Amazon Echo

Got one at the early price of $100. Had to wait 4 months for it to arrive.

I'm just starting to play with the capabilities.

Likes:
- Perfect for the kitchen. Great for music with voice commands.
- Shopping list function surprisingly handy.
- Finding "Easter Eggs" is a fun diversion. (Ask it: "Open the pod bay doors..." and see what Alexa says.)

Dislikes:
- Amazon Prime's limited streaming list. On my TODO is to hook up other streaming services.
- Asking "How's traffic" is nice. But you can't say: "What is the travel time to xyz street" It only takes one loaded traffic site.
- Alexa understands me better than DW. I think we have to do some "training"

More to come. So far, DW and I like it a lot, but we've only scratched the surface.
 
I, too, was an early ($99) purchaser. I have had it for about two months and don't really think about much. However, it is just so useful, I would not like to do without it.


"I am sorry I cannot do that. I am not HAL... and we are not in space."
 
I just heard it mentioned on the radio yesterday for the first time but they didn't explain what it was. Price is now $180, available July 14. I'm intrigued - as DH's disabilities increase (MS) he is doing much more with voice on his phone, but he has to hold it which can be tiring, or pick it up and put it down which is not as easy as it sounds for him. I think I'll keep an eye on it for a potential Christmas gift.
 
If you're an Amazon Prime member and like music it's a "no brainer" since it perfectly pairs with Echo. Amazon Prime Music doesn't have as robust a music catalog as Spotify or some of the other paid music services, but it has well over 1 million songs, and a lot of classic blues and rock for us over 60 baby boomers. In addition, you can link Pandora and iHeartRadio to Echo for even further expansion of music availability.

Voice commands work great!
 
Other than the "Shopping & to-do list" feature, I use it as a timer in the kitchen and I, particularly, like the "Flash Briefing" that gives me a 10-15 minute synopsis of current news plus the weather.


I have another source of music but the sound from Echo is actually quite good.
 
It seems odd to me that it was offered to Prime members for $99, then it just sort of disappeared for a while, and now it's up to $180. I would expect it to drop in price pretty fast. I wonder how many they will sell at this price. As much as I love tech gadgets, this one just doesn't interest me much, and certainly not at almost double the price it was first offered to me for.

If it drops back to $99, it's probably not a bad price since it also works as a bluetooth wireless speaker.
 
Ready said:
It seems odd to me that it was offered to Prime members for $99, then it just sort of disappeared for a while, and now it's up to $180.
Click to expand...

My understanding was, at the time, that it was sort of a crowd-funded kinda deal. The early investors were taking a chance that it would have successful launch (actually be built) otherwise we would be "out in the cold." The incentive to sign up was the $90 discount.

I believed in the idea and trusted Google... but understood the risk.
 
We got in on the $99 deal and recently set ours up. Love it for playing Prime music and music stations, adding to my shopping and to do list while I'm working in the kitchen and also for the news and weather. It's come in handy several times as a timer and for quick reference on some measurement conversions that I should know by now but somehow manage to forget. It's definitely not perfect but I'd spend another $100 in a heart beat... not sure now much higher I'd go for the toy... probably $200. I think I'm sort of driving DW crazy talking to it... or maybe she's just jealous. :D
 
Yes it was $99 for me including the remote which was a bargain given what this thing does!


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
 
I keep hearing about the shopping list which sounds interesting. Do the shopping list synch with your smartphone? Can it play a stream from website (like a radio station, or my local NPR station)?

I'm not much into music but one of my favorite radio stations is beyond where our new house is but I can stream it so I can see myself using it to do that.
 
Yes, Echo synchs the lists with your smartphone (with an Echo App). It also synchs to any computer on the same network so you can imput with keyboard if desired... also printout the shopping list if you want.

I was curious about that because I stream radio with a dedicated radio (and also through SageTV). I asked "Alexa" (the name Echo gives itself) to "Play jazz station 89.3" and it tuned into KUVO in Denver. I, then, asked, her (well, she does use a feminine voice) to "Play jazz station WWOZ" and she tuned in WWOZ in New Orleans. You can, they tell me, create your own station by asking for a specific musician. I, also, asked Alexa to "play Pandora" and she said "Connecting to Pandora. Playing last station you listened to" and Norah Jones started singing "Come Away With Me." That kind of surprised me since I didn't have to "login."

This thing is amazing.


EDIT: The dedicated that I spoke of is a Sangean WFR-1, in case anyone is interested. (Amazon.com: Sangean WFR-1 Table-Top WiFi Internet Radio with FM-RDS (Dark Brown): Electronics)
 
Last edited:
pb4uski said:
I keep hearing about the shopping list which sounds interesting. Do the shopping list synch with your smartphone? Can it play a stream from website (like a radio station, or my local NPR station)?

I'm not much into music but one of my favorite radio stations is beyond where our new house is but I can stream it so I can see myself using it to do that.
Click to expand...

As RonBoyd said, it synchs to a free phone app. The app actually keeps track of everything. If I ask for a definition, it'll record it on the app for later viewing. It's chronological.

Also, I've been streaming radio and various music a lot lately. Kind of fun to just say something like "play coffee house jazz radio" or "play smooth jazz playlist" and see what it comes up with.
 
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
 
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.
Click to expand...

Echo isn't "on" all the time... at least not in the way you are thinking. It does, however, constantly monitor for the spoken word, "Alexa." At that time, it awakens and waits for a command. I suppose you could ask it to constantly monitor something and it probably would "listen" for that but that would not be part of Echo's normal operation.
 
Interesting. Though it sounds like a limited SIRI/Google Voice in a different form factor. Since we have iPhones, we couldn't use an Echo (yet).

Haven't researched, but does it really listen/record/store whatever it hears? That would be a bit of a concern for me.
 
Midpack said:
Interesting. Though it sounds like a limited SIRI/Google Voice in a different form factor. Since we have iPhones, we couldn't use an Echo (yet).

Haven't researched, but does it really listen/record/store whatever it hears? That would be a bit of a concern for me.
Click to expand...

They say it does not. It does listen and record what it hears after you say "Alexa". You can even reference it on your phone app. You can see how the kids were pranking it earlier in the day. Etc.

Of course, you have to trust Amazon that this is true. You also have to trust Microsoft that your computer isn't recording everything it hears. There have been malicious programs and viruses that have infected computers do such.

No Echo viruses yet, but who knows?

Look, we truly are living in a brave new world. It is right to ask these questions about Echo. But you need to also be aware of where else you are being recorded. It is just about everywhere now -- especially visually. I don't like the fact that there are now facial recognition programs that can know when you are in a certain Big Box store's parking lot, for example. Yes, they know it is YOU.
 
Living in the hinterland, my internet is through Hughesnet, so my data is severely limited. Anyone have some idea of how much data you use to stream music? This sounds like a good alternative to Sirius in the home with a lot more functionality, but I don't think I would want to pay for more bandwidth.
 
I love Amazon, both as a customer and an investor (up 50.3% since my purchase!!). But, do I trust them? Maybe not as much. And, can Echo be hacked by someone else? I certainly wouldn't bet against that. So, while admittedly cool ( I like the shopping list feature), I think I will err on the side of caution and take a pass on Echo. But, as a stockholder, I encourage the rest of you to buy at least one of these!


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
 
Hmmm. Good question, This Google search might help answer it.

Also this:

How Much Data Does Your Streaming Music App Eat Up?

The amount of data your service chews up depends on the quality settings. For Beats Music, Spotify, and Google Play Music, a high-quality stream maxes out at 320kbps. (Not all tracks are available at that high quality, but most are.)

Pandora is the only big mainstream service we could find that doesn't offer 320kbps streams. In fact, on mobile it maxes out at 64kbps. Lower quality streams obviously use way less data.

So what does that mean in terms of your data plan? 320kbps rate translates to 2.40 MB per minute of audio or 115.2 MB per hour. So if you were to stream music for an entire eight hour work day, you'd burn through nearly 1 GB. If you have a 2GB cap like I do, then this is not an advisable splurge!

Here's a breakdown of a number of the most popular services.
Click to expand...
 
JoeWras said:
Look, we truly are living in a brave new world. It is right to ask these questions about Echo. But you need to also be aware of where else you are being recorded. It is just about everywhere now -- especially visually. I don't like the fact that there are now facial recognition programs that can know when you are in a certain Big Box store's parking lot, for example. Yes, they know it is YOU.
Click to expand...
I have my reservations as well. However, it's a double edged sword offering real benefits and real concerns, brave new world indeed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Qs Laptop
Anybody Sell on Walmart.com?
Replies
1
Views
329
disneysteve
D
donheff
Engagement with a seemingly sentient algorithm
Replies
13
Views
505
donheff
donheff
Amethyst
NYT Spelling Bee - Queen Bee - any interest?
Replies
17
Views
391
Amethyst
Amethyst
aja8888
Got faked out on an Amazon order this week.
2 3
Replies
59
Views
4K
catii
C
R
What Debit/Credit Card Do You Use When Travelling To The UK?
2
Replies
32
Views
835
audreyh1
audreyh1

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom