Vaux speaker dock review: Add battery power and an improved speaker to your Echo Dot

Amazon's Echo Dot is the most cost-effective way to add voice-activated control to your smart home. There's an Alexa skill for just about every smart-home platform, DIY or custom installed, and second-generation Echo Dot's cost just $50 each. I have six deployed in my own house, connected to a Vivint Smart Home system. The Vaux speaker dock changes that and delivers a bonus: A rechargeable battery that lets you take Alexa all over your house--and out onto the porch, too. The Vaux costs $50, so it and an Echo Dot still cost less than Amazon's own portable Alexa solution, the Amazon Tap. The Vaux's speaker not only sounds better than the Tap, it doesn't force you to press a button to get Alexa's attention like the Tap does.