While I thought the larger Echo Show might be more at home in a kitchen with its large display, the Echo Spot is definitely more suited for the bedside table. Its sphere-like shape is a little bigger than a softball and reminds me a lot of the Chumby, which also pitched itself as a smart alarm clock. You can use it to see the weather, watch video clips, check on your baby monitor, or just use it to check the time -- it comes with 12 different clock faces, some of which can change color depending on the time of day.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to really play with it, as the devices seen in the photos here are just demo units and not hooked up to anything. Still, I did swipe around on the touchscreen for a few minutes. The display looks nice and crisp, and it was pretty intuitive from the brief time I had with it. The viewing angles seemed pretty good too.

The Echo Spot boasts a new microphone array with a new far-field technology that promises better noise cancellation so you can shout at it even in a loud room. Just like Echo Show, there's a front-facing camera so you can use it for video conferencing. There's also a built-in speaker, Bluetooth and an audio line out.

The Spot is available for $130 in both black and white and will be available in December this year.