Amazon Echo Club

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by wodin

Jeff doesn't care about you outliers, he cares about the millions who will inevitably fall for it.

I liked your old signature better.

[wodin]

What? The one with the typo?

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Yes but you cannot call out to your Fire tablet from across the room. Have to hold the Home button to activate, unless they add an option to put it in 'listen' mode. Also it remains to be seen which Alexa skills will be available on Fire tablets. For example, Alexa on Fire TV will not read Kindle books or play Audible content. And you might want Alexa on the tablet to launch apps, open books and video etc. but I don't think it will confer such 'voice control', at least in the first iteration.

Well, this is fine with me. What I am most interested in are the home automation aspects. And one of the things I didn't like in the first place about Echo is the "always listening"--I don't want that. It will be nice to try out some functions through the tablet, with only small additional investment in smart plugs or whatever.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Well, this is fine with me. What I am most interested in are the home automation aspects. And one of the things I didn't like in the first place about Echo is the "always listening"--I don't want that. It will be nice to try out some functions through the tablet, with only small additional investment in smart plugs or whatever.

You can turn the mics off so it isn't listening. You can then issue commands from the voice remote or the app or by turning the mics on long enough to issue a voice command.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by wodin

What? The one with the typo?

Singing tails are more fun than swinging tails.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Singing tails

They're called ballads.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

You can turn the mics off so it isn't listening. You can then issue commands from the voice remote or the app or by turning the mics on long enough to issue a voice command.

After I get to play with some features through the tablet, I may decide it's worthwhile to buy the Echo or the Dot. I like to ease into things with the least possible cash outlay.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by Catlady

After I get to play with some features through the tablet, I may decide it's worthwhile to buy the Echo or the Dot. I like to ease into things with the least possible cash outlay.

The only real reason to opt for an Echo over the much less expensive Dot is if you want to use it for music. And even then your prolly better off with a Dot and a pair of reasonably decent speakers.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by wodin

The only real reason to opt for an Echo over the much less expensive Dot is if you want to use it for music. And even then your prolly better off with a Dot and a pair of reasonably decent speakers.

I like the idea of a standalone device. The speakers in the Echo sound great to me and can get way too loud without distortion.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by wodin

The only real reason to opt for an Echo over the much less expensive Dot is if you want to use it for music. And even then your prolly better off with a Dot and a pair of reasonably decent speakers.

The best reason to buy the Dot instead of the Echo is if you do listen to music. You can buy your own speaker that sounds much better than the Echo, or use any existing speakers you might have. Especially now that the price for the Dot has dropped. I have three mini sound systems that each have an ancient Roku SoundBridge that I will now use with the Dot.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I like the idea of a standalone device. The speakers in the Echo sound great to me and can get way too loud without distortion.

I agree, I'm happy to have the echo. It's an elegant, one piece solution. Although, for the current asking price of the Echo vs the Dot I'm hard pressed to recommend the Echo to folks in most cases where cost is a factor.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by ApK

I agree, I'm happy to have the echo. It's an elegant, one piece solution. Although, for the current asking price of the Echo vs the Dot I'm hard pressed to recommend the Echo to folks in most cases where cost is a factor.

I would expect Amazon to drop the price on the Echo.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by ApK

I agree, I'm happy to have the echo. It's an elegant, one piece solution. Although, for the current asking price of the Echo vs the Dot I'm hard pressed to recommend the Echo to folks in most cases where cost is a factor.

The cost of the Echo is definitely a factor, especially in light of the Dot's new pricing. If I didn't have my Echo, I'd opt for the Dot. Thankfully I was able to get two new Echos for $99 and $75 each.

As far as the Echo vs Dot for listening to music goes, I think the Echo sounds good up to about volume level 5 or possibly even 6 depending on what genre of music I'm listening to. Volume levels above that sound bad on the Echo. So a Dot attached to good speakers will be better for rocking or jamming out. If you are an old fart like me who rocked out in the 1970s but not so much these days, then the Echo is a good choice. If you are younger, or so old you are going through your second childhood, and still want to rattle the windows in your home and pi$$ off the neighbors, then the Echo is probably not your best choice. Just my opinion, YMMV of course. And another thing, the base sound is pretty tame in the Echo.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by jswinden

As far as the Echo vs Dot for listening to music goes, I think the Echo sounds good up to about volume level 5 or possibly even 6 depending on what genre of music I'm listening to. Volume levels above that sound bad on the Echo. So a Dot attached to good speakers will be better for rocking or jamming out. If you are an old fart like me who rocked out in the 1970s but not so much these days, then the Echo is a good choice. If you are younger, or so old you are going through your second childhood, and still want to rattle the windows in your home and pi$$ off the neighbors, then the Echo is probably not your best choice. Just my opinion, YMMV of course. And another thing, the base sound is pretty tame in the Echo.

So good for Led Zeppelin but not Black Sabbath.