anyone invited to buy Echo from Amazon [2014]

[Passepartout]

Thanks, Jim, but I'm going to keep it. Alexa does actually know enough answers about some things to retain her place beside her quieter buddy (BFF?) the toaster.

Theo, I sort of understand what you're saying about it's question answering capability. I don't use it much (I already know everything important anyway), and use Echo mainly for music/NPR talk programing during the day. 'She's good company, and occasionally answers me. The dog doesn't and just stares at me. And Alexa doesn't need to be taken for walks.

 

[hypnotiq]

to retain her place beside her quieter buddy (BFF?) the toaster.

'She's good company, and occasionally answers me. The dog doesn't and just stares at me. And Alexa doesn't need to be taken for walks.

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[theo]

Theo, I sort of understand what you're saying about it's question answering capability. I don't use it much (I already know everything important anyway), and use Echo mainly for music/NPR talk programing during the day. 'She's good company, and occasionally answers me. The dog doesn't and just stares at me. And Alexa doesn't need to be taken for walks.

Good and valid points, but in support of the canine advantage over Alexa here, with proper attribution I'll take the liberty of quoting Dave Barry:

"You can say any fool thing to a dog, and the dog will give you this look that says, 'My God, you're RIGHT! I NEVER would have thought of that'."

I submit that this is a more gratifying response than Alexa's unenthusiastic (even if audible) "I don't have the answer to that question".

 

[Ken555]

Good and valid points, but in support of the canine advantage over Alexa here, with proper attribution I'll take the liberty of quoting Dave Barry:

"You can say any fool thing to a dog, and the dog will give you this look that says, 'My God, you're RIGHT! I NEVER would have thought of that'."

I submit that this is a more gratifying response than Alexa's unenthusiastic (even if audible) "I don't have the answer to that question".

I'm sure you'll soon be able to customize that message to, perhaps, a dog whine...


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[Ken555]

The Amazon Echo keeps getting smarter, as promised.







And more stuff coming out form my team.

This might need a separate thread, but I've slowly been looking into smart lights (for lack of a better term) again and not sure which is best for me. I'd rather not spend many hundreds, but like the idea of a color selection other than white, and which I'd prefer work with one of my existing systems: smartthings or nest. I've successfully used ifttt to connect those two systems together for certain tasks, but would prefer not to buy yet another like wink, though will if needed. Also, I believe smartthings will be supporting apple's system (which is interesting since smartthings is owned by Samsung now). I may just keep delaying this purchase as there seems to be constant change in this market and I'm not sure we know which system will be best for the next few years...and I don't want to buy new lights every year.

Still, I like the idea of simply telling Alexa to turn on the lights (which, fwiw, has been possible with ifttt for some months now, I believe).


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[hypnotiq]

This might need a separate thread, but I've slowly been looking into smart lights (for lack of a better term) again and not sure which is best for me. I'd rather not spend many hundreds, but like the idea of a color selection other than white, and which I'd prefer work with one of my existing systems: smartthings or nest. I've successfully used ifttt to connect those two systems together for certain tasks, but would prefer not to buy yet another like wink, though will if needed. Also, I believe smartthings will be supporting apple's system (which is interesting since smartthings is owned by Samsung now). I may just keep delaying this purchase as there seems to be constant change in this market and I'm not sure we know which system will be best for the next few years...and I don't want to buy new lights every year.

Still, I like the idea of simply telling Alexa to turn on the lights (which, fwiw, has been possible with ifttt for some months now, I believe).


Sent from my iPad

This is why I was waiting to respond to your post last week... New stuff from my team...

Your Amazon Echo: Introducing Samsung SmartThings and New Skills to Try
You can now control even more connected home devices with your voice using Amazon Echo. In addition to controlling lights and switches from Belkin WeMo, Philips Hue, and Wink, Echo now supports Samsung SmartThings—including the new Samsung SmartThings Hub, the SmartThings Outlet, and the Lightify Smart Connected LED. A full list of Echo compatible devices can be found here.
To get started with SmartThings, connect your devices to your home Wi-Fi and name them in their respective app. Then say, "Alexa, discover my appliances." After Echo's confirmation, just ask:
• "Alexa, turn on the television."
• "Alexa, turn on the stereo."
• "Alexa, turn off the lamp."
• "Alexa, turn on the porch light."
Last week, we gave you an early look at a few third-party Alexa skills, including StubHub and Crystal Ball. Thanks @CariAL88 for showing us how you used Crystal Ball. This week, we have a few more skills for you to try. If you love playing games, you can try Bingo. If you're a cat lover, you might enjoy Cat Facts.

To use any of these new skills, you will need to enable them in the Alexa App. Simply open the app and tap on "Skills" in the menu, and then press "Enable" for the skill you want to use.

We look forward to your feedback via the Alexa App and on social media (#AmazonEcho). Missed any of our previous updates for Echo? You can always ask "Alexa, do you have any new features?", read what's new, and follow us on Twitter at @AmazonEcho.

And for the geeks out there that want to play with API's, we launched this today as well...

Introducing the New Alexa Lighting API
https://developer.amazon.com/public...8GWHAY/Introducing-the-New-Alexa-Lighting-API

 

[Ken555]

This is why I was waiting to respond to your post last week... New stuff from my team...



And for the geeks out there that want to play with API's, we launched this today as well...

Saw the email, looks great. At this rate you'll have it cleaning the kitchen by next year, right? (ie. control my roomba!)


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[WinniWoman]

I have a hard time getting Echo to play the music I want her to play- either my downloaded songs or my Amazon prime music streaming. She doesn't seem to be able to play by song title but mostly by artist. So I can't just request to hear a particular song. She does shuffle music by an artist, but I can't ask for particular songs.

This is also problematic for things like a sound effects album. For example, I have a Guard Dog 1 hour album on my Prime Streaming music list. The name of it- the album- is Guard Dog. (It is of barking and growling dogs- a burglar deterrent) Under artist it is listed as "Sound Effects". No matter how I request she play it, she gets it wrong. Not sure what I am doing wrong.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Amazon Echo Speaker Plays Music From Multiple Accounts - by Jon Fingas/ engadget.com

"Amazon's Echo speaker has been fine for playing music and audiobooks so far... unless you live in a household with more than one Amazon user, at which point it just gets messy. That won't be a problem any longer, though: Amazon has added support for multiple accounts,..."

Richard

 

[RonB]

echo app unreliable

I have given up on using the echo app for a shopping list. It has not loaded, or loaded a blank page too many times. And those times are when in the store ready to use the shopping list. It's not so bad if there are only a few items on the list, but for a "major" list, I can't remember everything. If you luck is like mine, it's the most important things Your forget... :annoyed:

I did report it and they said they would work on it. We exchanged a number of emails and it worked for four or five weeks, but it just isn't worth the effort any more ~ Ron

 

[hypnotiq]

I have given up on using the echo app for a shopping list. It has not loaded, or loaded a blank page too many times. And those times are when in the store ready to use the shopping list. It's not so bad if there are only a few items on the list, but for a "major" list, I can't remember everything. If you luck is like mine, it's the most important things Your forget... :annoyed:



I did report it and they said they would work on it. We exchanged a number of emails and it worked for four or five weeks, but it just isn't worth the effort any more ~ Ron

Can you PM me your info so I can look into this?


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[Ken555]

I have given up on using the echo app for a shopping list. It has not loaded, or loaded a blank page too many times. And those times are when in the store ready to use the shopping list. It's not so bad if there are only a few items on the list, but for a "major" list, I can't remember everything. If you luck is like mine, it's the most important things Your forget... :annoyed:



I did report it and they said they would work on it. We exchanged a number of emails and it worked for four or five weeks, but it just isn't worth the effort any more ~ Ron

Try the connection to Evernote I mentioned earlier and see if that's better. The Evernote app is rock solid.


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[hypnotiq]

For those that haven't seen it yet...Alexa comes to FireTV.

Amazon's answer to Apple TV: a Fire TV box with Alexa and 4K video support

http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/17/9340431/new-amazon-fire-tv-update-price-release-date

 

[pgnewarkboy]

Sirius/XM internet music service would be great on Echo. How do I get this across to Amazon?

 

[hypnotiq]

Sorry I've been MIA for awhile, we've been busy This should make some of you happy...

Two new Alexa devices...

http://gizmodo.com/amazon-echosbrain-is-finally-in-gadgets-i-want-to-use-1762452486

Also, launching more thermostat support on Alexa...

http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/3/11148624/amazon-alexa-nest-honeywell-thermostat-control


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[Passepartout]

Pretty cool Nico!
I have kind-of wondering how I would have a 'portable' Echo for travel or the second home. Looks like A-Z is ahead of me. I'm installing broadband there tomorrow along with Fire TV, which already has Alexa, so I'll wait a while to see if a hockey puck is needed.

Welcome back..... Don't be a stranger.

Jim

 

[Ken555]

Sorry I've been MIA for awhile, we've been busy This should make some of you happy...

Two new Alexa devices...

http://gizmodo.com/amazon-echosbrain-is-finally-in-gadgets-i-want-to-use-1762452486

Also, launching more thermostat support on Alexa...

http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/3/11148624/amazon-alexa-nest-honeywell-thermostat-control


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Echo dot ordered! (Though it seems it's also preorder and won't ship until 3/31, unlike the announcement).

Nice to see direct control of Nest, as well.


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[WinniWoman]

I'm not understanding what this "DOT" is used for. And what is "TAP" used for. I would love to have an echo upstairs. Do one of there take the place of an Echo? Is one better for travel?

 

[Ken555]

I'm not understanding what this "DOT" is used for. And what is "TAP" used for. I would love to have an echo upstairs. Do one of there take the place of an Echo? Is one better for travel?

Just watch the videos at Amazon.


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[Free2Roam]

I'm not understanding what this "DOT" is used for. And what is "TAP" used for. I would love to have an echo upstairs. Do one of there take the place of an Echo? Is one better for travel?

Looks like the "Tap" has a built-in battery so you can take it on-the-go.

I pre-ordered 2 Dots ("hockey pucks"...hahaha) one for the family room, one for my office... but I think my bluetooth speaker will suffice for portability, so I'll hold off on the Tap for now.

 

[WinniWoman]

OK. Thanks. So the DOT is essentially an ECHO without the good speaker and if you want you can hook it into another speaker. I like the DOT, but not sure I really need it. At first I thought- yes- I want this, but I have the ECHO remote which I can use when I am upstairs to add something to my shopping list. I really can wait to come downstairs after waking up to find out about weather and news and listen to music. I like the alarm, but $99 is an expensive alarm. We only sleep and get dressed upstairs and live downstairs for the most part.

The TAP you can take with you, but I see the fact that you have to be within WI-FI and the battery as a downside. I don't think I would use it if I was away.

Great ideas, though. The DOT is probably more useful in bigger homes I would think. The TAP- maybe for people who are away for a long period of time or something like that. I don't want to lug another device with me. Already have the phone, the laptop or tablet.....can take a few CD's with us or turn on the radio. But then again, we don't listen to music for the most part when we are away, except maybe in the car on the way to our timeshares, and even that is rare.

 

[hypnotiq]

It really depends how you use Alexa.

Dot is a great extension device for Alexa if you don't want the same level of quality of speakers as the Echo (or if you want to use Line Out) for other speakers but still want the features of Alexa. For example, I use it as an extension for home automation, being able to control lights and thermostat from bedroom, using alarms/timers, shopping list/flash briefing.

Tap is by far my favorite device because its portable and I can use it on the go! My wife has been dying for this to go public so she can actually take it outside the house. We use it around the house (garage, bathroom, back deck) for playing music mostly but also is a fun "party" device when friends are over and want to play with Alexa (has been limited to work friends but now can expand to all our friends). We've also taken it on vacation with us and has been awesome to use in the timeshares. We haven't been able to take it by the pool/beach because of the secrecy of the project but looking forward to that on our next vacation.

Basically Tap replaced our portable Bose speaker.

 

[hypnotiq]

The way our house is currently laid out with Alexa. This is spread out across 3000sqft house.

• 
  Echo in the Living Room which is reachable by the Dining Room/Living Room/Kitchen

• 
  Echo in Man Cave

• 
  Dot in Daughters Room

• 
  Dot in Office

• 
  Dot in Master Room

• 
  FireTV w/Alexa in Spare Room

• 
  Wife's Tap - Usually in master bathroom or on vacation with us

• 
  Nico's Tap - Usually in loft or garage or on vacation with us

 

[WinniWoman]

I get it. But, first off, most people aren't home all day. They are working. At our job, they have piped in music in the facility. Again- can't take and play your own music. I assume most offices are like that. As far as taking TAP to timeshares- sure- why not. But- at a pool - you would have to use headphones. Can you use headphones with it? Otherwise you are infringing on the other guests who don't want to hear your music.

At home, if we have company- Alexa is right in the family room/kitchen.We can easily hear Alexa from the living room and office. Of course, we could just unplug her and take her in there if we wanted, but we don't need to.We hear her loud and clear. We have a 2600 square foot home. Bedrooms upstairs. But just two of us. I walk to the thermostat and lower the heat when we sleep. I walk to the thermostat and raise it when we awake. One upstairs and one downstairs. We barely keep any lights on. Call us old fashioned, but we walk to the light switch and flick it on or off if we want.We are frugal and keep most of the lights off and many things unplugged.

The DOT I think would be useful maybe in our upstairs gym. Then would be no need for the ipod/headphones I use when exercising.My husband also has his office upstairs. And I like the garage idea for the music with TAP. Right now my husband takes his kindle fire in there for that when in his workshop. Of course, again, we could just unplug Alexa and bring her in another room if we really wanted the listening feature.

But, like many things, not sure I would want to spend the money on more devices for the limited use we would get out of it. I guess if I was bored at home all day...But, yes, very convenient to have an additional echo if you use it a lot.

Right now I just use Alexa as a cooking timer, shopping list, weather, horoscope, ask some questions about things, listen to a talk radio show I like, music maybe on a Saturday evening when I am home. Sometimes I ask her for a joke when I need some goofy humor in my life.If we went to the movies, I think it is cool she can tell you what is playing where, but we don't go to the movies.

We are real busy between work and home tasks and not a lot of play time. For that, we go away on vacations a couple of times per year.

I guess for us we don't have a lot of time to play around with her, but we do like her a lot. Just not sure we need another device. We are simple people anyway.

 

[Elan]

Haven't really kept up w/Echo. To what extent can one control a home's A/V system with one?