Amazon Echo Club - Page 333

OtinG · 10-31-2024, 01:44 PM

Apparently Amazon has an "idea team" but doesn't always run these ideas through a thorough marketing analysis nor produce market test prototypes. Smart companies will test the ideas out on potential customers before spending a ton of money and development. Apple has such a dedicated customer/fan base that they can often get away without doing that, but Amazon isn't Apple.

I'm reminded of the annual car shows in which the major car manufacturers show off prototypes and concept vehicles. They can gauge consumer reaction without having to engineer the entire vehicle. Most of those concepts never go beyond the mockups used at the auto shows. Amazon could probably benefit from building mockups and showing them to select consumer groups to gauge consumer response before committing to developing an untested idea.

tubemonkey · 11-01-2024, 02:20 PM

Hey Amazon, what happened? Where's Alexa AI?

Alexa’s New AI Brain Is Stuck in the Lab

Amazon is struggling to bring AI to Alexa

Alexa, what happened to your big AI upgrade?

Can Amazon Alexa's Claude AI Integration Really Be That Remarkable?

Amazon Alexa is about to turn 10, but its next-gen AI upgrade may have been delayed until 2025

tubemonkey · 11-21-2024, 01:02 AM

Amazon introduces Echo Show 21

Quote:

its largest smart display ever—and all-new Echo Show 15

November 20, 2024

When we first added a screen to Echo devices, it changed the way customers interacted with Alexa, combining voice capabilities with glanceable information, to easily view things like the family calendar, reminders, trending news stories, and family photos. Customers particularly loved these devices for household organization and streaming video content. This inspired us to create an entirely new type of smart display with Echo Show 15—a beautiful wall-mountable ambient device that fits in naturally with any home décor and elevated what customers enjoy most about Echo Show and Fire TV.

The response was great—Echo Show 15 has a global star rating of 4.5 on Amazon—but customers told us they wanted better audio quality, and a larger screen to deliver an enhanced entertainment experience and provide even more room to see important information at a glance. So today, we’re upgrading Echo Show 15 and introducing Echo Show 21, our largest Echo Show yet, with nearly double the viewing area of Echo Show 15.

>> snip <<

Echo Show 15 ($299.99) and Echo Show 21 ($399.99) are now available and ship with an Alexa Voice Remote and wall mounting equipment. You can further customize your Echo Show 15 or 21 to fit your home décor with light brown or white frame accessories that snap around the edges ($34.99 for Echo Show 15 and $39.99 for Echo Show 21), or purchase a premium counter stand ($99.99).

more...

booklover6 · 11-21-2024, 05:38 AM

Well is it just me or is Amazon scamming customers who want to trade in old devices? I turned in a 2016 fire tv stick, got the $3 and the 20% off notice. Was not applied to the Echo Spot that I just ordered. In the fine print it said the discount would be credited to me after the purchase. I've NEVER seen that before. Where is my $9.00? I am aggravated and will never trade in another device if this has changed. Used to be, you would get the 20% immediately!

issybird · 11-21-2024, 07:05 AM

Wow. I was curious so I took a look at the T&Cs.

Quote:

Once your trade-in is accepted, you can place a new Qualifying Device (as defined below) in your cart and the 20% promotional credit will be automatically applied at checkout. Select customers will instead receive their 20% promotional credit as a rebate refund. If you qualify you can submit a trade-in order and purchase a Qualifying Device at full price. The 20% promotional credit will be automatically refunded back to your original payment method upon acceptance of your trade-in device.

Looks as if you're "select" and "qualified". Lucky you. I wouldn't have been looking for this in the fine print, either. Especially worrisome is that your discount is contingent on "acceptance of your trade-in device." Presumably that means they're reserving the option to reject the device and you don't get the discount. I also noted that you get only trade-in per quarter, now. Was that always the case?

All my Amazon devices are good enough. Just as well.

booklover6 · 11-22-2024, 05:23 AM

I will be contacting CS about this when I have time. But as of right now, I will never do another "trade in for discount" again! Luckily the device I sent in hadn't been used in years and had no real value, to me.

So this afternoon I got a text and an email. Apparently the "discount "has turned into a "refund to the payment method." It's an annoying change, but at least I got my money back.

ApK · 12-02-2024, 06:27 PM

Does any one know how the Echo Pop compares to the Dot in terms of performance? Beyond what it says on the site. has anyone tried it? Does the mic seem to perform better than gen 2 and 3 Dot, for example? With the Cyber Monday sale, I' thinking of replacing some of our older devices with the smaller cheaper Pops.

issybird · 12-03-2024, 01:51 PM

@Alexa: How many Kindle books do I own? When was the last time I bought a paper book from Amazon? So why do you recommend that I purchase paper books on a nearly daily basis?

Catlady · 12-06-2024, 02:24 PM

Anyone using a battery base with an Echo Dot? Recommendations? Worth the money?

I currently have a gen 3 Dot, but might upgrade for portability.

copyrite · 12-07-2024, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

@Alexa: How many Kindle books do I own? When was the last time I bought a paper book from Amazon? So why do you recommend that I purchase paper books on a nearly daily basis?

Same here!

I don't mind reminders of past purchases, sometimes I even buy 'em, but the books haven't come in a physical form in a long long time!

tubemonkey · 02-25-2025, 06:48 AM

Amazon Alexa and devices February 26 event: here’s what to expect

Quote:

It's been a minute, but Amazon is holding an event this Wednesday, February 26, in New York. The last time Amazon held a "Devices and Services" event was September 2023, so the company is more than overdue to announce new products and features.

Quote:

Amazon's February Devices event will kick off at 10 am ET on Wednesday, February 25 in New York. As with most of its events, it will not be live-streamed, but Tom's Guide will be live-blogging the event.

Quote:

Thanks to our eagle-eyed colleagues at The Verge, Amazon sent out five versions of the invite which, when put together, spell "Alexa" in the background. So it's more than reasonable to assume that we'll see Amazon's revamped digital assistant.

What to expect from Amazon’s big Alexa event this week

Quote:

The event, scheduled for 10AM on Wednesday, February 26th, in New York City, is being hosted by Amazon’s new devices and service chief Panos Panay, which is a strong hint there’ll be new hardware. The flagship fourth-gen Amazon Echo speaker is way past due for an upgrade, and with smart glasses being so hot right now, I could see Alexa getting cozier on our faces.

Quote:

Here’s a look at what we expect from the event, what not to expect, and what we hope is coming. Remember to tune in to The Verge’s live blog on Wednesday.

A “new” Alexa
A new flagship Echo speaker
New Fire TV features
No firehose of crazy gadgets
Alexa for a price

tubemonkey · 02-26-2025, 03:08 PM

Not all Echo devices will get Alexa Plus

Quote:

see if yours made the list

Amazon's AI-powered Alexa Plus won't be available for all Echo devices when the enhanced virtual assistant begins rolling out in the coming weeks.

Amazon has announced a gen AI-powered Alexa Plus, a revamped version of its popular virtual assistant that leverages the power of generative artificial intelligence to enhance the user experience. Alexa Plus is exactly what you may have envisioned when you first heard of voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google, but without the accompanying disappointment at their shortcomings.

more...

Alexa Plus is free with Prime and $20/mo without Prime.

I have no desire to upgrade because basic Alexa does everything I need it to.

Take note that it's been 3 years since Prime increased its price:

$79 --- Feb 2005
$99 --- Mar 2014
$119 -- May 2018
$139 -- Feb 2022

cc_in_oh · 02-26-2025, 08:41 PM

Talk about an understatement - it only supports echo show devices but not the echo show 5! I was disappointed until I read the 7 "amazing" things it can do, all trivial toylike things I would never bother with. I would be happy if they would just teach my show 5 how to always display the clock unless I tell it to do something else!

11-22-2024, 05:23 AM	#4986
booklover6 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,545 Karma: 14008730 Join Date: May 2008 Location: PA (USA) Device: Kobo Clara, 2E, Libre 1, PW4, PW5, 2022 Kindle, Kobo Libre Colour	I will be contacting CS about this when I have time. But as of right now, I will never do another "trade in for discount" again! Luckily the device I sent in hadn't been used in years and had no real value, to me. So this afternoon I got a text and an email. Apparently the "discount "has turned into a "refund to the payment method." It's an annoying change, but at least I got my money back. Last edited by booklover6; 11-22-2024 at 04:00 PM.

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10-31-2024, 01:44 PM	#4981
OtinG Old Gadget Guy Posts: 1,913 Karma: 6854865 Join Date: Jun 2018 Device: Oasis 3, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPad mini 6, iPad Air 2020, Alexa Devices	Apparently Amazon has an "idea team" but doesn't always run these ideas through a thorough marketing analysis nor produce market test prototypes. Smart companies will test the ideas out on potential customers before spending a ton of money and development. Apple has such a dedicated customer/fan base that they can often get away without doing that, but Amazon isn't Apple. I'm reminded of the annual car shows in which the major car manufacturers show off prototypes and concept vehicles. They can gauge consumer reaction without having to engineer the entire vehicle. Most of those concepts never go beyond the mockups used at the auto shows. Amazon could probably benefit from building mockups and showing them to select consumer groups to gauge consumer response before committing to developing an untested idea.

11-01-2024, 02:20 PM	#4982
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,740 Karma: 158575914 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	Hey Amazon, what happened? Where's Alexa AI? Alexa’s New AI Brain Is Stuck in the Lab Amazon is struggling to bring AI to Alexa Alexa, what happened to your big AI upgrade? Can Amazon Alexa's Claude AI Integration Really Be That Remarkable? Amazon Alexa is about to turn 10, but its next-gen AI upgrade may have been delayed until 2025

11-21-2024, 05:38 AM	#4984
booklover6 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,545 Karma: 14008730 Join Date: May 2008 Location: PA (USA) Device: Kobo Clara, 2E, Libre 1, PW4, PW5, 2022 Kindle, Kobo Libre Colour	Well is it just me or is Amazon scamming customers who want to trade in old devices? I turned in a 2016 fire tv stick, got the $3 and the 20% off notice. Was not applied to the Echo Spot that I just ordered. In the fine print it said the discount would be credited to me after the purchase. I've NEVER seen that before. Where is my $9.00? I am aggravated and will never trade in another device if this has changed. Used to be, you would get the 20% immediately!

12-02-2024, 06:27 PM	#4987
ApK Award-Winning Participant Posts: 7,375 Karma: 68329346 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ, USA Device: Kindle	Does any one know how the Echo Pop compares to the Dot in terms of performance? Beyond what it says on the site. has anyone tried it? Does the mic seem to perform better than gen 2 and 3 Dot, for example? With the Cyber Monday sale, I' thinking of replacing some of our older devices with the smaller cheaper Pops.

12-03-2024, 01:51 PM	#4988
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 21,041 Karma: 232487499 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	@Alexa: How many Kindle books do I own? When was the last time I bought a paper book from Amazon? So why do you recommend that I purchase paper books on a nearly daily basis?

12-06-2024, 02:24 PM	#4989
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,399 Karma: 52613881 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	Anyone using a battery base with an Echo Dot? Recommendations? Worth the money? I currently have a gen 3 Dot, but might upgrade for portability.

02-26-2025, 08:41 PM	#4993
cc_in_oh Bob's my uncle Posts: 976 Karma: 17073086 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: NE OH Device: Kindle	Talk about an understatement - it only supports echo show devices but not the echo show 5! I was disappointed until I read the 7 "amazing" things it can do, all trivial toylike things I would never bother with. I would be happy if they would just teach my show 5 how to always display the clock unless I tell it to do something else!