Amazon Echo Club

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Not sure where I read it, maybe in this forum, but I read that the Echo Dot 3rd gen is the top selling of all the Amazon devices this holiday season. So maybe they underestimated the demand. When I was browsing last week to get the Echo Plus 2nd gen, I happened to notice that the Echo Show 2nd gen was saying they expected them back in stock on Dec 5, so those were in short supply too.

At $24 a pop, it was guaranteed to be Amazon's biggest seller. It's now selling for $30.

[wodin]

What happened to the "Smart Home" section in the Alexa app? I just bought a Ring Doorbell 2, and the Ring Skill setup instructions for connecting it to Alexa tells me to go to the "Smart Home" section to have Alexa discover it, but alas, the "Smart Home" section was gone.

I was able to work around by going to the setup>device section and hunting and pecking until I found a "Discover" button.

I'm doing this in remote over LTE, so that might affect what I can do for security reasons, so I'll need to check it when I get home.

[Tarana]

Both of my Echo Dot 3's arrived. Have to hook the other one up to check out that stereo effect. Not sure where I'm going to put them on a permanent basis though. While they don't attract cat fur (I have 5), you still get airborne grease on stuff, so I probably will just swap out one of the older ones.

[wodin]

The future of Amazon Echo and Google Home looks bleak

Just how intrusive will smart speakers become? A haunting new video tries to imagine their role in our future lives. It isn't pretty.

If you have ten minutes to spare, the video is uh... entertaining.

[OtinG]

Did not see this one coming. Here is a quote from a MacRumors article:

Apple and Amazon today announced that Apple Music will launch on Echo devices beginning the week of December 17. In a blog post, Amazon explains that Apple Music subscribers will be able to ask Alexa to play their favorite songs, artist, playlists, Beats1 radio stations, and albums, all through an Echo speaker.... The integration will launch as an Apple Music skill that will need to be enabled within the Alexa app...

I love my iThingies and Macs, but I never cared for Apple Music service. But for those who do, this might be a good thing.

I'm surprised Apple would go for this deal as it might cut into sales of their Home Pod, but on the other hand I suspect the added profits it could generate by extending to Amazon Echos is exponentially greater than the profits they could lose with any Home Pod sales dip.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by OtinG

I'm surprised Apple would go for this deal as it might cut into sales of their Home Pod, but on the other hand I suspect the added profits it could generate by extending to Amazon Echos is exponentially greater than the profits they could lose with any Home Pod sales dip.

Exactly

HomePod ($349) vs Echo Dot 3 ($24)

[Catlady]

I sent back the two Dot2s I'm trading in, and am currently Dot-less as I await the two Dot3s.

Hopefully the Dot3 will work with a Bluetooth adapter I use on my living room stereo--the Dot2 would do so only rarely and only after much angst. If it does, I may end up keeping both Dots, otherwise I'll gift one.

I don't understand the fuss about the power input--what difference does it make when the device needs to be plugged in to work? I'd be annoyed at a non-USB charger for a portable device with a rechargeable battery, but otherwise, who cares?

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I sent back the two Dot2s I'm trading in, and am currently Dot-less as I await the two Dot3s.

Hopefully the Dot3 will work with a Bluetooth adapter I use on my living room stereo--the Dot2 would do so only rarely and only after much angst. If it does, I may end up keeping both Dots, otherwise I'll gift one.

I don't understand the fuss about the power input--what difference does it make when the device needs to be plugged in to work? I'd be annoyed at a non-USB charger for a portable device with a rechargeable battery, but otherwise, who cares?

How much did they give you on the Dot2s? When I checked their trade-in values last week while buying the Echo Plus 2nd gen they listed my one Dot2 at $5, my Taps at $15 each, and my Echo 1st gen at $25. It didn't really seem worth trading in the Taps and the Echo 1st gen, and I wanted to keep my Dot2 as she hangs on my bathroom wall to control lighting and provide music or news. I'll probably either gift the Taps and Echo 1st gen or perhaps sell them on eBay.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by OtinG

I'll probably either gift the Taps and Echo 1st gen or perhaps sell them on eBay.

monkey likes gifts

...just sayin'

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Exactly

HomePod ($349) vs Echo Dot 3 ($24)

I'm hoping this will make listening to the 100 or so songs I've purchased from iTunes easier on the Echos as currently I have to do an awkward BT connection and basically just stream them to the Echos. Not worth the effort quite frankly. Also, podcasts are much easier to use on my iPhone and iPads, so hopefully they will be included in the deal. Unfortunately I bet the Apple skill will only work if you have a paid Apple Music account, and that is not going to happen in my case!

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Exactly

HomePod ($349) vs Echo Dot 3 ($24)

Yep. The install base on Alexa is much, much bigger than the HomePod's and probably even jumped exponentially this holiday season. I know I got a bunch of even if I didn't need them (they were basically free with some of the items on my shopping list).

We're an all iPhone/iPad household but one of the chief reasons we don't subscribe to Apple Music is because of the Apple/HomePod-only limitation.

Originally Posted by Catlady

I don't understand the fuss about the power input--what difference does it make when the device needs to be plugged in to work? I'd be annoyed at a non-USB charger for a portable device with a rechargeable battery, but otherwise, who cares?

Ease and cost of replacement in case the adapter dies (it happens).

Also, I have several Anker USB multi-port (5-10) chargers. Finding a USB port to plug into is so much easier than trying to find a wall socket and the shape of the charger on these usually block adjacent sockets.

Not quite a deal-breaker for me (thanks to the Anker multi-port freeing up some sockets/extension cords) but it is annoying.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I don't understand the fuss about the power input--what difference does it make when the device needs to be plugged in to work? I'd be annoyed at a non-USB charger for a portable device with a rechargeable battery, but otherwise, who cares?

USB cables are a dime a dozen and many people have lots of extras kickin' about, along with chargers. So replacements are "free" if something happens to one.

Until I realized that the new Dot 3 needed more power for its larger speaker, I thought Amazon was taking a step backwards when it switched from USB to a traditional power adapter. So, if your son's bunny chews through the power cord of your Dot 3, it'll cost you real money to replace

[issybird]

Originally Posted by OtinG

How much did they give you on the Dot2s? When I checked their trade-in values last week while buying the Echo Plus 2nd gen they listed my one Dot2 at $5, my Taps at $15 each, and my Echo 1st gen at $25. It didn't really seem worth trading in the Taps and the Echo 1st gen, and I wanted to keep my Dot2 as she hangs on my bathroom wall to control lighting and provide music or news. I'll probably either gift the Taps and Echo 1st gen or perhaps sell them on eBay.

The first Dot trade-in also got a 25% discount. But I agree that for only $5, I'd just hang onto it. If nothing else, it might qualify as a discount again down the line.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Yep. The install base on Alexa is much, much bigger than the HomePod's and probably even jumped exponentially this holiday season. I know I got a bunch of even if I didn't need them (they were basically free with some of the items on my shopping list).

We're an all iPhone/iPad household but one of the chief reasons we don't subscribe to Apple Music is because of the Apple/HomePod-only limitation.



Ease and cost of replacement in case the adapter dies (it happens).

Also, I have several Anker USB multi-port (5-10) chargers. Finding a USB port to plug into is so much easier than trying to find a wall socket and the shape of the charger on these usually block adjacent sockets.

Not quite a deal-breaker for me (thanks to the Anker multi-port freeing up some sockets/extension cords) but it is annoying.

The Echo Dot 3rd Generation uses a wall wart because it requires 15W of power. I just looked at the fine print on my Dot's wall wart and it outputs 12V at 1.25A. There is no way you are going to get that kind of output from a 5V at 2A USB connection. This is NOT a case of Amazon pulling an Apple and using a non-standard connector or power supply. It IS a case of using a wall wart to provide enough power to run the Dot 3rd gen. Not even linking two USB ports could you obtain that level of power. Amazon had to use a wall wart.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by OtinG

The Echo Dot 3rd Generation uses a wall wart because it requires 15W of power. I just looked at the fine print on my Dot's wall wart and it outputs 12V at 1.25A. There is no way you are going to get that kind of output from a 5V at 2A USB connection. This is NOT a case of Amazon pulling an Apple and using a non-standard connector or power supply. It IS a case of using a wall wart to provide enough power to run the Dot 3rd gen. Not even linking two USB ports could you obtain that level of power. Amazon had to use a wall wart.

I know and I guessed it was likely for the speakers. Again, it's just inconvenient. Even the charging tip is fairly standard. It's just not ubiquitous like USB is. Kinda wish Amazon had gone the USB-C PD route.