Amazon Echo Club

[ApK]

For those interested, I just did a little test: I have two smart bulbs via a wink hub and a tp-link outlet plug (no hub) in an Alexa group called "everything."
I said stuff like "dim everything" and "brighten everything to 100%" and it worked as expected. The dimmable bulbs responded properly and the outlet plug didn't complain.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by ApK

Can you tell me the version of your bulbs? The wink app report all of mine as 0.1b03/0.4b00

The SmartThings app doesn't seem to have that information, or at least if it does I can't find it.

[tubemonkey]

Two features the Echo Dot has that are missing from the Home Mini:

1. audio out port
   
2. full Bluetooth

You can hook the Dot to wired speakers, but not from the Mini.

You can stream audio to Bluetooth speakers from the Dot, but not from the Mini.

A workaround for the Mini is to buy a $35 Chromecast Audio and hook it up to the speaker you wish to use. How easy is that

Google Home Mini Review: The First Great Echo Dot Rival

Audio Performance

Neither the Home Mini nor the Echo Dot should be used as a primary music source, but if you want to do this, the Home Mini can suffice in a pinch. In a head-to-head audio test, the Home Mini simply blew the Echo Dot out of the water.

Bruce Springsteen's vocals on "I'm on Fire" sounded tinny, hollow and distant on the Echo Dot. It was like listening to a bad AM radio. On the Home Mini, his voice was much fuller, the bass line was much more present, and you could hear more of the nuances in the track. Same thing when I played Billy Joel's "Piano Man"; the song sounded full and strong.

I also liked that I could stream audio directly from a number of sources — such as the Pandora app on my phone and the Chrome browser on my laptop — directly to the Home Mini. That's one thing you can't do with Alexa.

However, the Echo Dot has both a 3.5mm audio jack and Bluetooth, so you can pair it with another speaker very easily. The Home Mini only has Bluetooth, and can only be used to stream audio to the Mini from, say, your smartphone, and not to an external speaker. The only way to do that is if another speaker is connected to a Chromecast device.

Google and Amazon are fairly evenly matched in streaming-audio services, as both support Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio and TuneIn. Not surprisingly, Amazon has Amazon Music, while Google has Google Play Music and YouTube Music. However, only Amazon lists support for Sirius XM.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Two features the Echo Dot has that are missing from the Home Mini:

1. audio out port
   
2. full Bluetooth

You can hook the Dot to wired speakers, but not from the Mini.

You can stream audio to Bluetooth speakers from the Dot, but not from the Mini.

A workaround for the Mini is to buy a $35 Chromecast Audio and hook it up to the speaker you wish to use. How easy is that

So this guy likes the fact that he can send music from his phone or laptop to the Home mini? Isn't that going to run down the batteries on his phone or laptop? Doesn't seem to be a good idea to me.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

So this guy likes the fact that he can send music from his phone or laptop to the Home mini? Isn't that going to run down the batteries on his phone or laptop? Doesn't seem to be a good idea to me.

Bluetooth likely uses much less power than the phone's audio amplifier and speaker, plus the Mini apparently sounds pretty good. Most phones don't.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by ApK

Bluetooth likely uses much less power than the phone's audio amplifier and speaker, plus the Mini apparently sounds pretty good. Most phones don't.

Yes, but I thought you had to leave the device on and keep the music playing on the device and send it to the Mini. I guess I'm wrong?

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

Yes, but I thought you had to leave the device on and keep the music playing on the device and send it to the Mini. I guess I'm wrong?

I'm not sure what you mean.

It sounds like you are comparing streaming content from the phone to the Mini via bluetooth vs. not using the phone at all.

I think the given is that he wants to play content from the phone. Presumably because the content is only easily available on the phone, and/or because he prefers to control it from the phone.
And I presume that he wants to play the content out loud, not on headphones.

So I'm comparing streaming content from the phone to the Mini via bluethooth vs. playing the content on the phone directly.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by ApK

I'm not sure what you mean.

It sounds like you are comparing streaming content from the phone to the Mini via bluetooth vs. not using the phone at all.

I think the given is that he wants to play content from the phone. Presumably because the content is only easily available on the phone, and/or because he prefers to control it from the phone.
And I presume that he wants to play the content out loud, not on headphones.

So I'm comparing streaming content from the phone to the Mini via bluethooth vs. playing the content on the phone directly.

Yes, streaming from phone to Mini vs streaming from phone to Bluetooth speaker would use the same amount of battery. I was thinking of how I use my Dots. I stream music through them directly to a Bluetooth speaker - that way I don't use up my phone battery.

[Blossom]

Got a $10 credit for reordering a item through Alexa. It's my first time using her. I couldn't hear everything she said because hubby wouldn't shut up. I think she asked if I wanted to be notified when item ships?

I used my gift card balance but he was freaked out about it. Bah! He ruined my first experience but it seemed to go smoothly.

Sent from my Nexus 7

[tubemonkey]

Everything that’s affected when you teach Amazon’s Alexa to recognize your voice

This week, Amazon made it possible to teach Alexa to recognize your voice. Once you’ve completed the voice training process and created a voice profile, Alexa will be able to distinguish your voice from the voice of others who use the same Echo devices. Here’s a detailed breakdown of Alexa’s various features that are affected when the voice assistant recognizes the speaker. Most changes focus on improving Alexa use in a multi-user household, but somes actually improve Alexa even if you’re the only one using your devices.

Before getting into the details of how Alexa changes once it recognizes the speaker, it’s important to know that, currently, only the Amazon Echo (1st & 2nd gen), Echo Dot (1st & 2nd gen), Echo Show, and the upcoming Echo Spot and Echo Plus are the only devices that support voice recognition. Alexa on Fire TV devices, Fire tablets, Amazon Tap, Dash Wand, and in the Amazon app will not recognize who is speaking.

[Tarana]

Interesting product that has had a price reduction from $35 to $24.99. This is a battery attachment to the Echo Dot 2nd Generation that allows you to take your dot from room to room without plugging in. Provides roughly 6 hours of power. I no longer have an Echo item in the livingroom because it kept coming on due to something said on TV. So, this makes this one Dot portable and I can bring it into the livingroom when the TV is off. My Mom can listen to music although I still have to connect the bluetooth speaker. Used it most of today to listen to audiobook while in garage (only have WIFI stretching to first foot of garage.

Make sure you have a Dot 2. There is both a black and a white model to match your Dot. Mine doesn't match because I thought my one black dot was a 2nd gen and it wasn't.

https://www.amazon.com/Fremo-Evo-int...fremo+EVO+plus

[tubemonkey]

It turns out that the new Echo 2 has replaceable shells - 3 fabric, 2 wood, 1 plastic and at two different price points just like the Echo 2.

I think it's outrageous that Amazon charges $20 more for a painted plastic covered Echo than they do for a fabric covered Echo. They should be the same price.

Echo Decorative Shell

• $30 -- plastic, silver | wood, oak | wood, walnut
• $20 -- fabric, charcoal | fabric, gray | fabric, sandstone

Echo 2nd Gen

• $120 -- plastic, silver | wood, oak | wood, walnut
• $100 -- fabric, charcoal | fabric, gray | fabric, sandstone

.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

...
I think it's outrageous that Amazon charges $20 more for a painted plastic covered Echo than they do for a fabric covered Echo. They should be the same price.
...

Just another example of the arbitrariness of price points, leave those decisions to the Marketing Dept. and all logic becomes suspect.

[ApK]

Surely you don't honestly believe the prices are arbitrary, or that Amazon has grown to what it is without very competent marketing?
Most certainly the prices are set because marketing determined which options are most desirable to the largest part of their market.

And, who knows, maybe there is even some difference in the cost of materials.

[tubemonkey]

I was hoping the silver one was brushed aluminum, and for $20 extra, it should be. Oh well...