Amazon Echo Club

Originally Posted by wodin

I wonder if you can run the Alexa app on the show?

In the "Simple to Set Up and Use" section of this Amazon page it seems to indicate the Alexa app is an integral part of the Show:

Use the Alexa App to connect music services you already use like Spotify and Pandora. Link your calendar from Google, G Suite, iCloud, Outlook.com or Office365. Setup your smart home devices from Philips Hue, TP-Link, ecobee, WeMo, SmartThings, Insteon, Wink, Nest, Lutron, and more. Control your timers and set custom tones for your alarms, and much more. Alexa App is available for iOS, Android, and Fire devices.

And since you need the Alexa app to do much in the set up, it is highly unlikely that Amazon would exclude it from the Show. But with Beso's Bozos one never knows...

Here is a decent review the the Echo Show. I like how he points out the good as well as the bad and where it is lacking in functionality. I was amazed to see that the touchscreen does not always utilize touch. That seems odd. And he confirms that you cannot get Netflix, Hulu, etc. on it yet, maybe in the future. It also seemed much bigger than I thought it would be, especially front to back. And no, it is not basically a Fire Tablet glued to an Echo. The functionality of the screen appears to be very limited to Alexa specific tasks and functions. It will certainly be nice to see MR folks giving their reviews, rather than just those from tech sites.



Oh, and that Drop In feature definitely looks creepy and I would not be surprised if it gets hacked by someone before long. Definitely would disable that feature, and maybe put a piece of tape over the camera too!

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Here is a decent review the the Echo Show. I like how he points out the good as well as the bad and where it is lacking in functionality.

That's a very informative review video! Thanks for posting it.

[copyrite]

The intercom feature is live for me and it works quite well!

https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/26/1...vices-dot-show

[wodin]

Originally Posted by copyrite

The intercom feature is live for me and it works quite well!

https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/26/1...vices-dot-show

Wow, just what I've been asking Jeff's kids for since the very beginning. Time to see just how well it works.

According to the Verge article, concerning the new intercom feature:

You’ll need to set up two things to enable the intercom feature on your Echo devices: first, each individual Echo needs to have its own room name configured on the Alexa app, and you’ll need to make sure that drop-in is enabled within your house as well as in the Alexa app.

Creepy, really creepy! Why require drop in for an intercom to be able to work? That's insane. Family is one thing, but friends too can drop in unannounced. And who knows who all your various family members will invite into the system. Let's all drop in on Jeff at 3:00am and see how he likes his new feature then. Okay, we will have to wait until the feature gets hacked, but it is only a matter of time. Fortunately I live alone so this feature will be disabled, or at least I hope it will be disabled.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by jswinden

According to the Verge article, concerning the new intercom feature:



Creepy, really creepy! Why require drop in for an intercom to be able to work? That's insane. Family is one thing, but friends too can drop in unannounced. And who knows who all your various family members will invite into the system. Let's all drop in on Jeff at 3:00am and see how he likes his new feature then. Okay, we will have to wait until the feature gets hacked, but it is only a matter of time. Fortunately I live alone so this feature will be disabled, or at least I hope it will be disabled.

I wanna drop in on the NSA's Echos and listen

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I wanna drop in on the NSA's Echos and listen

Yes, but if you hear them listening in on you...even more creepy!

But back to the serious side. When laptops started coming equipped with front facing cameras for videoconferencing, those cameras were quickly hacked. OS makers are a bit more conscious of that threat now and better guard against it, but there are still a lot of stories about crooks and jerks of all kinds hacking baby monitors, security cameras, and other devices. I can only imagine that the Echo Show, and now the other Echos as well, will be prime hacking targets due to the drop in feature. I suspect Amazon will take a huge amount of flack over drop in, and they already are in every review I've seen or read, and thus will likely tighten up the security for it. But until they rewrite some of the drop in code, I would use caution with that feature.

ETA: But even without the hacker element, people who use the drop in feature might have other folks drop in on them, people they were unaware had that ability. It reminds me of the Facebook set up. A lot of people are unaware of who all can read their posts. If you select Public, you should assume anyone can. But if you select Friends, you might think ONLY friends can read them, but that is incorrect. Friends of friends can read them in some circumstances. So Amazon really needs to think this drop in through very carefully, and I seriously doubt they have done that so far. They need some clear and easy to set settings to control who can drop in. Basically, they need to idiot-proof drop in.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Here is a decent review the the Echo Show.


Oh, and that Drop In feature definitely looks creepy and I would not be surprised if it gets hacked by someone before long. Definitely would disable that feature, and maybe put a piece of tape over the camera too!

That is way cooler than I thought it would be. So futuristic! I wonder what the Black Friday price will be.

[booklover6]

Never realized I could play Sirius XM on the Echo until now. Hubby's gonna like that.

Originally Posted by booklover6

Never realized I could play Sirius XM on the Echo until now. Hubby's gonna like that.

I think that is a new feature. However, I once had XM/Sirius and I remember they charged extra for the internet version, so I doubt a single radio subscription will work. I keep hoping XM/Sirius will feel the heat from all the streaming services and lower their prices, but I doubt they will any time soon. Most streaming music services have a $10/month premium service that is usable on multiple devices. XM/Sirius charges way more than that just for a single radio. I do like the XM radio stations though.

[copyrite]

That's a new skill in the last couple of weeks.

I dusted off the echo remote this morning and then cleaned inside the battery case very well as the batteries were just in the early stages of corrosion. Should've known better than to leave the batteries in a rarely used remote!

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

[DreamWriter]

I would be most grateful for any assistance in setting up the new intercom feature...

First, I have the latest version of the Alexa app on my non-activated Android phone. I don't own an activated cell phone, so that's my only option. This may be the reason intercom setup isn't working, but I'm not sure.

In the Alexa app, I went to Settings>General and individually changed the names of my Echo and two Dots to Kitchen, Living Room, and Bedroom. I then set "Drop-In" to "On" for each device. (I also tried setting "Drop In" to "Only my household" with no effect.)

That's all I did. Is there another step I missed (or are unable to perform due to the phone's non-activated status)?

When I'm in the kitchen, I say, "Echo, call living room." The kitchen device responds, "To make calls, first register in your Alexa app."

Does anyone know if I'm doing something wrong? My Echo devices have the latest software according to this page.

Added ~ I found this by searching the Internet (emphasis mine):

The intercom system works through household groups created during the setup process, meaning it's not limited to speakers on the same Wi-Fi, so it's possible to communicate with Echo-owning friends or relatives in a different area code, for instance. Users can also use the feature away from home using the Alexa app.

I don't see any way to set up "household groups." Is that because my phone isn't activated?

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

I would be most grateful for any assistance in setting up the new intercom feature...

First, I have the latest version of the Alexa app on my non-activated Android phone. I don't own an activated cell phone, so that's my only option. This may be the reason intercom setup isn't working, but I'm not sure.

In the Alexa app, I went to Settings>General and individually changed the names of my Echo and two Dots to Kitchen, Living Room, and Bedroom. I then set "Drop-In" to "On" for each device. (I also tried setting "Drop In" to "Only my household" with no effect.)

That's all I did. Is there another step I missed (or are unable to perform due to the phone's non-activated status)?

When I'm in the kitchen, I say, "Echo, call living room." The kitchen device responds, "To make calls, first register in your Alexa app."

Does anyone know if I'm doing something wrong? My Echo devices have the latest software according to this page.

I tried the same steps you did using my activated iPhone 7, but she still said, "To make calls, first register in your Alexa app." Where did you find these instructions. My Echo and Dot gen 2 both have the latest listed FW according to that web page, but perhaps they haven't kept the page up to date.

And BTW, my Echo and Dot were both already set to Drop In = ON. That pisses me off. They should be set to OFF unless we want them turned ON. I probably would never have noticed if I hadn't gone in to see if I could help out DreamWriter as I won't be using the intercom feature.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I tried the same steps you did using my activated iPhone 7, but she still said, "To make calls, first register in your Alexa app." Where did you find these instructions.

I found very basic setup information here. I couldn't find a help page specifically for the intercom feature at Amazon, but this page has info regarding "Drop In."

My Echo and Dot gen 2 both have the latest listed FW according to that web page, but perhaps they haven't kept the page up to date.

I wondered the same thing. But I would think I'd get a different message than "To make calls, first register in your Alexa app" if my Echo's software wasn't up to date.

And BTW, my Echo and Dot were both already set to Drop In = ON. That pisses me off. They should be set to OFF unless we want them turned ON. I probably would never have noticed if I hadn't gone in to see if I could help out DreamWriter as I won't be using the intercom feature.

Mine were set to "On" by default, too.

Thanks so much for trying! I'd really like to get this feature to work.