Amazon Echo (2nd generation) review: Better than the original, but not as important

The Amazon Echo, powered by Amazon's Alexa digital assistant, were breakthrough products that forever changed how we control our smart homes. The inexpensive Echo Dot that came later made it possible to put Alexa in every room of a home without spending a fortune. The second-generation Echo is better and less-expensive than the first full-sized Echo, but it's not nearly as important as those first three products. The new Echo is roughly 1/4-inch wider than the original, but it's about three inches shorter. That makes it much less likely to topple over than the too-tall original.