Amazon Echo Club

[Catlady]

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.

Just $5 apiece for the Dots, but the first one also gave me 25 percent off a new Echo device. The second Dot I just wanted to get rid of--it was a freebie in the first place for renewing Audible for a year.

[cc_in_oh]

So yesterday I gave up on the Dot3 I ordered on T'giving and requested a replacement. By way of apology for losing my package, they said the replacement would be sent with 1-day shipping. 2 other packages just arrived, but no Dot, so I looked at the order and it now shows a delivery date of Dec. 11! I guess I should have just grabbed one at Kohls or Target when I had the chance...

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by cc_in_oh

So yesterday I gave up on the Dot3 I ordered on T'giving and requested a replacement. By way of apology for losing my package, they said the replacement would be sent with 1-day shipping. 2 other packages just arrived, but no Dot, so I looked at the order and it now shows a delivery date of Dec. 11! I guess I should have just grabbed one at Kohls or Target when I had the chance...

Still out of stock. The Amazon site now reads:

FREE Delivery by Thursday, Dec. 13 Details
In stock on December 13, 2018.
Order it now.
Or pick up today at Amazon Pop-Up The Parks Mall at Arlington. See store details

I see I could pick one up today at a Amazon kiosk in a local shopping mall. Perhaps they have one near you. Although going to shopping malls during Christmas shopping season is not a desirable thing!

[Tarana]

Yep, the wall wart is a problem for some of us. I still appreciate the better sound, but I guess I wish I would have known about it before I bought it - I would have just bought an Echo. I wanted to have the two near my upstairs computer, but I needed USB plugins. Stereo would have been great! Life will continue. One will go into the kitchen and the other into the livingroom.

Please note: While Dot3 does have bluetooth, the bluetooth only works to connect two Dot3 and 'possibly' other bluetooth speakers. It does have a manual plug in to plug into an external speaker. If you want to be able to play like an Mp3 player, you need the Echo.

[Catlady]

Amazon is weird. I ordered one Dot3 on November 22 and the second one on November 26, both with no-rush shipping. Just got a notification that the November 26 Dot3 has shipped and will arrive Sunday.

The November 22 Dot3 is still showing its original delivery date of December 6.

[applesauce]

thank you for the advice, I will play with my android phone and see how I go.

[Alohamora]

Originally Posted by Alohamora

This is the most interesting of the new devices to me. My car has Car play and Android Auto support built in, but both have fallen short on doing what I want them to do. If Alexa's voice recognition can get along with me, this might work better for me.

I don't feel any compelling need to talk to my gadgets at home, but voice control that actually works in the car, now that would be a dream come true.

My biggest concern though is what happens when you loose cell signal? Does it become useless?

Hey you! Flip flop much?

I wrote the above post back in September and have changed my mind. I'll be moving in a couple of weeks, so I decided to go for smart lighting in the new place. I'll have a shorter commute so doing anything more complicated for in-car audio is less compelling.

I bought a couple of 3rd gen dots and smart switches on BF. I tested the new dot and while music sounds fine, the voice is muddy. I asked Alexa for jokes and mostly couldn't understand the punch lines due to muffled sound.

Dot 2 was still at the sale price at that point, so I got a couple of those with cheap smart bulb kits. Much better clarity, but also far weaker music. So I'll keep both generations of Dots. I've got a placement strategy in mind that may work out.

What's very interesting is Alexa's TTS reading of Kindle books seems to be pretty good. Is anyone using it regularly? I keep dabbling with TTS hoping to find something workable.

Alexa herself seems much more capable, less "I'm not sure", than when I experimented with the app on a Fire tablet in the past.

I wonder how long Amazon will go on producing Dot gen 2s? There certainly seemed to be a plentiful supply of them at Black Friday pricing.

[Tarana]

Yes, I use the Alexa TTS reading almost every day for an hour. It works the same with the Fire and is an improvement over the TTS on the Kindle keyboard. It takes a couple of hours to get used to the cadence.

I have to think of rearrangement as well. Still thinking of getting another Echo 2. Debating between lightbulb or another plugin. Have to decide if I have a need or if it is just caving into gadget hoarding.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by Alohamora

Hey you! Flip flop much?

I wrote the above post back in September and have changed my mind. I'll be moving in a couple of weeks, so I decided to go for smart lighting in the new place. I'll have a shorter commute so doing anything more complicated for in-car audio is less compelling.

I bought a couple of 3rd gen dots and smart switches on BF. I tested the new dot and while music sounds fine, the voice is muddy. I asked Alexa for jokes and mostly couldn't understand the punch lines due to muffled sound.

Dot 2 was still at the sale price at that point, so I got a couple of those with cheap smart bulb kits. Much better clarity, but also far weaker music. So I'll keep both generations of Dots. I've got a placement strategy in mind that may work out.

What's very interesting is Alexa's TTS reading of Kindle books seems to be pretty good. Is anyone using it regularly? I keep dabbling with TTS hoping to find something workable.

Alexa herself seems much more capable, less "I'm not sure", than when I experimented with the app on a Fire tablet in the past.

I wonder how long Amazon will go on producing Dot gen 2s? There certainly seemed to be a plentiful supply of them at Black Friday pricing.

You can adjust the Equalizer settings on each of your Dots to get closer to the sound you want.

To Adjust the Equalizer for an Alexa Device using the App

In the Alexa app click the Menu icon --> Device Settings --> select [your Dot] to open the Device Settings for a Dot.

In Device Settings select Sounds --> Equalizer --> then make adjustments to taste for Bass, Mid, and Treble.

To Adjust the Equalizer for an Alexa Device using Voice

You can also ask Alexa to make these adjustments. Personally it is easier for me to use the app since I get a visual of what has changed and by how much. However, it is VERY easy to just say something like, "Alexa, increase Base," or "Alexa, set mid to maximum," or "Alexa, set the treble to minus three."

Note: These adjustments are applied only to the Echo device on which you give the voice command, so you can set each device in a unique manner.

[Alohamora]

Originally Posted by OtinG

You can adjust the Equalizer settings on each of your Dots to get the sound you want.

To Adjust the Equalizer for an Alexa Device:

In the Alexa app click the Menu icon --> Device Settings --> select [your Dot] to open the Device Settings for a Dot.

In Device Settings select Sounds --> Equalizer --> then make adjustments to taste for Bass, Mid, and Treble.

Note that you can also ask Alexa to make these adjustments. Personally it is easier for me to use the app since I get a visual of what has changed and by how much.

The Dot 3 is packed back up for moving. I'll remember to try the equalizer. My ears are old, so maybe a treble boost is what's needed.

[Alohamora]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Yes, I use the Alexa TTS reading almost every day for an hour. It works the same with the Fire and is an improvement over the TTS on the Kindle keyboard. It takes a couple of hours to get used to the cadence.

I have to think of rearrangement as well. Still thinking of getting another Echo 2. Debating between lightbulb or another plugin. Have to decide if I have a need or if it is just caving into gadget hoarding.

Thanks for the TTS comment.

I'm a bit concerned about going all in on Alexa gadgets before having a chance to experiment very much. Black Friday pricing made it seem not too irresponsible.

I've had timers and remote controls for lights before, but as those broke, I didn't replace them, except for one ir controlled bulb in my bedroom. I'm looking forward to being able to schedule lights again and trying out my egg cooker on a schedule.

[Catlady]

I got my Dot3 today. Setup was confusing; it seemed to be more involved than the Dot2 setup. I was using the Alexa app in my new Fire 10 tablet, and it kept telling me to connect to an Amazon wi-fi address, and when I did, the Dot would tell me it was connected and then the app wouldn't continue setup but just sat there. Took several tries, including having to unplug and reconnect the Dot, before it finally completed the setup.

It still won't connect to the Bluetooth adapter on my stereo, but the good news is that the sound is much much MUCH better than Dot2. I'm pleased about that.

It seems heavier than Dot2, and I'm not fond of the color (charcoal)--I'd rather have true black. I haven't tried out my smart plug yet (not the one that was offered on BF), but will do that when I get my Christmas lights up.

[OtinG]

That must be a Fire tablet thing. My Dot 3 and Echo Plus 2 both set up quickly and without issue on the Alexa app using my iPhone 7. The latest Alexa app sux though. To much link clicking/pressing to get anything done compared to the older versions.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by OtinG

That must be a Fire tablet thing. My Dot 3 and Echo Plus 2 both set up quickly and without issue on the Alexa app using my iPhone 7. The latest Alexa app sux though. To much link clicking/pressing to get anything done compared to the older versions.

Silly me thought that using an Amazon device to connect to another Amazon device would be a good idea. I guess not!

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Silly me thought that using an Amazon device to connect to another Amazon device would be a good idea. I guess not!

Did you see my post about using the Amazon Smartplug with Amazon Alexa? Clearly we're both delusional.

Btw,.while it worked perfectly last year, tonight our Wemo smart plug would not work with Alexa at all. I suspect recent updates by Belkin (wemo) and/or Amazon have broken stuff.
I agree with OtinG, the new Alexa app is a huge step backwards.