我測(cè)評(píng)科技產(chǎn)品多年，老實(shí)說，這是第一次依靠孩子完成評(píng)估。

上周，亞馬遜公司發(fā)給我一款兒童版Echo Dot智能音箱。我家里已經(jīng)有很多應(yīng)用亞馬遜虛擬個(gè)人語音助理Alexa的Echo系列設(shè)備，但這次的兒童版音箱卻不是給我和妻子用的，是給孩子的。孩子們?cè)囉脦滋旌?，我可以告訴大家，這款Echo設(shè)備值得買給孩子。

很多家長(zhǎng)不喜歡孩子和亞馬遜虛擬語音助理Alexa講話，我可以理解。作為家長(zhǎng)，看到孩子似乎天生就會(huì)懂得跟設(shè)備溝通，晚上還主動(dòng)要求床頭圓乎乎的虛擬助理講最喜歡的迪士尼電影故事，你難免感覺不安。當(dāng)孩子找Alexa講最喜歡的故事而不是找你，或者你在隔壁房間聽孩子們跟著喜歡的歌曲音樂起舞，你可能也會(huì)覺得不是滋味。這些太容易實(shí)現(xiàn)了，孩子們對(duì)著機(jī)器說一聲就行。

但我也要告訴你，亞馬遜做得很出色，因?yàn)樘峁┝思议L(zhǎng)控制選項(xiàng)。

拆封兒童版Echo Dot智能音箱完成設(shè)置以后，我就獲得了所有的控制權(quán)，可以決定孩子怎樣用以及何時(shí)使用。我可以通過亞馬遜應(yīng)用FreeTime的家長(zhǎng)控制功能，選擇孩子可以接觸的內(nèi)容。我可以決定孩子何時(shí)不能和Alexa交流。如果想關(guān)掉亞馬遜音樂服務(wù)播放的歌曲（也確實(shí)試過），只要通過手機(jī)確認(rèn)即可。

沒想到的是，設(shè)置好家長(zhǎng)控制功能并確認(rèn)正常后，我不再擔(dān)心讓孩子在房間里跟Echo Dot智能音箱玩了。我也不介意兒子把早上鬧鈴的聲音換成最喜歡的一些角色聲音，或者要求音箱給他講愛聽的故事。

硬件方面，我比較欣賞亞馬遜的兒童版Echo Dot是普通版Echo Dot改裝版。設(shè)備體積很小，像個(gè)磁盤，隨便放在屋里哪個(gè)角落都很方便。不過，你很快會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)其內(nèi)置揚(yáng)聲器聲音效果特別差。連我的孩子都說，和家里其他設(shè)備比，兒童版Echo Dot播放的歌曲效果很差。如果你想聽起來效果好些，最好連上外部揚(yáng)聲器。

這款Echo Dot售價(jià)80美元，稱得上價(jià)廉物美?？墒聦?shí)證明，實(shí)際花費(fèi)可能遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不只80美元。

購買設(shè)備以后，你有一年時(shí)間免費(fèi)收聽無廣告插播的迪士尼廣播等廣播電臺(tái)節(jié)目、免費(fèi)月度Audible音頻書，還可以給孩子設(shè)置一些專門的提醒功能。一年之后就得在亞馬遜的應(yīng)用FreeTime Unlimited上注冊(cè)，才能繼續(xù)享受孩子喜歡的服務(wù)。屆時(shí)一個(gè)孩子就得花每月4.99美元（如果是亞馬遜Prime會(huì)員，每月可以降到2.99美元），要是想為四個(gè)孩子辦一個(gè)家庭套餐，每月要付9.99美元，Prime會(huì)員的套餐價(jià)是每月6.99美元。

盡管如此，倘若你想找一款新設(shè)備給孩子用，兒童版Echo Dot仍是不錯(cuò)的選擇。

Echo Dot強(qiáng)大的功能可能同時(shí)也是家長(zhǎng)選擇時(shí)最大的障礙。這款設(shè)備可以代替父母、廣播和鬧鐘做很多事，可如果你不喜歡看到孩子和機(jī)器講話，就不適合。

另一方面，如果你想找一些無需家長(zhǎng)（過多）監(jiān)督也能放心讓孩子使用的科技產(chǎn)品，兒童版Echo Dot就非常適合你，也適合你的孩子。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：Pessy

審校：夏林

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I’ve been reviewing tech products for years. But I can honestly say this is the first time I’ve relied so heavily on my children’s opinion before filing a review.

You see, last week Amazon sent me the Echo Dot Kids Edition. Although I have several Echo devices in the home all powered by Amazon’s virtual personal assistant Alexa, the Echo Dot Kids Edition isn’t for me or my wife—it’s for our children. And after several days with the device and time for the kids to try it out, I can tell you that the Echo Dot Kids Edition is worth buying for your children.

Now I can appreciate that there are many parents that don’t like the idea of their children talking to Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa. And I can tell you that you will feel a little uneasy when you see your children, seemingly born with the knowledge of how to communicate with a gadget, ask the virtual assistant in the small disc on their nightstand to tell them a story from their favorite Disney movie. You might also find it odd when your children request to have Alexa read them a story from a favorite book instead of you or listen from the other room as your kids are dancing to some of their favorite songs—all accessible with a simple request.

But I can also tell you that Amazon has done an outstanding job of giving you, the parent, control.

As soon as I broke the Echo Dot Kids Edition out of its box and set it up, I was given full control over how and when my kids could use their new toy. I was able, through Amazon’s FreeTime parental controls, to decide what kind of content my kids could access. I could decide for myself the times when they couldn’t communicate with Alexa. And if I wanted to turn off explicit songs from Amazon Music (and I did), I only had to confirm that choice from my phone.

In an odd twist, after my parental controls were set up and I confirmed they were working, I didn’t worry about leaving the Echo Dot Kids Edition in my child’s room. And I also didn’t mind when he asked to have some of his favorite characters wake him up with the alarm clock or ask for a story he loves.

On the hardware side, I liked that Amazon simply re-purposed its already popular Echo Dot. The device is small, disc-like, and easy to place anywhere in a room. But you’ll notice quickly that if you try to use its built-in speakers, the sound quality is downright awful. My children even remarked at how poorly their songs sounded on the Echo Dot Kids Edition compared to some of the other speakers we have in the house. If you want better-sounding audio, then, you’ll want to connect the device to external speakers.

At $80, the Echo Dot Kids Edition is nicely affordable. But your total cost of ownership might prove to be far more expensive.

The device comes with one year of free access to ad-free radio stations, like Radio Disney, audiobooks from Audible, and special alarms your kids might like, among other features. After that, you’ll need to sign up for Amazon’s FreeTime Unlimited, which gives you access to all the content that, after a year, your child probably won’t want to lose. That’ll set you back $4.99 per month (or $2.99 a month if you’re a Prime member) for a single child. If you want the family membership with up to four kids, you’ll be paying $9.99 per month or $6.99 per month if you’re a Prime subscriber.

Despite that, the Echo Dot Kids Edition still offers a nice value, if you’re in the market for a new device for the kids.

And perhaps that’s the biggest hurdle the Echo Dot Kids Edition will face. The Echo Dot Kids Edition does everything you, a radio, and an alarm clock can do. But if you’re not so keen on your kids talking to a machine, it’s not for you.

But if you’re looking for some tech that your kids can enjoy without (too much) parental supervision, the Echo Dot Kids Edition is the device for you—and your kids.