Amazon Echo Club

For those who want a thoughtful and honest review of the CoWatch, here is a pretty good one. Just giving it 4 stars because you bought it is not a thoughtful review.

The reviewer found plenty of features that didn't work or worked poorly at best. And just looking at all the sharp corners and edges on that thing, I'm guessing it won't be very comfortable to wear.

[wodin]

Thanks for posting that Jack, it would appear that this review was quite premature, as nearly all the features that the reviewer reported as failing work on mine, especially Alexa, although I'll admit that I haven't tested the music controls so I can't confirm those. It appears that he didn't download the Vs. 1.1 update.

As for having to perform some of the setup on the phone, does he really expect to enter WPA2 passwords on an inch and a half screen with no keyboard? I find myself fat fingering them even on the five and a half inch screen on my Samsung Note. I find that "thoughtful and honest review" perhaps thoughtful but less than honest.

I will admit that it seems like the battery life is not as advertised, as I reported earlier. That's not a deal breaker for me, but is the reason I wouldn't give it five stars.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Yolina

So far so good rather liking it. I can see the the shopping list/ to do list/ calendar coming in handy and getting used *a lot*. Now I need to look into getting it set up to work with my Hue lights...

I use mine mostly for music and audiobooks. I don't ever plan to use it for home automation.

[wodin]

Amazon Echo Dot (2nd Generation) review:

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by wodin

Amazon Echo Dot (2nd Generation) review:

From the review:

In other words, the already-great Echo Dot got a compromise-free price cut.

I beg to differ with them on that assessment. It took a substantial hit on the warranty. Dot 1 had a 1-year warranty. Dot 2 only has a 90-day warranty. That's a compromise in my book and adds $10 to the price to get an extended warranty.

I'll still get one, but only at a lower price point; say $35. That's what I paid for my $50 Fire 7 that came with a 90-day warranty.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

From the review:

I beg to differ with them on that assessment. It took a substantial hit on the warranty. Dot 1 had a 1-year warranty. Dot 2 only has a 90-day warranty. That's a compromise in my book and adds $10 to the price to get an extended warranty.

Unless they compromised build quality to the point where a failure within the 91st-365th day is more likely (which is not impossible...surely they had some reason for reducing the warranty) I wouldn't consider the warranty a significant compromise.
Especially given Amazon reputation for backing their stuff even out of warranty.

Honestly, I would not have noticed the different warranties had you not pointed them out. I wonder what percentage of people consider it a significant factor?

[Yolina]

The warranty thing will differ by country though - in the UK it's 1 year for both the Echo and the Dot (and 2 years if bought from John Lewis as they always add an extra year)

Edit: I got the Echo from Amazon though to take advantage of the reduce Prime pre-order price. Oh and can't wait for the Dot to arrive for my living room because it works a treat with the lights

[wodin]

But then the Dot (2) is more expensive in the UK. 50 Pounds as opposed to 50 USD. The actual difference varies according to the exchange rate, but at this very minute it's 64.28 US Dollars.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by ApK

Unless they compromised build quality to the point where a failure within the 91st-365th day is more likely (which is not impossible...surely they had some reason for reducing the warranty) I wouldn't consider the warranty a significant compromise.
Especially given Amazon reputation for backing their stuff even out of warranty.

Honestly, I would not have noticed the different warranties had you not pointed them out. I wonder what percentage of people consider it a significant factor?

In the past, Amazon was generous with their warranty exchanges and would help customers just out of warranty. Cutting it to 90 days was a cost cutting measure and I doubt they'll be as generous with out-of-warranty exchanges as they once were; otherwise, why cut the warranty.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Yolina

The warranty thing will differ by country though - in the UK it's 1 year for both the Echo and the Dot (and 2 years if bought from John Lewis as they always add an extra year)

Edit: I got the Echo from Amazon though to take advantage of the reduce Prime pre-order price. Oh and can't wait for the Dot to arrive for my living room because it works a treat with the lights

You have better warranty protection over there. My credit card doubles the warranty up to a year. So a 90-day warranty would become a 180-day warranty with my credit card. Still a far cry from the 2-year warranty my credit card usually affords me.

[wodin]

Google Home coming in November for $129.

Google Now has always been smarter than Alexa, nearly always when a question stumped her, Google had the answer. I have a substantial investment in Alexa, perhaps I've been premature.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by wodin

Google Home coming in November for $129.

Google Now has always been smarter than Alexa, nearly always when a question stumped her, Google had the answer. I have a substantial investment in Alexa, perhaps I've been premature.

Google and Amazon's focus in their backend technologies has been radically different.

Google has been on finding relevant information, Amazon's has been on serving content to consumers.

Alexa will get smarter, taking advantage of the AI developments of Google and others, if Amazon believes it's customers want that, and that it will enhance their business.

(We're in the middle of a revolution in this kind of AI....)

In the meantime, I'd rather deal with Amazon's customer support than Google's.

[Josieb1]

I would love to try a Dot linked to a Bluetooth speaker for my audiobooks but while Amazon refuses to recognise audible accounts not linked to Amazon accounts (they will only allow one linked anyway and I have three) it's a waste of time.

I'm not following what Google and Apple are developing. Their initial price points will be too high for me to start with.

I was hoping my Fire HD 8 would get Alexa but apparently it's only going to be rolled out in the US.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by wodin

Google Home coming in November for $129.

Without support for Audible and Prime Music, Home is worthless to me.

...and it still looks like an air freshener

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Without support for Audible and Prime Music, Home is worthless to me.

...and it still looks like an air freshener

Alexa and the Dot do look sleek and sophisticated compared to Google Home, and yes without Audible at least I don't see the appeal. Home automation will never be anything that interests me. I guess I'm too old to worry about that side of AI