Amazon Echo and Dot review: Everything I've Learned in 18 months of real life use
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
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After my hugely successful amazon echo review, (who some have called the best) 😛, i thought i'd follow it up with an update. In this video, I cover all the practical uses I've come to rely on over that past 2 years with my Amazon Echo and Amazon Dot, and talk about what its like using it on a day to day basis and using multiple devices throughout the house.
Please leave a comment if you have any questions!
Link to Echo: geni.us/amznecho
Link to Dot: geni.us/amznech...
Link to Wemo switch: geni.us/wemo
Link to Insteon starter kit: geni.us/insteonkit
Link to Nest thermostat: geni.us/nesttherm
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like the features, setup was difficult for some of my devices (August Door lock, ruclips.net/user/postUgkxhB5YOMNj04GuoAosExygP4cH-dKeb4aB Bose speaker)... but all switches and outlets (5), thermostat, tankless water heater. Unfortunately all I can do is turn on/off Bose. It doesn't support volume or changing channels, but I believe that is due to the particular speaker I have.... Worth getting if you already have other devices to use it with... I don't sit around and ask Alexa questions much so that doesn't really matter to me....
*I like the old style Echo Dot because it's small also **Newest.Technology**, gives out decent sound and doesn't take up a lot of shelf space if you want to put it on beam in the workshop or shed.*
I've also been using Echo for over two years, however, my experience is somewhat different only because my habits are different to begin with or in some cases I'm willing to meet Alexa half-way to accomplish what I want to do. First, Echo was only touted as a tool for re-ordering something you've ordered before from Amazon. In that scenario it works perfectly and I have used it frequently for that class of product. The same goes for Dominos. I live alone (widower) so I do order the same order over again and I find it very handy to be able to do this. I order it on Echo then 5 or 7 minutes later bring up my Dominos app on my iPhone to watch it's progress (as I usually elect to pick it up and the app tells me exactly when to do it). I use my Echo's (6 of them) for playing music all the time...and sometimes everywhere at once. I also have Apple Airplay in most of those rooms but, surprisingly, I have found Echo to be more dependable at playing the music in perfect sync (no latency) and with no dropouts than my various Airplay nodes. I have no problem with AppleTV (3 of them)...but simply broadcasting music to a stereo system in the living room or bedroom is fraught with frequent dropouts (and since the same thing does not happen with AppleTV, it's hard to figure out the root cause). The easiest way to call music is by album name or playlist name...but I have 2,500 albums on My Music, so obviously I can't remember all those names. In some cases I've retooled the album name to make it easier to remember and easier for Alexa to recognize. So, for me, reordering (either Amazon or Dominos) has been 100% successful and music retrieval by voice command...perhaps only 85% successful. But sometimes I'll just lie in the dark and give Alexa song commands and do a list of 20 0r 30 songs on the fly...which is amusing at times. Like "techfreshness" (our reviewer) I find home automation to be VERY useful. I have 9 WeMo switches which were 100% dependable for months, then I changed WiFi routers and have had problems ever since. I have a Nest thermostat...very cool. I also have a NEXX garage door accessory which makes almost any opener into an Internet responsive opener. So Echo has been the main impetus to moving into home automation. The new ability to talk to it with serial commands without using the wake word many times in succession is very cool, indeed. I get all the relevant lights turned on before leaving my media room at night. I use "Thank you", "Good Morning", and "Good Night" and it gives the very brief illusion of having someone else in the house. Echo is embedded in my life and daily behavior.
hey james, thanks for the comment. i like how you are using yours so heavily. i'm wondering with the release of airplay 2 if you got any improvement on the broadcasting music side. you are right about the ordering, i guess the key is really the reorders, because i've started using that more often myself. and definitely home automation can be very finnicky for sure, its not for easily frustrated at times. i may have to go ahead and take the time to setup dominos haha. but what i dont' like are things where you have to tell alexa to 'tell X' do to something for you, but if you are willing to meet it halfway like you say, you empower it a whole lot more. take care man!
Airplay 2 (which is mostly to help Homepod do it's thing) has not improved the reliability or latency issues of my setup. Of course, there are many benefits to Airplay that work fine and all of my AppleTV's perform pretty much flawlessly (I've had ATV since version 1.0 in 2007...when Steve called it a "hobby.") My problem is distributing music directly from iTunes to my living room and bedroom from my Den where the MacMini resides. One problem is that Apple does not offer an audio interface (like ATV for audio only); the problems I never have on ATV happen 60 or 70% of the time when going directly from iTunes to outlying speakers. So I used an Audiocast "node" for the living room and the bedroom speaker receives Airplay directly. The problems are two-fold. Either the music quits on one of them for seconds at a time (swiss cheese music) or the three aren't in sync. The Audiocast is not as "robust" as an Apple solution would be (on evidence of my success with ATV). Another "node" I have is a Yamaha receiver in the basement for my home theater...when I broadcast to that device (which receives Airplay directly) it is as robust as ATV. So the real problem, I think, is that Apple does not provide an audio solution for existing audio...thus forcing you to invest in Homepod...they think!! But they are too late to that game. I have six Echo units and have been running Airplay as long as it has existed. Oh, and it's not my router. I have a new MESH system that covers the house very well. Previously, a combination of Airport (base station) and Airport Express (with audio jack) worked pretty well...but Apple is getting out of the router business and my Airport base station recently croaked. So, again, Apple is not offering an audio interface for existing systems. That's the problem. Period!!
we'll put you down as undecided haha
This is the only good and honest review that I trust
my man, i approve this comment ha!
"If you don't know you have 12 appointments the following morning, you're already F**ked" ... Hands down, top ten quotes ever ... I am even putting this against great movies Like SuperBad and Step Brothers. Subscribed and Notified bro. Keep it up man.
ha you made me smile very bigly! thanks a lot man
😄😂🤣😆😛
I believe that once you've ordered something with Amazon Prime, that's what Alexa will default to when you voice order. I order dog food that way every month. You seem to be demonstrating ordering generic items without giving Alexa any specifics.
"If you go to bed without already knowing you have 12 appointments in the morning, you're already f***ed" -- LOL
Pressed "like" button after the first joke about the calendar in a minute. Subscribed.
haha thanks a lot man. i don't have a lot of jokes, but that was a rare gem for me
Buying an echo is a lot like the first time hard drives increased storage to MBs. I remember when I got my first 20 or 40 mb hard drive I was asked what am I going to do with all this storage. Funny, now I have about 20TBs. My point is for those still not sure about the value of owning an echo: once you own one you will find many uses for it even if you are not using it primarily as a smart home device. You will find yourself adapting to it as a reliable assistance for some things. Checking train schedules, driving and road conditions, plane flights, weather and conditions in a planned vacation city or country, etc. There are tons of things one can do and it is fun. The Dot will cost these days about 8 cents a day if looking at unit cost per day over a year which, is not a bad investment. In other words, for most people cost shouldn't be debatable. Most of use spent more than this on a cup of coffee or daily newspaper. BTW, excellent review!
Well, Alexa just added soy sauce to my shopping list while listening to this. Too funny.
ha lol
Same here!! Lol
Good video. You're spot on IMHO. Use it for the things that make life easier. Don't make life more complicated by trying to get it to do everything.
A nice and honest review, thanks a lot. As I live in Mexico, Alexa just arrived past november 2018, we dont have so many skills available, hope developers get the job done.
Thanks for very useful review. I recently ordered an Echo Dot and looking forward to connecting smart home devices.
My husband is hearing impaired and even with hearing aides if there is any ambient noise in the house we are constantly saying "what did you say". We are enjoying using the Drop In feature. Have echo's in every room and are loving it! Maybe next review you could spend a minute on the value of this feature for room to room communication and also to check on elderly parents. I think this is a safety feature overlooked. Thanks, enjoyed your review. Oh yes and also use it for communicating with our Next thermostat.
thats great, yeah i only recently discovered this feature, its really good, i HATE when my wife tries to yell me across the house. actually i did cover it in my echo show video, you may want to check that out since sounds like you are an echo lover like me
You kept this review as experienced and fact-based as possible, and I loved it! I'm not interested in this Echo fad due to the fact that it's too damn redundant for my uses. Everything you've competently demonstrated can be done with my one simplistic and intuitive iPhone 6s+, especially the Pizza ordering. Thank You for staying professional!
tis true, i just have bad experiences with siri that its too frustrating, plus my phone isn't always within voice reach. but i totally get what you are saying. do you really order pizza with your voice regularly, cuz if you do thats awesome
Easily the best Echo review on RUclips, i grabbed one plus a Dot! Thanks. I listen to a lot of digital radio and genre based playlists and what surprised me was the ability to call on Neil Young's new album then some garage psych & shoegaze!! with the integration of amazon music it just feels seamless! The free trail is well worth a look :D amaz.to/amazon-music-unlimited
Great video man. Moving to a new apt and trying to figure out how to set up a multi room system for my music. Sonos is a bit pricey for me right now, but I did like the chrome cast audio workaround. Does it work with Alexa or would I need to get a google home mini?
I can do it with my android phone too :p
Siri can’t do multiple timers. Nor can she announce to the rest of the house that dinner’s ready or we are getting ready to leave for grandma’s.... The echo can.
Thanks. Very informative and useful. An honest review of what's kinda useless hype and what's realistic is just what I needed.
great, exaclty what i was shooting for! glad it helped
i feel like im just gonna use that for music player, lights switch and alarm clock lol
I'm new to this. How do you set it up for alarm, messages, and lights etc.
Outstanding review. Nice quality and great information. You keep this up and you're gonna be big on RUclips! Thanks for the video...
thanks a lot for the kind words jim, lets hope so!
Very helpful video...what may have been an impulse buy, has now been thwarted. I don't need one. Thanks for saving me some bucks!
Hands down the best and most useful review of the Echo out there. Thank you sir.
nice, thanks for the comment. glad to be of use!
So the best thing I've learned from this video is to ask what time a certain store opens or closes. That's not bad.
START REALLY LOUD AT THE START OF A SENTENCE then get quieter and quieter and trail off at the end....
haha sorry bout that
I lost it when you made that joke about the commercial LOL
haha! that commercial is so annoying to me, girl so clueless about her day
Best review I've seen so far. It's not officially available in Australia yet but I'm thinking of trying it out anyway with the rest of my smart home.
when you said "Alexa Order me Paper towels" It gave you a bunch of information on it And then In the ad It said "Reorder paper towels" I don't have an echo yet but I think it wasn't Giving her a lot of Information Because she's ordered the towels in the past And Alexa Knew the specific one (this is all theory)
That is correct...but difference in reordering and shopping.
Yeah, you're right. If you order something before and use the voice command the second time then Alexa well order that same item by default
How is Alexa supposed to know what type of paper towels you want 😂
this video triggered my echo lol
lol, those commercials do that when they come on too, you would think it would know its own commercial. i know the google home does
you can change the command name to echo or computer or Alexa
If you`re searching to find the best service to get people to your webpage, i advise to try seowebsitetraffic. I am using it with a very good result. Simply type seowebsitetraffic in google or bing.
Lol!
Or. If you know your about to watch Alexa RUclips videos. Go ahead and turn off mic on your echo device
I think my house is a bit dated to turn off the ceiling lights and the thermostat :(
HunkMine All you need to do is replace a bulb, or buy a new lightswitch.
Dated house? Don't ever think that. You don't even need to replace the bulbs. Just get an Alexa compatible smart light switch for each room or set of lights that you want to control and replace the stock rocker switches. Also keep in mind, it is very cheap if you keep your choices to the light switches that are single pole as opposed to the ones that are 3 pole or 4 pole (meaning the kind that control lights from multiple locations like at both ends of long hallways or top and bottom of stairways, etc.) These switches can also be turned off and on with app on your mobile device when you are away from home and set schedules to them for auto on/off. Many of them have dimming controls too. Big bang for the buck...go for the switches.
just ordered 5 of them (dots) and I do have already entire house on zwave controller, thank you for explaining all that in normal human language :-)
Ordering - I actually find it useful for RE-ordering common household items. For example, I can say "Alexa, order dog food" and it will bring up my last order and ask if I want to reorder that item. Nice! But yes, it's much easier to make that first order from the website.
yeh i guess i could see that for certain specialty items, but then i gotta remember what i can and can't order or what i did and didn't order you know what i mean?
This video triggered my first purchase of an echo... thanks!
still a good video to get familiar with practical use
Still can't find the "wow" factor about this toy that would push me to buy one. Very nice and professional review by the way, and I love the style of your house too :-)
yeh, i woudl just say try one, i think you'll find you get pretty reliant on it ha
I think the clapper should make a comeback. Seriously, this review helped me decide to get this.
This was very helpful! I just ordered the Echo Spot and Dot and a Nest.
I bought a echo dot this week, at $89 NZ I felt it was well worth the money. So far I love it! I don't know when I'll start adding control switches around the house because sadly alot of stuff available in the U.S is much more expensive in New Zealand.
yeh thats a bummer. glad you are loving the dot though!
Great in depth review! The best out on RUclips about Echo.
I love your house BTW...
hey thanks a lot dan, so do we!
i wish more people would do this .instead of leaning on first impressions .
Super informative thank you I just got mine echo really loving it
Cheers buddy just got a dot and will see how it goes.
A thorough, practical and very useful review. Essential viewing for anyone considering buying an Echo, and that includes myself! :-)
ha nice! glad it helped neccessseeeefesirum
First of all Nice video. Good information
Now i had to come back on this one. Philips hue
@4:11 You mentioned the hue. Alright um don't get it. I guess your not worried about engery usage. The point of changing out the bulbs whether its philips hue 9watt dimming bulbs or regular 9 watt blubs is to save energy and money. While your adding that wemo device your bulbs are still kicking out over 60watts each.
I Have the philips hue system and yes I changed out all of my 60 watt bulbs. Why?
1. The bulbs these days do not last as long as they use to I am 52 years old and I have had bulbs go out on me with in less than 5 months average. I got pretty tired of changing bulbs. I tried different brands.
2. The philips hue bulbs after initial setup with hub are only 14.99ea. The bulbs are LED so they are rated to last 0ver 20 years depending on usage. Not to mention they don't break as easy as traditional light bulbs
3. I wanted Automation in the house. Wanted to control lighting from anywhere on the planet and use it for security. I'm also Living with three ladies wife and two daughters in the house so most might know what I mean.
So 10ea 60 watt bulbs I changed =600watts to a the philips hue LED 10ea. 4-9 watts dimmable =40-90 watts and are automted.
Thats a huge difference might not save lots of money in the short run but saves non the less. LED Lights alone in a house can be run on solar power alone when setup correctly without taxing the solar power system.
The Alexa does a great job controlling everything in the house including the Ecobee thermostat. I don't order through Alexa I am going to configure her one day to order what I normally need.
I had a friend recommend it to me, and I have been researching the hell out of it. I love my record player, and otherwise don't find myself using my Apple Music outside of working out. I live in an apartment that does not have smart thermostats or lighting installed. I also have a predictable enough schedule that I don't have insane amounts of appointments or meeting every day that I need to be reminded of.
I just don't know if it is any more convenient that using Prime Now and other apps. I love my Eat 24 and never use dominos or pizza hut. haha. Its just slowly making itself less useful for me.
I used to live in the same area.. Grew up on Whitlock Avenue in Marietta Ga
Nice practical review. Even Though i didn't learn anything new, I appreciate the clarity of what is practical or not. However, I dont think you give enough credit to the music capabilities. Maybe because i have Prime, it works better than some. The ability to say "Alexa play genre/song/etc" is super simple. And the ability to to say "play everywhere" and change volume multiple ways ( "set volume to 5", or "louder", or "volume up" ), and to say "next", "fast forward", "rewind," etc. could arguably be as useful as turning the lights on and off.
yeah man i don't disagree at all. i guess i didnt' talk about it much only because i don't use it personally for music (because I don't usually listen to music in just one room or on little speakers, although i do know you can hook it up to them, but it brings up other issues) but yeah the accessibility is awesome and simple
Great video. That black shirt you're wearing in the studio is sooooo good btw lol
ha oh you mean the hoodie? funny you say that, others have asked where i got it...target!
also for the smart bulbs thing the sealing fan I got in my living room uses the smaller screw end so I would have to get a hole new sealing fan or get an adapter but then you would see the light bulb hanging out of globe or I might have to take the globe off.
Great info: super practical and on point. Here's a suggestion: lapel mike...
ha thanks man, i have taken your suggestiona and cured my ills!
"I mean if you go to bed without knowing you have 12 events in the morning then you're already f-"
Subscribed.
I agree with other post stating it’s first true and honest review of things Alexa can do and things that are unreasonable..
High quality video. Much appreciated.
Seems like a good reason to never sleep with anyone.
Very helpful - thanks much.
We're thinking about getting 2 or 3 of these and watching your review, I think, sealed the deal. Thanks for this :)
thats great! you're welcome, hope you are enjoying them
UGB
Very honest and up front! Great video
This is the BEST review I've seen on the Dot thanks!
excellent video, have watched it three times now. My echo arrived today and I have been setting it up to do the useful things you point out. thanks for sharing
awesome, hope you enjoy it! let me knwo if you have any questions.
I use most of your ideas plus.. I use it to open and close my blinds (somfy skill). Love it.
oh thats awesome. i actually JUST added some remote blinds to my basement now too, such a convenient luxury ha.
Excellent presentation....
One of the best reviews I have run across. Thanks.
thanks for sharing .. im just abt to buy one today ..
Thank you so much. You pretty much hit every inquiry I had, and even adjusted my expectations when you did the dream scenario versus reality. Thank you for being so thorough, hitting the sweet spot of being concise and detailed without rambling or going on long tangents
awesome, glad it helped you out! let me know if you have any other questions, the only thing i forgot was to show the snooze feature on my morning alarms. alexa snooze! its glorious ha
Thank you. Spot on review and watching your video cost me $$. But well worth it. Thank you
haha great, well glad you are enjoying at least
Loved the review but for somebody who can appreciate a good home theater system as is evident in the projector setup you showcased... How do you not own the Logitech harmony hub and showcase the Echo compatibility and how incredibly useful it is ??? right up there with the lighting... You showed no Music or TV demo alexa demo :0/ I understand you may not have/use these options but it would have been nice to at least see or hear about the options.
I watched your video with interest as I bought into home automation earlier this year. I have expanded my system quite quickly. I think most will agree these are exciting times and this is one of those interests which can quickly prove to be very infectious. Anyway, almost 12 months later and I completely agree with your thoughts. I think it's still 'early days' and can't wait to see how things develop over time. Thanks for sharing your experience and, oh, love your choice of home decor - very stylish!
I'd rather just use a remote that's universally compatible with the lights. Better if its not wifi dependent.
that works too
Really great real world review.
It talked me out of buying one.
I don't need help with lights and thermostats since I am not handicapped and the rest I can do with my phone.
Amazon is not 'spying' on you specifically but they are monitoring keywords for various marketing purposes.
I don't need that in my life.
All new to this. My question is my wifi router allows for six devices. What do you do if you stsrt adding all these devices to Alexa? Or do they share? Please advice. Thanks.
Thank you for the video - I just ordered an Echo Dot...I noticed you communicate with one as "computer" rather than Alexa - is that an option in setup?
welcome, and yes sir it is, in the app settings you can choose, echo, amazon, alexa or computer. hope you are enjoying it!
yes maam it is, computer, alexa, amazon, or echo
great review.
This is a great video. Very nice.
That's great! You asked yours to get an Uber and that activated my 'computer' to tell a rhinoplasty joke. 😅 Great video. Still!
I want this. The light feature closed the deal. You didn't cover this but I'm hoping I will be able to create a shopping list for Amazon fresh. This is great.
I am the only one that actually find tiring talking instead to do physically those tasks?
yeh i think so, ha
I talk so much during the day that I can't stand the sound of my voice when I come home
Thank you for a great video!
IFTTT stands for If This Then That just so you know...
Really helpful video... thank you for highlighting what works well and what doesn't. Also helpful to know of command use versus practicality.
I was saying to people ,..how is this different than my iPhone besides it can be hacked
Can someone explain to me how you do the thing with wunderlist. It seems so easy
Regarding your being very concerned about disturbing someone you were “sleeping with”, I use my 3rd generation dot in “whisper” mode. It is really neat, really useful for parents who put one in a child’s bedroom. Love your home, the bed looked really inviting! Thanks for a gr8 video. Bye from the U.K.. 🌈😊
oooh very nice, i did not know about that whisper mode, thanks for the comment on it! thanks for watching from across le pond!
I share your opinion regarding useless skills like pizza ordering or amazon orders. The only useful skills are some the preinstalled ones. Most of the additional skills from the "store" don't make any sense. It kind of reminds me of most smart watch apps. Why would you want to browse e.g. Amazon using a tiny screen, while you could just use your phone.
What I miss about the echo: multi room audio. Could be used for parties in order to play the same music in the kitchen as in the living room.
Great video, thanks
thanks jan, yep i think you get it. and good point about the multi room audio, an absolute must, abomination they don't offer it yet that i know of
The best echo review out there - hands down. No marketing BS. Real life scenario - with objective and well explained pros and cons. And although the Echo is a technology wonder - I am failing to see currently any real life application for it. Paying $300, maintaining, configuring, updating - just to turn the lights on and off and ask for the weather, looks like a no go for me. Comparing to a $300 phone that does tons of things for me.
thanks raphael. yeah it def depends on your use, but i find it pretty indispensible now, of course its all a matter of what you get used to, the phone is definitely way more powerful and if its working for you then your right, whats really the point of adding another thing?
I don’t get why I should use this over Siri which is always in my pocket? Don’t get me wrong, it seems to be great, but all of these tasks I am also do with Siri except for ordering stuff from amazon.
if you are happy with siri then you are right, there really is no advantage. the only thing i can say is that my phone is not often near me in my house, but having the alexas always being able to respond regardless of what room your in is nice; as i have found yelling for siri across the room doesn't work near as well (it doesn't have far field mics after all), and this makes a big difference in my experience.
Great video. I use my cell as my alarm clock which was fine until I take my Ambien to sleep and end up shopping on line all night. Case in point...I just bought an Echo(plus 4 pairs of shoes, ugh). Surprise!!! So happy I can use it as an alarm and hide my cell. Lol
haha, that sounds harmful to your bank account
Hey! I'm in Marietta!
Very informative.. Thanks for the review. I had a hard time hearing you towards the end of your sentences because your voice level drops considerably so I had to keep playing with the volume up and down. Other than that this was an excellent video. I just purchased the echo dot 3rd gen and am looking for ways to use it. Pretty much you mentioned most everything I intend to use it for. Thanks!
sweet, glad it helped you out, yeah sorry about that voice thing, many people have made similar comments, its a bad habit i can't seem to shake!
Great review with a lot of practicality. Thanks. Great speaking voice as well!
My Aunt is 93 and still going strong. She's been having problems holding the phone past 3 or 4 minutes. So we hooked her up with the Echo Dot, she loves it and can talk much longer now to her many loved ones.
oh thats really great to hear
Why? Are people so lazy today that vocal commands are all they are willing to do. I used to have to get up and adjust antennas. These were metal rods that were connected to the back of the tv. And adjusted to acquire signals. We also actually spent the energy to stand up to change the tv channel. Oh my god how did people possibly survive.
hur dur technological advancement is the fall of man electricity is evil thomas edison was a witch.
oh, and antennas actually aren't ancient artifacts so everyone old enough to read your comment has probably interacted with one.
lol, if you forget 12 appointments your fucked :-)
just bought one on a black friday deal. Great review. looking forward to slowly automating my house
sweet, its good fun
Great review!!!!!!
This guy's getting a lot of his opinions based on what he thinks is used for...I actually be helpful to different people. The fact that you said you think something stupid is a good indicator that you might be the one.
ouch. well its true that i can only give my opinions. i do find the device overall to be quite useful though. i use it constantly
Amazon Devices are currently able to Group audio devices. I play audio through all of my devices at once for a whole house audio. "Alexa Play ___ Everywhere" I know this video was made a while ago. Just thought someone might not know.
Soo...I'm fairly tech saavy as any other regular person out there, but I'm still not sure what's required for setup. Does it work off the wifi of your computer? Can it control changing the channel on the t.v.? My mother is going blind and I'd like to buy this and then get it set up for her to use so she can at least turn on the t.v. and listen to different channels. How far can she be in the house and still have it pick up her questions? I heard you can't get the Dot unless you have an Echo first, is this true? Sorry for all the questions, you're video was very good, but missing some basics for a n00bie like myself.
I like the lights since I usually lay down and forget the lights, she also does math and conversions super fast.
you know it!
Hi - anyone help me set up shopping list to Wunderlist?!?
You can use Anylist and the echo will add or remove things from multiple lists without going through IFTT.
thanks for the tips. i will definitely check it out the app looks great. i just wished the damn alexa app would let you rearrange items, like wtf, that is so simple to add, but by not having it it makes it unusable
A battery backup is do-able but what if say, the router trips up and stops internet pass through. Will active commands still function?
yep, it works, you mean active commands like light controls?
The video says reorder. as in she has a subscription to the product thru amazon. so your test was not apples to apples
Not a bad video but you don't tell the cost of extra "Dots" and the cost changing your lights and thermostat controllers. Also the range of the base is a bit short and you may have to add "repeaters" to connect to all the devices and "Dots" that are out of range together.
I would love to voice command my whole house for lights, brightness, electric shades, locking doors etc. The conversion to control all of the items is currently cost prohibited for a middle class or lower family.
You may also have to change your electrical wiring for to get the ceiling lights to work via the light switch. Maybe another 10 years to get the price down or buy a new house equipped. What happens if the technology changes and the "Blue-Tooth" has changer to a new version that doesn't with the older equipment? ie you can't add on new things (ie a new refrigerator) that won't work with your old system.
Ex. The company that made my 2013 car, will no longer upgrade my infotainment system even though it uses the current technology for communication. It would just be software but not a strong suit for auto manufactures. In reality they know 90% of the owners have no idea how the software can be upgraded into the memory.
You bought it. You own it and I want you to buy the year model. I can see a lawsuit coming on!
Opps, Good luck getting the new tech to work with you old "Alexa" when you do a remodel!!!
you make a lot of good points, yeah i should hae mentioned cost too. but yeah going full or near full automation is a real costly proposition at the moment, the good news it will eventually and contue to (and already has) come way down
Yes it is because I have gone mini updating.
A good LED motion light switch is over $35.
A dimmable led light switch that the dimness can becontroled from either switch will cost you almost $60 for the 2 switches.
These are all manual LED dimming switches alone. Start adding bluetooth controlled, well your house better be worth it in the range of value for the updates or it is a upgrade waste. If you can afford it and don't care about resale, go for it.
Wait a few years and the prices will be reasonable. Electronics is the only industry that the cost of technology goes down over time.
My main TV (older) supports 3D. I looked at the price and comfort and walked away. Only a few sporting events and some movies and video games supported it. It is basically dead now.
LOL!