I got a Dot for $40 a few months ago and liked it so much I got a second one at amazon.com/alexadeals for $20. Already had two alarm clocks with Bluetooth speak

I got a Dot for $40 a few months ago and liked it so much I got a second one at amazon.com/alexadeals for $20. Already had two alarm clocks with Bluetooth speakers built-in, so very quickly I gained a full-coverage voice assistant for home automation. It's totally a utility for me... turning on lights when I'm heading up the staircase, setting timers while in the middle of cooking, checking the weather/forecast, making sure there are no surprises on my commute. I use it to play music occasionally. I would have never started down this path if the device was over $100, though, so I agree with you there. $40 was just a good enough entry point for me.