Amazon Echo Club

[wodin]

I found a hack that says it will let Alexa call 911, but it involves linking her to a tablet or iPad through IFTTT, and the tablet actually makes the call.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I'd like a Dot of it is $35 and I get another $10 off, not holding my breath, though.

I ordered one, but I'm not sure I'll see ther $10 credit either. I may return it if I don't.

My wife got the Fire HD8 that she's been wanting for a while.

Prime Day is really bad for someone like me, when I'm supposed to be saving as much money as possible this month. I wish it was in August instead...I wouldn't feel as guilty.

We've managed to resist all OTHER impulse buying at least...but if that Instant Pot Duo6 becomes available again...we want a spare....

[ApK]

While I'm here:

Any one know how to ask Alexa to play a different version of song?

If I ask her, for example, to play "Bang Bang (my baby shot me down) by Cher" I get her re-release from the 80s. How to I ask for another version (particularly if I didn't happen to know the year of the other version)?

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by ApK

While I'm here:

Any one know how to ask Alexa to play a different version of song?

If I ask her, for example, to play "Bang Bang (my baby shot me down) by Cher" I get her re-release from the 80s. How to I ask for another version (particularly if I didn't happen to know the year of the other version)?

If you are thinking of the older one, the year was 1966.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by ApK

While I'm here:

Any one know how to ask Alexa to play a different version of song?

If I ask her, for example, to play "Bang Bang (my baby shot me down) by Cher" I get her re-release from the 80s. How to I ask for another version (particularly if I didn't happen to know the year of the other version)?

I encounter that problem frequently. To get around it, I go into the Spotify app, pull up the artist, then scan the albums looking for the version I want. When I find it, I note how the song is titled and then use that exact phrasing for subsequent requests. It's a pain to have to jump through these hoops. I wish song requests would default to the original release (or remasters). I hate it when I get live or re-recorded versions when requesting songs.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I'd like a Dot of it is $35 and I get another $10 off, not holding my breath, though.

Originally Posted by ApK

I ordered one, but I'm not sure I'll see ther $10 credit either. I may return it if I don't.

I got my credit this morning.

Thank you for ordering an Alexa Deal on Prime Day. As a thank you, a $10 credit will be applied when you check out with an eligible item on Amazon.com. Item must be sold by Amazon.com. Your credit expires on July 1, 2018.*

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

If you are thinking of the older one, the year was 1966.

I know. It was just an example.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by ApK

I know. It was just an example.

You mean I googled for nothing.

[tubemonkey]

I just got this notice on my phone.

Here's your $5 Amazon shopping credit to help you explore your Prime membership.

Offer by invitation only to a limited group of members. Terms and conditions apply, see below.

Offer expires at 11:59 pm PT Aug 1, 2017

I'm a long time Prime member and hardly need help using it. But hey, what the heck. Free money is always welcome.

[tubemonkey]

Has anyone used a portable battery charger to power their Echo Dot? I just tried it with a lipstick charger and it works pretty good. No idea how long it'll power the Dot.

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Has anyone used a portable battery charger to power their Echo Dot? I just tried it with a lipstick charger and it works pretty good. No idea how long it'll power the Dot.

The Echo Dot uses a power supply rated at 9W per hour. Using rounded numbers, that translates into a maximum power source of about 5 volts at 1.8 amps per hour. That equals 9 Wh of energy. The Dot will rarely use that much, but the power supply is capable of delivering that amount.

The question of course is how you use the Dot. If the Dot just sits around most of the time waiting for a command, then power consumption will be very low. If you ask Dot a lot of questions or give her a lot of commands, then power consumption will be more. If you listen to music wherein Dot is running constantly, then power consumption will be high. No way to tell how much Dot is consuming at any given time without using a meter, but the most she can ever get from her supplied power source is 9W, or as we saw above 5v at 1.8amps. So we know Dot will never consume more than 9 Wh of energy per hour.

So what is the power rating on your lipstick power charger? I found one on Amazon rated at 3350 mAh. To deliver the energy of 9W for one hour requires 1800 mAh. So for this example divide the 3350 mAh rating of the lipstick charger by 1800.

3350 mAh / 1800 mAh = 1.86 hours at maximum power level

There are caveats though. For example, the lipstick power charger I found one Amazon only delivers 1amp maximum, rather than 1.8, but it will probably work with the Dot.

So to estimate the minimum time your lipstick power charger will power your Dot, divide its power rating (in mAh) by 1800 mAh and you will get the approximate number of hours it will power the Dot. Fortunately, you will likely get more than that depending on how you use your Dot.

ETA: Again, this is a rough estimate of the minimum time a power source will power the Dot. The 9 Wh of energy is the maximum energy that the Dot's power supply can deliver. I doubt the Dot will ever approach that level of power consumption, even when rocking the house with music.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by jswinden

The Echo Dot uses a power supply rated at 9W per hour. Using rounded numbers, that translates into a maximum power source of about 5 volts at 1.8 amps per hour. That equals 9 Wh of energy. The Dot will rarely use that much, but the power supply is capable of delivering that amount.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I appreciate it.

My lipstick charger is 3200 mAh, so 1.78 hours.

Not very practical, but fun to experiment with.

[tubemonkey]

Just got my first yellow ring notification. My Echo Dot will be delivered today. It's a gift for my sister, so it was sent to her.

About the Light Ring

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by booklover6

24 Hour Bluetooth Speakers TaoTronics Rock Portable Stereo Wireless Speaker (with Linen and Leather Covering, Bluetooth 4.2, Voice Guidance and Built-in Microphone).

Received the speaker, it's very nice. I had the Dot reading a Kindle book through the speaker, while the speaker was plugged in. Flawless. I have to try music soon.

[tubemonkey]

Amazon's next Echo will be more like Apple's HomePod

The Echo was originally released on 06 Nov 2014 to select Prime members for $99 (including remote).

It'll be an improved smart speaker in just about every way.

It's been over two years since Amazon debuted the Echo, which kickstarted the current wave of voice-controlled, virtual assistant-powered speakers. And while the company has added more devices to the Echo family, with the tiny Dot, portable Tap and screen-toting Show, it hasn't touched the original model (aside from a white coat of paint for the UK). That's going to change later this year. Amazon is working on a new Echo that will improve on the first speaker in practically every way, a source tells Engadget. And, not surprisingly, it's aiming to take some of the hype away from Apple's HomePod.

The new Echo will be both shorter and slimmer than the original, almost as if it were three or four Echo Dots stacked on top of each other, our source claims. Amazon is also softening its design with rounded edges and a cloth-like covering, rather than the current Echo's plastic shell and flat ends. And yes, it should sound better, too. The company is packing in several tweeters this time around, instead of just relying on one large tweeter and a woofer (for low end). The HomePod, in comparison, features seven tweeters, which is big reason why it sounded better than the Sonos Play:3 and the Echo in our brief demo.