Usage & Final Thoughts
The smart clock has been living on my nightstand for the past month or so and I actually really like it. It might sound weird, but I really like it that I have an instant view of the temperature as soon as I wake up. I typically either go for a run or go to the gym in the morning and seeing the weather as soon as I get up allows me to choose whether I am going to wear joggers or shorts. Yes I could check my phone, or even ask Alexa what the temperature is, but having it there is just much more convenient.
Beyond just the weather and a clock you can give the smart clock commands like you would any other Amazon Echo device. So you can setup alarms, play music, turn on / off other smart home devices etc. It is quite easy to just say “Alexa set alarm for 6AM to Drake radio”. Talking about the speaker it is pretty powerful and will easily fill up a room the size of a bedroom.
I was a bit disappointed that you couldn’t “Drop in” on the device or call it using the Alexa app. This function is available to all of my other echo devices, so it was weird to not see it here. You can however add the smart clock to the “Everywhere” group in the Alexa app so if you were looking to play music throughout your home the smart clock can be added to your other speakers.
I think that compared to the Amazon’s own Echo Dot devices (even the one with the digital clock) the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential gives you more. While you are only getting a simple LED display you are getting more information that just the time, and like I said the temperature reading is actually quite helpful for me. At a price currently of only $48.59 on Amazon it is hard to not pick this device up as the Echo Dot (5th Gen) is $49.99 and of course does not have the screen. Not if you wanted to go up a bit in price there is the Echo Show 5 for $84.99 which will give you an actual LCD display and not the LED display you are getting here. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Built-in a 9 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Price
– Easy to setup
– Unique color options
– Pretty decent speaker
– Displays more than just the time
Cons:
– A bit limited on smart functions
– Can’t “drop in” or call it
– A bit hard to find the actual settings in the Alexa app
