As the internet-of-things gears up to shape the future of smarter homes, Amazon has come out with the new Echo Dot.

The Echo Dot is the latest voice control development, built on the original Amazon Echo. Unlike the original, the Echo Dot is more efficient and affordable and less bulky – courtesy of not having a speaker beneath it but rather, a small built-in speaker.

The small gadget is great at multitasking – you can use it to control smart devices in the home, play music, and keep yourself  up to date with current developments, such as the weather.

With the Echo Dot, you engage with Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant. Alexa can perform various tasks, from setting timers and alarms, tell you about your daily appointments, and answer questions about all sorts of things – Alexa has access to loads of information. Of course, the more smart devices you have at home, the greater the amount of commands Alexa will execute.

The rotating light ring around the top of the gadget tells you if Alexa is active – when the light turns red, this means that all the mics are disconnected. With its seven-microphone set-up, the Echo Dot is good at hearing you from most corners of your house.