Amazon Echo Club

[wodin]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Does anyone else think the Alexa website is a bit slow? It's not only those times when I'm in the grocery store and checking my shopping list, but someone's even at home it seems to take longer than it should to open.

Yes that was one of my gripes too, then I installed Todoist and linked it with Alexa, and Bob's your uncle.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by wodin

Yes that was one of my gripes too, then I installed Todoist and linked it with Alexa, and Bob's your uncle.

I'll check that out. I love the convenience of telling Alexa what to put on my lists, but accessing that info on her website is a major drag.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by wodin

Yes that was one of my gripes too, then I installed Todoist and linked it with Alexa, and Bob's your uncle.

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I'll check that out. I love the convenience of telling Alexa what to put on my lists, but accessing that info on her website is a major drag.

Does Alexa let you print your lists?

"Alexa, print my ToDo list"

[tubemonkey]

Exclusive: Amazon’s touchscreen ‘Echo Show’ pre-orders start tomorrow for $229.99 and ship June 28

Amazon’s new Echo with a built-in touchscreen, which I uncovered last week, will officially be called the Amazon Echo Show. A tipster just sent me the image shown above with new information about the product.

The Echo Show will cost $229.99 in the US and will be released on June 28th. UK and German pricing is expected to be £219.99 and €239.99 respectively, but may have different release dates. Just as The Wall Street Journal rumored earlier today, the new Echo will be available to pre-order starting tomorrow, May 9th. While the reliability of this new information is unknown, the release date and pricing match perfectly with information I’ve received in the past about the new Echo model, but was not able to verify.

Echo with touchscreen and video calling might be announced this month

The upcoming Amazon Echo with a touchscreen, which I leaked the first image of last week, might be announced as early as tomorrow, according to The Wall Street Journal. Sources tell the Journal that the built-in camera will, as I speculated, be used for a video calling feature similar to Skype.

The Journal’s sources say the rumored calling capabilities, which are expected to also come to existing Amazon Echo and Echo Dot models, will be released in stages. The first stage could be “as an intercom within the house between Echo devices, or between Echo owners.” I’d expect future stages to allow calls between Echos and regular phone numbers.

[tubemonkey]

Echo Show??? the name is rather mundane and at $230, it's overpriced. It's definitely not for me.

Amazon should ruggedize it and make it splash proof for use in the kitchen for recipes.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Echo Show??? the name is rather mundane and at $230, it's overpriced. It's definitely not for me.

Amazon should ruggedize it and make it splash proof for use in the kitchen for recipes.

Using it in the kitchen for recipes was the main thing I thought of as well, and it does look cool. But why I'd need to spend $230 when I could just use a $50 Fire tablet to do the same thing, I don't know.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Using it in the kitchen for recipes was the main thing I thought of as well, and it does look cool. But why I'd need to spend $230 when I could just use a $50 Fire tablet to do the same thing, I don't know.

Yep

$230 = 1 Echo Show = 5 Echo Dots = 5 Fire Tabs

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Yep

$230 = 1 Echo Show = 5 Echo Dots = 5 Fire Tabs

Exactly--I could see buying another Fire tablet, maybe even one with a larger screen, loading it up with all my digital cookbooks and all kinds of cooking and grocery shopping apps, and using it exclusively in the kitchen.

But of course then I wouldn't have the "cool" factor ...

If I had it to do all over again, I would have never bought my Echo. I would have bought a Dot instead. Once the novelty wore off, after with use I realized the speakers are not that great, after all the damn interruptions from a clueless Alexa responding to who knows what, after all the incorrect songs were played, after all the clueless Alexa responses to questions, et cetera, I have come to the conclusion that Alexa is a Dumb Home Device. The old "clap on, clap off" device from the 1980s was only slightly less useful. She is okay for turning on/off devices that are actually smart, she is okay for answering certain simple questions, she is perhaps okay for adding items to to do lists and calendars, assuming you use that Google crap, which I don't. But let's face it, she is dumb, and she is useless in more tasks than she is useful. I basically use my Dot to control a few lamps/lights. My Echo sits collecting dust in my study. I prefer listening to Pandora Music rather than Amazon Music, and I prefer listening to it on my iPad Pro 9.7 rather than my Echo. I have clocks all around, so no need to ask Alexa the time when I can easily see it. I have computers and tablets and a smartphone within easy reach, so it is easier to type in a question or search in a web browser to get answers, and doing that I also get links to other related information which I would never get via Alexa. In the end, Dot is good for a few things, none of which she really excels in, none of which I couldn't do with any of my tablets or smartphone, none of which the Echo can do better, although it has better speakers. So for my use, the Dot is the better choice between the two. I haven't tried the Tap, but no doubt it would also be over priced like the Echo and provide nothing I need over the Dot functionality. Portability? Not really. My iPhone is way more portable and way more useful than lugging around a Tap.

I think if someone likes the sound and the music from an Echo/Tap/Dot, then these are okay devices for that, albeit a bit pricey. If someone just wants a fairly simple device with always listening voice activation, then the Dot does that for a reasonable price, albeit not as well as it should. But I think all of these devices, including Google's, Samsux's, and Apple's if they ever introduce one, are far less useful than they should be. And I think the major flaw with them is no visual screen. A few tasks are okay without a screen, but only a few. Most of those few tasks would be much better with a screen. Many tasks like getting directions, adding and reviewing calendar and to do items, reviewing grocery lists, searching for a song, et cetera are best done with a screen to view and review. I think if you have a decent smartphone it will do all the Alexa tasks, do them at least as well, and be way more portable and it has a screen. Same for tablets except for the portability. And smartphones can have cellular connectivity, so another big advantage. Perhaps an Alexa type of device is better for some people, but not for me. I am underwhelmed by them. Day one equaled "wow", but by day 100 it turned to "meh".

[tubemonkey]

Introducing the All-New Echo Show

Here's Amazon's official announcement:

Today, Amazon introduced Echo Show, a new device that brings you everything you love about Alexa, and now she can show you things. We are also excited to announce that we are adding new capabilities to the Alexa Skills Kit that will enable you to optimize your skills for the screen and connect smart home cameras to Alexa.

Introducing Echo Show

With Echo Show, customers can watch video flash briefings and YouTube, and see music lyrics, smart home cameras, photos, weather forecasts, to-do and shopping lists, and more. Visit the Echo Show product page on Amazon.com to pre-order the device, see specs, and learn more.

Introducing Echo Show

Price: $229.99 FREE Shipping for Prime members once available Details

This item will be released on June 28, 2017.
Pre-order now.

Buy 2 Echo Show devices, Save $100

Be together more with your friends and family. Place two or more Echo Show devices in your cart and receive $100 off your order with code SHOW2PACK. Terms and conditions

[Bilbo1967]

It doesn't appear to be on amazon.co.uk yet.

[Catlady]

I'm happy enough with Fire tablet and my Dot, though the novelty wore off quickly and I rarely use the Alexa skills. Usually I just pair the Dot with my stereo and ask for Sinatra or classical music; if I want a specific album I know is in my library I'll access it through the tablet since that seems to be the only way to be sure of getting what I want.

Sometimes I ask for the weather. I have occasionally tried to ask for some random fact related to a TV show or baseball game I'm watching, like the name of a character or who won some award, but Alexa never seems to quite understand or give me exactly what I want, so it's quicker to open the tablet browser and search instead.

I thought I'd be trying to use the smart home skills, but I haven't--I already have remotes, and timers I can set when needed. Up thread I had asked about using Alexa with a robot vacuum I was considering, but I ended up buying a model without Alexa/Android capability, as I decided it seems more gimmicky than anything else--basically, I would have been able to schedule the vacuum through the app instead of setting the schedule on the vacuum itself.

For the price I paid for the Dot, I'm not complaining, though I did think I would use it more than I do.

[Blossom]

I use her for weather, time, timers and alarms. I also use her for spelling which makes hubby mad. lol I use her sometimes to find a business and get their hours. I ask her what day a certain holiday is on. I seldom use her for music as she almost always gets it wrong.

Sent from my Nexus 7

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Here's Amazon's official announcement:

Introducing Echo Show

On the Echo Show product page it states: "Make hands-free video calls to friends and family who have an Echo Show or the Alexa App." To me, that implies the Alexa App will have video-call capabilities in the near future, which would be cool!

I have an Echo, a Tap, three Dots, and a Fire HD6 tablet. I'm very happy with those devices and use them daily, but at this point I'm not tempted to buy an Echo Show. I do love gadgets, though, so I may reconsider if the price comes down substantially.

[tubemonkey]

Voice calling and messaging comes to all Amazon Echos and Echo Dots

Amazon has just officially revealed the new Echo Show with video calling capabilities, but that’s not the only device that will be getting calling and messaging capabilities. All Amazon Echos and Echo Dots will now have the ability to receive voice calls as well as voice messages, if you choose.

If you enable the feature, you can make and receive voice calls to other Echo and Echo Dot owners. To make a call, just ask Alexa to call someone on your contact list. You can see who is available to receive calls through the Alexa app. When receiving a call, the Echo device’s light ring will glow green and make an audible beep. To talk, just tell Alexa to answer the call.

In addition to making calls, you can send voice messages to people. Say “Alexa, message [name]” to begin recording a voice message. The recipient’s Echo device will alert them to an awaiting message with a beep and green light and they can play the message whenever they want.