Amazon Echo Club

[wodin]

It would be difficult to match Google's knowledge base without using... well... Google. They have been collecting data for decades.

[tubemonkey]

I've got ready access to OK Google on my Moto E, but I never use it.

And I rarely ask Alexa questions.

I rarely use Alexa or Siri to ask questions either. If I want to quickly look up a word, get weather info, a sports score, or something similar, any of these solutions should work well. I'm not thrilled with Google web search as it tends to emphasize paid advertisers. Amazon tries to push its goods too. But most of the reviews I've read said Google Home is far behind Alexa for now in total features, but I'm sure that will change over time. I'm totally not into Google/Android ecosystem, so I'll stick with Alexa and Siri.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

You might be able to, but you'd have to keep reloading it if you get the monthly plan because it's the billing card. Then you'd have to deal with the fees these cards carry.

Could you talk to your bank about getting a very low limit credit card?

I am guessing you have a family member that would spend money without asking first.

I just added my first smart home device, a TP-Link Multicolor Smart Wi-Fi A19 LED Bulb. Pretty cool. It didn't take long to set it up with my Wi-Fi account or with Alexa. Kind of pricey, to say the least, but at least it doesn't require a separate hub like the Phillips bulbs do. Still playing with it, but it seems to work fine and has some cool features. My main complaint is the Kasa phone app that controls it. There is an iPhone app, but no iPad app. Stupid! There is an Android app, but Amazon will not allow me to install it on my Fire HD 6, even though it is an Alexa certified device. Even more stupid!! I do have Google Play installed, but it no longer seems to work. I just get a blank white screen when I open it on my Fire HD 6. It was working, so I guess an update to the Fire torched it. So I can only review the Kasa iPhone app.

The iPhone app is pretty good except for one thing. There is a color picker screen that is rectangular and allows you to drag a bulls-eye with cross-hairs to whatever color you want to select. The problem is that the color selection rectangle goes from the left to right margins, and as such the bulls-eye cannot reach the far left side or far right side of the color scale, so not all colors can be chosen. Also the same is true for the top of the rectangle. No huge issue, but it is kind of frustrating. They need to learn how to better program the app.

It is easy to turn the light on and off with Alexa. I haven't discovered a way to change colors though using Alexa. I have to use the iPhone app for that. I'll keep experimenting to see if there is a command Alexa can understand to change color verbally. No, I doubt it will allow me to say "red" or "green" or such, but Kasa allowed me to set up light scenes wherein a color is assigned to each, so perhaps I'll find a way to enable the scenes via Alexa.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I am guessing you have a family member that would spend money without asking first.

No, but I don't want to take any chances of an accidental purchase by someone less tech savvy.

Anyway, I contacted Amazon and voiced my displeasure over the policy and told them that I won't sign on as long as the policy is in effect and that I'll be subscribing to Spotify instead.

Amazon and Spotify both have the same monthly rate for the family plan, so problem solved. Spotify gets my money and Amazon loses out. Such is life.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

No, but I don't want to take any chances of an accidental purchase by someone less tech savvy.

Anyway, I contacted Amazon and voiced my displeasure over the policy and told them that I won't sign on as long as the policy is in effect and that I'll be subscribing to Spotify instead.

Amazon and Spotify both have the same monthly rate for the family plan, so problem solved. Spotify gets my money and Amazon loses out. Such is life.

I don't see why you would have to share a payment method anyway. One person pays and you register who in you family will use it.

When Amazon households started to allow access to books and videos they made you share credit cards. In a cnet post they said Amazon gave this as a reason to share credit cards:

For instance, Amazon Households requires the two adults on the account to be able to share credit cards -- a change made to let those users share purchased television shows. However, having shared credit cards may not sit well with dorm roommates or distant friends.

Why would you need to share credit cards in order to watch a previously purchased video?

https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-res...prime-sharing/

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

I don't see why you would have to share a payment method anyway. One person pays and you register who in you family will use it.

When Amazon households started to allow access to books and videos they made you share credit cards. In a cnet post they said Amazon gave this as a reason to share credit cards:

Why would you need to share credit cards in order to watch a previously purchased video?

https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-res...prime-sharing/

I know. It's a rather lame excuse on Amazon's part. And that reason falls apart for a music subscription plan since there's nothing extra to buy.

Oh well. Amazon's loss is Spotify's gain.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I know. It's a rather lame excuse on Amazon's part. And that reason falls apart for a music subscription plan since there's nothing extra to buy.

Oh well. Amazon's loss is Spotify's gain.

It's not a real reason they give for households either:

For instance, Amazon Households requires the two adults on the account to be able to share credit cards -- a change made to let those users share purchased television shows. However, having shared credit cards may not sit well with dorm roommates or distant friends.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

It's not a real reason they give for households either:

They're hoping that the shared adults just order stuff because it's not their credit card and they aren't responsible for the balances on said card.

[tubemonkey]

One great thing about Alexa is the ability to choose default settings for playback:


Choose default music services

By selecting a default, Alexa will automatically use that service without you specifying the service name.

Default music library

• Amazon Music
• Spotify

Default station service

• Amazon Music
• Pandora
• iHeartRadio

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

They're hoping that the shared adults just order stuff because it's not their credit card and they aren't responsible for the balances on said card.

Funny thing hubby and I have separate Amazon accounts but share the credit card.

[KimberlyFDR]

I guess I'll never try another Alexa deal again Yesterday, they had a sewing machine on sale through Alexa for $142.50 that my mother wanted, so I ordered it. Today, through Alexa, the same machine is only $95. I was informed by Amazon that they no longer honor price drops, so in order to get the $95 price I would have to generate a return label, stick it on the box when it arrives tomorrow, send it back, wait for it to be processed, get the full amount refunded, then re-order at the lower price. So much hassle and generating so much work for the Amazon warehouse people when they could easily just issue the difference as a gift card as they had done in the past. From now on, Alexa's going to stick to giving me the weather and news.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

I don't see why you would have to share a payment method anyway. One person pays and you register who in you family will use it.

When Amazon households started to allow access to books and videos they made you share credit cards.

I used to share my Prime account with one of my sisters; she uses my address on her account and she's usually here a couple of nights a week, so I think she's legitimately "household." My membership lapsed without my being aware of it last spring, as I had cancelled automatic renewal on principle. But when I went to re-up, I found she would no longer be grandfathered under the old terms which allowed for totally separate accounts.

I could justify Prime when I amortized it over two people, but not just for me. It's a privacy issue, not that I don't trust her with my credit card. I can see where even married couples might not want both partners to have full access to each other's accounts - maybe especially married couples.

The upshot is that I saved $99 upfront plus all the money I would have spent on stuff because shipping was free. Thanks, Amazon! And I'm serious.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by KimberlyFDR

I guess I'll never try another Alexa deal again Yesterday, they had a sewing machine on sale through Alexa for $142.50 that my mother wanted, so I ordered it. Today, through Alexa, the same machine is only $95. I was informed by Amazon that they no longer honor price drops, so in order to get the $95 price I would have to generate a return label, stick it on the box when it arrives tomorrow, send it back, wait for it to be processed, get the full amount refunded, then re-order at the lower price. So much hassle and generating so much work for the Amazon warehouse people when they could easily just issue the difference as a gift card as they had done in the past. From now on, Alexa's going to stick to giving me the weather and news.

That's quite a price drop and a lot of hassle to go through.

Amazon's changing, and in the wrong direction. Their newer low-end devices only carry 90-day warranties, so I wouldn't expect them to be generous if one should bite the dust at day 91.