Amazon Echo

Anyone else care to share their experiences or provide an update? Particularly interested what you use this for.
 
bizlady said:
Anyone else care to share their experiences or provide an update? Particularly interested what you use this for.
Click to expand...

Shopping list, to-do list, notes, etc. It is so much easier to say "Alexa, shopping list <item>" then it is to write it on a notepad on the refrigerator... not to mention that it is then on my smartphone also.

It is a lot easier to say "Alexa. How many ounces in a kilogram?," than to Google it.

It is so easy to say "Alexa. Set timer for 30 minutes."

I don't use it to listen to music (I have too many other sources for that) but I do periodically ask it to read me the news "flash brief." That's pretty handy.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head but it doesn't really do justice to answering the question.
 
It looks interesting but, if I'm in my home and I want to listen to music I want it to sound great. A speaker that small is incapable of producing good bass sound. I don't care about the voice control.
 
RonBoyd said:
Shopping list, to-do list, notes, etc. It is so much easier to say "Alexa, shopping list <item>" then it is to write it on a notepad on the refrigerator... not to mention that it is then on my smartphone also.

It is a lot easier to say "Alexa. How many ounces in a kilogram?," than to Google it.

It is so easy to say "Alexa. Set timer for 30 minutes."

I don't use it to listen to music (I have too many other sources for that) but I do periodically ask it to read me the news "flash brief." That's pretty handy.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head but it doesn't really do justice to answering the question.
Click to expand...


Is the "news flash" local news or national?
 
RonBoyd said:
Shopping list, to-do list, notes, etc. It is so much easier to say "Alexa, shopping list <item>" then it is to write it on a notepad on the refrigerator... not to mention that it is then on my smartphone also.

It is a lot easier to say "Alexa. How many ounces in a kilogram?," than to Google it.

It is so easy to say "Alexa. Set timer for 30 minutes."

I don't use it to listen to music (I have too many other sources for that) but I do periodically ask it to read me the news "flash brief." That's pretty handy.
Click to expand...
The "Moto" app on my phone manages all of that stuff. You need to align a note taking app on the phone first, though. But the ounces in kg, timer, and what's happening in the news are all there. You can ask it a plain language question and if it's a reasonably sane question, it will often read you a line from wikipedia or something. I don't know if you can have it play a specific radio station, but I just said "Hey, Internet machine, play songs from The Beatles" and it did. You can also say "call DW" or "text timmy". It will also automatically read text messages to you when it detects that your're driving.
 
sengsational said:
The "Moto" app on my phone manages all of that stuff. You need to align a note taking app on the phone first, though. But the ounces in kg, timer, and what's happening in the news are all there. You can ask it a plain language question and if it's a reasonably sane question, it will often read you a line from wikipedia or something. I don't know if you can have it play a specific radio station, but I just said "Hey, Internet machine, play songs from The Beatles" and it did. You can also say "call DW" or "text timmy". It will also automatically read text messages to you when it detects that your're driving.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is all true but... you have to dig the phone out to do it.

Yes, it will play specific radio stations. I said, "Alexa, play WWOZ" and Alexa said "Playing WWOZ from Tunein." And it play WWOZ (New Orleans). I did the same for KUVO and it tuned into the same station that was playing on my (Internet) Radio.

I said, "Alexa, play Beatles." and Alexa said, "Shuffling the Beatles from Prime music" and then played "Revolution." And to be honest, the sound is actually pretty good... with fairly decent bass.

It did poorly, however, when I asked it to call home... seems it is not a telephone.

It also did poorly with "Alexa, explain its vs it's."
 
I do have one kwibble with Echo. The Remote device suddenly quit soon after it arrived. When I called Amazon, the person who answered seemed to imply that it was a known issue and normal. He told me that he would replace it but were out of stock. He said he would put it on my "Wish list" and refund $30 immediately. I asked him to "back order" it. He said he couldn't do that... nor could I. Now four months later, it is still "unavailable" and in reading the customer "reviews," I find that folks are upset that Echo no longer comes with the remote (or not being shipped with it... I'm not sure).


Very disappointing. The Remote was quite handy while it lasted.
 
I saw the echo in action at a friend's house and was impressed. I later found that I could do almost everything that they showed me on my Android phone. I now talk to my phone a lot more than I used to. DW is getting jealous.
 
Depending on your cell phone provider, you can stream music for free. You can even use it as a hotspot to save data charges from your internet provider.
 
txtig said:
When I first heard about this, I thought it sounded kind of cool. But, on second thought, the fact that this thing is listening to whatever is said in my home 24/7 kind of creeps me out. You have no idea what is being recorded / stored online and how that data might eventually be used. I think privacy is already almost non-existent without placing an always-on microphone in my living room with no idea of who is listening.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
Click to expand...

Yup. That's the main reason I did not get one when it was offered at 99. In all other respects it sounds very useful.
 
This sounds great for some people, but not me.

Because I live alone, I think I'd feel like a blithering idiot or nutcase calling out grand verbal orders for internet searches. to echo throughout my empty home, when instead I could simply type search requests into the computer.

I don't often listen to music. When I do, I am happier listening to it on Youtube, because I get ideas there as well as availability.

I might like "set timer for 30 minutes", but I can do that on my iPhone or use my timer. Besides, that's not enough reason to spend money on the Echo. Hey, I just saved $180 to spend on other goodies! :D
 
Not much has changed since I posted earlier. We've had it for 9 months now. We like it... for the kitchen.

Perfect kitchen companion. No hands needed. Shopping lists. Music. Q&A. The speaker is not hi-fi, but it is enough for our kitchen and very casual listening. The shopping list is great, in that both DW and can shop and handle the list independently.
 
JoeWras said:
Not much has changed since I posted earlier. We've had it for 9 months now. We like it... for the kitchen.

Perfect kitchen companion. No hands needed. Shopping lists. Music. Q&A. The speaker is not hi-fi, but it is enough for our kitchen and very casual listening. The shopping list is great, in that both DW and can shop and handle the list independently.
Click to expand...

We've also had one for about 9 months and feel just as you do. It's perfect for the kitchen - it's small, the sound quality is really rather good, and the ability to interact verbally is great when your hands are busy.
 
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