webcams and smart lights.

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The rest of the Echo
Show 5's features

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are pretty much the same
as previous Alexa products.

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I used Alexa to get
the weather forecast,

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check the latest sports scores,
add items to a shopping list,

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schedule events in the calendar.

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Perhaps the best part about
the Eco Show 5 is its price.

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While the 2018 Echo Show
was $230 and the round

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Echo Spot was $130, the new
Echo Show 5 is only $90,

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making it the
cheapest of the three.

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It's also more affordable
than the Google Nest

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Hub, which retails for $130.

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With its small form factor and
various clock-centric features,

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the Echo Show 5 is
essentially a combination

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Echo Show and Echo Spot.

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It's an Alexa smart display
squeezed down to alarm clock

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size, but without
sacrificing too

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much screen real estate
that photos and videos

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can still be enjoyable.

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I tend to prefer the
Nest Hub with its larger

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screen, smarter
photos integration,

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and the lack of camera.

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But I can definitely see the
appeal of the Echo Show 5.

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If you are an Amazon fan
who wants a smart display

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with solid alarm clock
features, then the Echo Show 5

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definitely fits the bill.

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As always, hit subscribe
for more videos

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and check out Engadget.com
for the latest

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in tech news and reviews.

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