I have her setup, I’ve downloaded the app, but some things seem not to work. I want to rename the device with a different “wake word”, but I can’t seem to do it.
Any users of this device out there that can illustrate it’s usefulness beyond trivia questions, music, etc are welcomed.
Thanks in advance.
I got an Echo Dot for Christmas, and while it allows you to use a different wake word, you can’t make up your own and have to choose from the very limited number it gives you to select from. The choices are: Alexa, Amazon, Echo, and Computer.
So I just stuck with Alexa.
Oh, yeah, as to usefulness, mine has been so helpful that I’ve almost found myself asking it to do mundane chores like pick up the paper clip I just dropped on the floor. You can tell it to place phone calls, play songs/music via bluetooth or a streaming service; add items to its built-in shopping list; remind you of upcoming appointments or errands to run; set a timer (more than one at a time too), you can check the weather, traffic, get news, etc., and quite a few other things through “skills” (related apps) that I haven’t even gotten into yet.
Don’t know if you have Siri, but it’s a lot like Siri but easier and more convenient to use and it can do more. It also seems to work better.
Ooh, let me try!
Alexa, move this thread from Cafe Society to IMHO
Hm, didn’t seem to work. OK, guess I have to pick up that paperclip myself.
Wow, someone who has actually used one of these things.
Do you really find it useful?
Do you find your use decreasing as the novelty wears off?
I’ve read about them and seen the commercials, but even the actors in the commercials seem like they feel like idiots talking to a flower pot.
They are recently on my mind because I responded to a survey about them and could not think of any way they could ever be useful. My assumption is that they were designed and marketed as gifts, kind of like pet rocks, where the only people buying them was for “the person who has everything”. I didn’t think anyone would ever buy one for themselves.
I played with the voice search on Android just after it came out just to see if it worked but have never used it again. Fun to play with, just no real use case. I just can’t imagine ever using something like this to do anything “real”.
It’s become basically essential in my kitchen. Setting up timers is a God send. I recently got a Sonos One to replace my Echo on the breakfast bar, and now it’s more than worthwhile for playing music from Spotify (the Echo was ok at it, but the sound quality was average at best). I also use it to turn the lights on and off (I have Philips light bulbs in the living room and bedroom) with my voice.
I also have a Google Home that I use to play things on my Chromecast (ex: “Hey Google, Play Stranger Things from Netflix on Chromecast Ultra” - though I may not have the say on Netflix). Turns on the TV and everything. If you have an Amazon Fire TV, you can do similar with the Echo with it.
I only use mine for 2 things. Playing music and as a timer. It was only $29 so that was money well spent IMO.
I like how if you ask it to play a song and you want it played on repeat, you just say ‘alexa, loop mode on’. Thats a neat function.
Also hooking it up via bluetooth to speakers is fun, but then it gets so loud that it can’t hear you give commands.
But overall, I got one months ago and it is worth it. But its functionality is limited. ‘ok google’ is vastly superior for answering questions than alexa.
Yes. I use mine almost every single day. It’s a fantastic device/category of devices. (And, no, it’s not a “gift” type item at all. I bought one for myself, and then a second one a couple months later. Almost bought a third one a few weeks ago but, for some reason, never got around to it. Everyone I know with one has bought one for themselves.)
Almost forgot, one of the more useful things I use my Echo for is to tell me the weather as I’m walking from the shower to my closet. And then sometimes after I know what type of clothing to wear for the day, I can have it play NPR news.
I use mine for weather reports, changing channels on my Hopper, setting timers, playing music, controlling lights, checking my schedule, getting jokes, answering questions, setting alarms, making phone calls.
GaryM
I feel like there’s been several similar threads here recently. Here’s at least one. Ah, yes, Here’s another one, too.
Very useful. Don’t know if you’re familiar with Siri, but it’s like Siri only easier to use and with more ability. And saying “Alexa, do whatever” is a lot easier than finding/picking up your phone, unlocking it, pressing and holding the home button to give instructions, or typing in items on your shopping or to do list. It also just seems to work better than Siri. No false starts or mistakes in understanding me so far, has greater ability and does more things, and has a much more pleasant and human-sounding voice.
I’ve only had it a day so no time for newness to wear off. But the stuff I’m using it for is stuff I’ve previously been using my phone for, I doubt that I’ll become blasé about it. If anything, I’ll be using it more as time goes by as I discover the usefulness or entertainment value of related apps.
No problem there. I have a Dot, and it sits on my desk next to my computer, kind of like a round black mouse. When I want to access it, I just say out loud what I want it to do or what information to find. And I can do the same from across the room. You don’t have to speak directly or ‘talk to’ it, in other words.
Did you read the things I talked about using it for in the part of my post you quoted? Included are lots of things it’s useful for, and I’ve just scratched the surface so far. Do you want to check the weather, or to be reminded on a certain day of an upcoming doctor appointment or birthday, or set a timer to let you know it’s time to take something out of the oven or watch a tv show, or add items to a shopping list or to do list? These are all as easy to do as saying out loud as if to no one in general, “Alexa, add bananas to my shopping list”. It will acknowledge having done that, and then when you’re at the store and you open up the shopping list on Alexa’s app, there it is. Same with reminders. “Alexa, remind me on the 24th that I have a doctor’s appt on the 25th”. Last night something reminded me of Ward Bond, an actor friend of John Wayne’s who was in lots of western movies, and I was curious about how old he was when he died. I said “Alexa, how old was Ward Bond when he died?”. This was the answer: “Ward Bond died in Dallas, Texas on November 5th, 1960. He was killed by a myocardial infarction. He was 57 years old when he died.” Pretty cool. You can also get news, sports scores, info on upcoming games, all sorts of things. All in all, it’s a really cool and well-performing device and easily worth the money. (I think Dots are around $50.)
[Missed the edit window.] Oh, yeah, it does math too. Lots easier to say something like “Alexa, what is 3,874 minus 1,347?” than it is to bring up a calculator and punch in the info on your phone or computer.
I mainly use it for four things: radio/music/podcasts (it’s the best “radio” I’ve ever owned, and only at $30 to boot!), setting timers for cooking (I cook nearly every day), shopping lists (I’ve always been bad about keeping a written shopping list, so as items run out, I just say “Alexa, add XXX to shopping list”), and weather reports. I don’t even use it for Googling stuff or anything like that. Those things alone were worth it to me.
Heck, just the audio functionality of it is what sold it to me. I have two kids at home, 3 1/2 and almost 2. Whenever they bug me for a song, whether it’s “Wheels on the Bus” or “Walk Like an Egyptian,” I just have to shout out "Alexa, play ‘Wheels and the Bus’ " and voilà! Or if I miss an episode of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, I’ll just ask Alexa to stream it at my leisure. That alone was worth the $30 or $40 or so I spent each for them.
So, a typical day cooking dinner: "Alexa, play ‘It’s a Charlie Brown Christmas’ ". Then, a few minutes later, “Alexa, add butter and eggs to shopping list.” Then, a few minutes later, “Alexa, set a timer for 30 minutes. Alexa set another timer for one hour.” (Although, looks like you can even name your timers now.)
And, no it doesn’t feel at all odd talking to a gadget, but I’m used to talking to Siri and stuff like that. This is the most useful and used electronic device I’ve owned since tablets came out.
I got one a year ago and the family was very wary of it. Then eventually my daughter asked for one, and then just now my son (so he got one for Christmas).
Things we do: set cooking timers, set wake-up alarms or other notifications, check the temp and weather forecast, listen to podcasts, find out movie times at the local theater, and listen to the radio. On the latter, it’s nice to have NPR or whatever on in the house, and I also listen to a lot of different college radio stations in other parts of the country, like the one from LSU or WSKB in Western Mass, which is terrific.
We also have a couple of outlets (like the one behind the Christmas tree) on wifi plugs it can control.
ETA: I also pay the extra $3.99/month to have the unlimited music catalog, so I’ll listen to new albums that way before buying.
ETA2: if you board game or RPG, Alexa can provide die rolls for any number of die faces (“Alexa, roll a 300-sided die”).
Do you want to check the weather
I have weather bookmarked in Chrome, one tap and I’m there.
Be reminded on a certain day of an upcoming doctor appointment or birthday
My outlook calendar at work has my schedule and requires two level authentication to access.
Set a timer to let you know it’s time to take something out of the oven.
There is a timer literally built into the oven.
Watch a tv show
I use a Roku to watch tv. I rarely turn it on to watch something specific but to discover new content or browse around for something that sounds good in the moment.
Add items to a shopping list or to do list?
Chalkboard on the wall in the kitchen
. . . when you’re at the store and you open up the shopping list on Alexa’s app, there it is.
My grocery doesn’t have WiFi and I don’t have a smart phone. I print out a list in store order, which no app would know for my particular grocery.
“Alexa, remind me on the 24th that I have a doctor’s appt on the 25th”.
Again I keep all that on my office Outlook, which none of these devices can access.
Last night something reminded me of Ward Bond, an actor friend of John Wayne’s who was in lots of western movies, and I was curious about how old he was when he died. I said “Alexa, how old was Ward Bond when he died?”.
Google or IMDB on my tablet.
You can also get news, sports scores, info on upcoming games, all sorts of things.
feedly.com, and in one tap
I’m not suggesting the thing doesn’t work I’m trying to figure out why shouting things into the aether is more convenient than tapping a link on a tablet.
Mind you I do think these things are a miracle for the disabled community. I guess quadriplegics and others with movement issues find these reattach them to the world. I think everyone should go out and buy one just so they remain on the market for that. But my hands work just fine and I don’t find picking up a tablet to be any more taxing than shouting out commands. As I said I used the Google voice commands once just for a giggle but never had any reason to use it for real.
I’m also not sure what it would be like living with someone who owns one of these. I would forever be hunting people down when I hear voices to see if they were trying to talk to me.
Why do you have so many devices and sites to do what one $30 device can do!? 
Because it is? Far more convenient to say “Alexa, what’s the weather” or “Hey Google, what’s the weather” than pulling my phone out of my pocket (or walking to the table or bedroom to grab it), unlocking it, and then looking at the weather widget (and then tapping it to see the highs/lows for the day).
Just a crazy thought, but maybe not every product out there is a good fit for every consumer’s preferences and/or lifestyle.