Amazon Echo (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

For $100, yes.


I use it mainly for timers. "Hey Alexa, set timer for 30 minutes."


I am waiting for more interactivity to be be introduced with Logitech remotes.


It seems that Google is continuing to partner with other companies, so this remains a growing product.

 

[DavidJ]

Seems like a lot for a timer. ;-)

Any word on the Logitech front?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Seems like a lot for a timer. ;-)

Any word on the Logitech front?

Well, it's much more than a timer. I do ask for things like sports scores, news and weathers.


It also controls my Philips Hue lighting. I simply say, "Turn on Home Theater lighting" and my basement theater lights.


As far as Logitech is concerned, at the moment, no word. However, I am in touch with them regularly and have been bugging them relentlessly.


The Echo is now open-sourced so it's only a matter of time.

 

[DavidJ]

Thanks for the detail. So do you have it in your home theater? I've looked at the Hue lights and love the idea of them, but they're not in the budget at the moment and I don't currently have space for dedicated home theater room. Fortunately, my wife is pretty accommodating and has let me design the living room around home theater.

I like Logitech's remotes and will be upgrading to the one you recently reviewed before too long. Our old One's screen did not fare well when it met the bottom of our youngest's foot.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

David,


It's not located in my home theater. It's located two floors up, in the kitchen. It's become more of a kitchen appliance (timer, news, weather) than anything else. As far as home theater interaction is concerned, it allows me to turn on the LED lights in my theater just by giving Echo the command.


If an when Echo is integrated with Logitech, I will buy an additional Echo and place it in the home theater to give it specific activity commands such as "Turn on my Tivo"


Actually, I think the next big step in remotes is voice activation. So, if Logitech doesn't partner with Echo (and I don't see why they wouldn't), I bet they will manufacture a voice command remote.


My review of the new Harmony Ultimate Elite is just hours away from being posted.

 

[DavidJ]

Ok. That sounds good. The kitchen is where I was thinking about placing it too. Looking forward to your review.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

We have ours in the kitchen area, too. My wife uses it more than I do, mostly to listen to music. Our family room where the home theater resides is in the next room, and occasionally Alexa is activated by something the Echo hears and will start talking. It still startles me when that happens.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

FUN STUFF WITH ECHO


Going to give a few of these as xMas presents IF the price drops down to $100 for Black Friday

 

[Tino]

Love my Echo. I would too if it drops that low.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Echo is supposedly dropping to $149 for Cyber Monday. Not exactly the $100 price we wanted, but probably the best price we will get.


Going to order two as gifts.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

That $100 introductory price that Prime members received still hasn't been beaten.


I am listening to Steely Dan on my Echo as I type this. I couldn't get Alexa to play the entire Hail to the Victors Michigan fight song for breakfast this morning, though. Hopefully that is not a bad omen for today's game.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Scott,


It probably will never drop to $100.


Last week I wrote a letter to the Jeff Bazos, CEO of Amazon letting him know that there were many people interested in buying these as xMas gifts and that if he would drop the price to $100 for PRIME members, it would be a gift for all of us.


(something in that tone but less schmaltzy)


Got a letter from one of his minions explaining how much better the device has become since its limited introduction and "blah blah blah"


They told me to watch Black Friday, so I suppose that was the best discount they were going to do.



I have a question for you if it can be answered....


If one does not subscribe to any of the music services, I notice that Alexa will still play music if you ask it to (such as "Alexa, can you play some dinner music."). Where is it pulling that music from and how large a library is there without a music subscription?

 

[Tino]

I think it only pulls samples.

 

[DavidJ]

So how do I use IFTTT recipes to do things with Echo? Is there an introduction to this anywhere?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

David,


http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/19/9760878/amazon-echo-supports-trigger-commands-ifttt


I am afraid it's not a very intuitive process. I am in the same boat as you. I find it difficult to figure out how to get this stuff to work.


I was able to get the "Find My Phone" recipe to work. It involved clicking on the recipe and allowing access to Echo. The command I use is "Alexa, trigger find my phone." Seems like you have to use the keyword "trigger."


I tried to create the recipe for controlling my Nest Thermostat, and ultimately could not figure that out.


So, I am hoping for clearer answers as well.

 

[DavidJ]

Thanks for the info, Ron. I'd also like to use it with my Nest so that's a bummer. I guess I'll start with the find my phone.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

David,


Play around with it. Let me know if you get it to work -- and how.

 

[DavidJ]

What do y'all think about the Dot? http://www.amazon.com/b/?node=14047587011

 

[Scott-S]

I have pre-ordered a Dot. It was exactly what I wanted. A second echo for my den. I do not need the built-in speaker. I plan on hooking it to my larger speakers.

I really enjoy my echo. I keep it in my bedroom and use it mainly for music and control of some lights. Now I can get the same in my den. I hope the microphones are the same in the Dot. They are awesome on the Echo. It looks like the Dot is the same except for the speakers. Plus, it is still always on, so you don't need to push a button like you do with the Tap.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

With the weather getting nicer, we are sitting on our deck today and have our Echo turned up so we can hear it from the kitchen. It made we wish for a portable, rechargeable version that we could use outside. If Amazon comes up with such a version, I will be one of the first buyers.