Amazon Echo Club - Page 67

tubemonkey · 10-26-2016, 08:33 PM

Amazon has a new accessory for 2nd gen Dots:

Amazon Echo Dot Case --> this item will be released on November 9, 2016

$14.99 -- Fabric
$19.99 -- Leather

Available in six styles to complement any room
Choose from woven fabric or full-grain leather
Designed for a precise fit around your device
Provides access to all ports and buttons and full view of the light ring from any angle
Compatible with Echo Dot 2nd Generation only

tomsem · 10-27-2016, 01:56 AM

FWIW I just got the new Fire TV Stick and it will 'read' audiobooks and kindle books using voice command same as Echo. For all I know my first gen Fire TV and Fire TV Stick will as well, I have not tried it yet, having incorrectly assumed the Alexa app would enable it if the devices had that skill. But Alexa app doesn't have this app support.

But what Amazon should do instead is to copy Spotify Connect ('Alexa Connect') so that at least the Audible and Amazon Music apps can control playback on Alexa devices. The Alexa app can only do so much and it is a pretty bad option for controlling Audible/Kindle/Music even on Echo. Spotify Connect is slick, perfect for queuing up music without interrupting playback to do it, at least with the mobile apps (not sure if web interface supports it; I never use it).

But Amazon would also do well to have actual Audible and Amazon Music apps for Fire TV as well. And yes, a Kindle app too! I can do read on my Fire TV now only with Miracast or AirPlay. Likewise, TuneIn/Pandora/iHeartRadio apps could integrate better with Alexa devices.

jswinden · 10-27-2016, 10:40 AM

I got my 2nd gen Dot in yesterday and connected it to my Sony soundbase via an optional 3.5mm to 3.5mm analog audio cable. It sounds pretty good when hooked up to the soundbase (which is an audio system for TV and peripherals). The main drawback to such a hookup is that I have to switch the soundbase to the Analog mode to hear the Dot. But I also have to switch it to the various other modes to watch and hear the TV, Blu-Ray player, FireTV box, etc., so no big deal. The Dot's small size and price make it a good option over the Echo for installations like mine.

One minor software tweak would be nice. You can select a Wake Up Word for Echos and Dots. But you only have three options to choose from: Alexa, Amazon, and Echo. I chose "Echo" for my Echo in my study/office. It would be nice to use "Dot" for the Dot in my living room, but there is no such option so I chose "Alexa". I won't have any more than these two voice activated Alexa devices, but it seems like it might get confusing for those who have one in every room. It would be nice to use something like "Living Room Dot" or "Kitchen Dot" to activate them.

tubemonkey · 10-27-2016, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswinden

One minor software tweak would be nice. You can select a Wake Up Word for Echos and Dots. But you only have three options to choose from: Alexa, Amazon, and Echo. I chose "Echo" for my Echo in my study/office. It would be nice to use "Dot" for the Dot in my living room, but there is no such option so I chose "Alexa". I won't have any more than these two voice activated Alexa devices, but it seems like it might get confusing for those who have one in every room. It would be nice to use something like "Living Room Dot" or "Kitchen Dot" to activate them.

Echos now have Echo Spatial Perception to solve that problem.

Quote:

Amazon Alexa devices are controlled with your voice or through the Alexa app. If you have more than one device using the same wake word, Alexa responds intelligently from the Echo you're closest to with ESP (Echo Spatial Perception), and performs the requested task. You do not need to say the wake word before your request on Amazon Tap and Fire TV devices.

jswinden · 10-27-2016, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Echos now have Echo Spatial Perception to solve that problem.

That's cool.

You'll probably get a kick out of this Monkey. I just asked, "Alexa play 'In the Year 2525'." I of course pronounced 2525 as "twenty-five twenty-five". Alexas replied, "Playing 'In the Year Two Thousand Five Hundred and Twenty-five'." Kind of funny.

tubemonkey · 10-27-2016, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswinden

That's cool.

You'll probably get a kick out of this Monkey. I just asked, "Alexa play 'In the Year 2525'." I of course pronounced 2525 as "twenty-five twenty-five". Alexas replied, "Playing 'In the Year Two Thousand Five Hundred and Twenty-five'." Kind of funny.

..I just tried it. Most unusual.

BTW, I hate that song

ApK · 10-27-2016, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswinden

That's cool.

You'll probably get a kick out of this Monkey. I just asked, "Alexa play 'In the Year 2525'." I of course pronounced 2525 as "twenty-five twenty-five". Alexas replied, "Playing 'In the Year Two Thousand Five Hundred and Twenty-five'." Kind of funny.

I play "Jeopardy J6" on the Echo, and whenever there is a year mentioned in a question, she reads it like that. It's very distracting. I've missed several answers because it took me too long to realize she was saying a year.

jswinden · 10-27-2016, 11:34 AM

I love the song. I still remember hearing it for the first time when as a child and my family was driving to our vacation spot in the summer of 1969 and my older siblings somehow convinced Dad to turn the radio to a rock station. They must have played that song a dozen times during the trip to and from vacation. Perhaps I like it for the memories it brings back of our last family vacation as a complete family. My oldest siblings were already 19 and 17 by that time and soon moved on to start their own lives. Also three of the six family members in the car that summer of 1969 have since passed away.

But the reason this weird pronunciation is so funny is because the rhythm (or meter) of the song requires the years to be pronounced "twenty-five twenty-five" and "seventy-five ten" and etc. else the song wouldn't have the correct beat.

tubemonkey · 10-27-2016, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswinden

I love the song. I still remember hearing it for the first time when as a child and my family was driving to our vacation spot in the summer of 1969 and my older siblings somehow convinced Dad to turn the radio to a rock station. They must have played that song a dozen times during the trip to and from vacation. Perhaps I like it for the memories it brings back of our last family vacation as a complete family. My oldest siblings were already 19 and 17 by that time and soon moved on to start their own lives. Also three of the six family members in the car that summer of 1969 have since passed away.

But the reason this weird pronunciation is so funny is because the rhythm (or meter) of the song requires the years to be pronounced "twenty-five twenty-five" and "seventy-five ten" and etc. else the song wouldn't have the correct beat.

You can request music from specific years and she'll play it.

Ask Alexa to play songs from 1969 or to play 1969 Hits Radio from Pandora.

And if you have Music Unlimited, ask her to play the top 100 songs from 1969. She'll then start playing the Top 100 songs from that year according to Billboard in sequence starting from #1, though she does skip songs. Not sure why, since you can usually play those skipped songs if you request them individually.

jswinden · 10-27-2016, 11:52 AM

Alexa does have some quirks. Sometimes you have to be very precise on the song title. I tried to request "The Midnight Train to Georgia" but Alexa played "The Night Train to ..." instead. I later realized that "The" is not an official part of the song title for "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight and the Pips. So the article "The" confused her and she tried to guess what song I was requesting. Perhaps if I had added "by Gladys Knight and the Pips" she would have gotten it right.

Another quirk is that some popular songs were recorded by more than one artist. Occasionally I will request a song and get a strange version I never knew existed. So I now try to say, "Alexa play [SONG TITLE] by [ARTIST]."

tubemonkey · 10-27-2016, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswinden

Alexa does have some quirks. Sometimes you have to be very precise on the song title. I tried to request "The Midnight Train to Georgia" but Alexa played "The Night Train to ..." instead. I later realized that "The" is not an official part of the song title for "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight and the Pips. So the article "The" confused her and she tried to guess what song I was requesting. Perhaps if I had added "by Gladys Knight and the Pips" she would have gotten it right.

Another quirk is that some popular songs were recorded by more than one artist. Occasionally I will request a song and get a strange version I never knew existed. So I now try to say, "Alexa play [SONG TITLE] by [ARTIST]."

I've noticed the same thing. I prefer brevity and sometimes Alexa punishes me for it

Yolina · 10-29-2016, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswinden

Alexa does have some quirks. Sometimes you have to be very precise on the song title.

I find it really has trouble with some of my stuff... for example there is one song called 'Strogoula' and it only correctly identify my request maybe once in 10 tries - it seems to think it's mispronounced and randomly plays stuff from music prime with the word 'struggle' in the title instead

Also it gets a bit confused at times when I ask it to play some Einstürzende Neubauten

jswinden · 10-29-2016, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yolina

I find it really has trouble with some of my stuff... for example there is one song called 'Strogoula' and it only correctly identify my request maybe once in 10 tries - it seems to think it's mispronounced and randomly plays stuff from music prime with the word 'struggle' in the title instead

Also it gets a bit confused at times when I ask it to play some Einstürzende Neubauten

You might try adding more information such as, "Alexa play 'Strogoula' by New Model Army." The more information you give her, the better she seems to work.

As far as Einstürzende Neubauten goes, I think Alexa is going to be totally confused with German pronunciation, or any language other than English if that is Alexa's native tongue, especially if it is not pronounced correctly. So definitely give Alexa as much info as you can.

Yolina · 10-29-2016, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswinden

You might try adding more information such as, "Alexa play 'Strogoula' by New Model Army." The more information you give her, the better she seems to work.

And more often than not, I get a 'I can't find the song...' reply to that exact request. I normally have no problems getting Alexa to understand me

Quote:

As far as Einstürzende Neubauten goes, I think Alexa is going to be totally confused with German pronunciation, or any language other than English if that is Alexa's native tongue, especially if it is not pronounced correctly. So definitely give Alexa as much info as you can.

The Echo is also available is Germany, so I would have thought Alexa should be able cope but it seems that the UK version, like most Brits, doesn't do languages too well ... I am not a German speaker so can't claim that my pronunciation is flawless but I can manage the name of the band ok. I wouldn't however attempt to ask for a specific song if the title's in German Good thing I guess that their albums aren't on Prime music. Still, I've found that if I say Einstürzende Neubauten slowly enough then Alexa gets it more often than not.

Edit: And for a laugh I just asked it to play 'les habitudes n'existent pas' by Jad Wio. I can claim flawless French pronunciation since that is my mother tongue

I can confirm that the British Alexa doesn't do languages

we got there in the end after a frustrating 10 minutes or so, but its pronunciation of the title/band name is hilariously wrong

Bilbo1967 · 10-29-2016, 02:09 PM

Well, Alexa and Spotify just stopped working intermittently today. Alexa will sometimes work fine with Spotify; sometimes verbally confirm my song request but then play nothing; and sometimes refuse point blank to recognise my playlist names. Everything else seems to be working just fine.

According to Amazon customer support it's an acknowledged issue on Spotify's side which they are working to address. Is anybody else having issues?

10-26-2016, 08:33 PM	#991
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,771 Karma: 158733736 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	Amazon has a new accessory for 2nd gen Dots: Amazon Echo Dot Case --> this item will be released on November 9, 2016 $14.99 -- Fabric $19.99 -- Leather Available in six styles to complement any room Choose from woven fabric or full-grain leather Designed for a precise fit around your device Provides access to all ports and buttons and full view of the light ring from any angle Compatible with Echo Dot 2nd Generation only

10-27-2016, 11:52 AM	#1000
jswinden Nameless Being	Alexa does have some quirks. Sometimes you have to be very precise on the song title. I tried to request "*The* Midnight Train to Georgia" but Alexa played "*The* Night Train to ..." instead. I later realized that "The" is not an official part of the song title for "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight and the Pips. So the article "The" confused her and she tried to guess what song I was requesting. Perhaps if I had added "by Gladys Knight and the Pips" she would have gotten it right. Another quirk is that some popular songs were recorded by more than one artist. Occasionally I will request a song and get a strange version I never knew existed. So I now try to say, "Alexa play [SONG TITLE] by [ARTIST]." Last edited by jswinden; 10-27-2016 at 11:55 AM.

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10-27-2016, 01:56 AM	#992
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,959 Karma: 27060153 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	FWIW I just got the new Fire TV Stick and it will 'read' audiobooks and kindle books using voice command same as Echo. For all I know my first gen Fire TV and Fire TV Stick will as well, I have not tried it yet, having incorrectly assumed the Alexa app would enable it if the devices had that skill. But Alexa app doesn't have this app support. But what Amazon should do instead is to copy Spotify Connect ('Alexa Connect') so that at least the Audible and Amazon Music apps can control playback on Alexa devices. The Alexa app can only do so much and it is a pretty bad option for controlling Audible/Kindle/Music even on Echo. Spotify Connect is slick, perfect for queuing up music without interrupting playback to do it, at least with the mobile apps (not sure if web interface supports it; I never use it). But Amazon would also do well to have actual Audible and Amazon Music apps for Fire TV as well. And yes, a Kindle app too! I can do read on my Fire TV now only with Miracast or AirPlay. Likewise, TuneIn/Pandora/iHeartRadio apps could integrate better with Alexa devices.

10-27-2016, 10:40 AM	#993
jswinden Nameless Being	I got my 2nd gen Dot in yesterday and connected it to my Sony soundbase via an optional 3.5mm to 3.5mm analog audio cable. It sounds pretty good when hooked up to the soundbase (which is an audio system for TV and peripherals). The main drawback to such a hookup is that I have to switch the soundbase to the Analog mode to hear the Dot. But I also have to switch it to the various other modes to watch and hear the TV, Blu-Ray player, FireTV box, etc., so no big deal. The Dot's small size and price make it a good option over the Echo for installations like mine. One minor software tweak would be nice. You can select a Wake Up Word for Echos and Dots. But you only have three options to choose from: Alexa, Amazon, and Echo. I chose "Echo" for my Echo in my study/office. It would be nice to use "Dot" for the Dot in my living room, but there is no such option so I chose "Alexa". I won't have any more than these two voice activated Alexa devices, but it seems like it might get confusing for those who have one in every room. It would be nice to use something like "Living Room Dot" or "Kitchen Dot" to activate them.

10-27-2016, 11:34 AM	#998
jswinden Nameless Being	I love the song. I still remember hearing it for the first time when as a child and my family was driving to our vacation spot in the summer of 1969 and my older siblings somehow convinced Dad to turn the radio to a rock station. They must have played that song a dozen times during the trip to and from vacation. Perhaps I like it for the memories it brings back of our last family vacation as a complete family. My oldest siblings were already 19 and 17 by that time and soon moved on to start their own lives. Also three of the six family members in the car that summer of 1969 have since passed away. But the reason this weird pronunciation is so funny is because the rhythm (or meter) of the song requires the years to be pronounced "twenty-five twenty-five" and "seventy-five ten" and etc. else the song wouldn't have the correct beat.

10-29-2016, 02:09 PM	#1005
Bilbo1967 Not scared! Posts: 13,424 Karma: 81011643 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Midlands, UK Device: Kindle Paperwhite 10, Huawei M5 10	Well, Alexa and Spotify just stopped working intermittently today. Alexa will sometimes work fine with Spotify; sometimes verbally confirm my song request but then play nothing; and sometimes refuse point blank to recognise my playlist names. Everything else seems to be working just fine. According to Amazon customer support it's an acknowledged issue on Spotify's side which they are working to address. Is anybody else having issues?