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I've got it watching my commute, linked to calendars, shopping lists and to do lists and spotify. It's not connected to my sonos yet.
What other cool stuff can i get it doing?
Mine is setup to clean the room.
Just sits there collecting dust. Quite clever.
Alexa......Rap
How easy is it to use, I mean how convenient. Is there lots of fiddling through menus? What is the sound quality like?
Where does it update the shopping list?
Main things I do at the moment:
"Alexa, Good morning" is always a nice way to start, usually gives you a bit of trivia about the day.
"Alexa, what's in the news?" gets your flash briefing from whichever news source you have set up.
"Alexa, what's the weather like?"
"Alexa, will it rain today?"
"Alexa, play some Classic FM" for a bit of radio via TuneIn (other digital stations are available - Kerrang is also good 🙂 )
"Alexa, volume 4" - when it gets a bit loud
"Alexa, set a timer for 25 minutes" - can be pretty useful when cooking etc
"Alexa, tell me a joke"
I also use mine as a bluetooth speaker which means I can play anything I like through it (including Spotify Free).
How easy is it to use, I mean how convenient. Is there lots of fiddling through menus? What is the sound quality like?
There is a phone app which lets you fiddle with the various settings like setting up news sources, installing new apps etc - but the basic setup is pretty easy and once it is done then general use is very easy, you just speak.
Sound quality is decent - I have the Dot which has no speaker and is setup (via a mic cable) to output to a vintage radio with a nice big speaker on it.
We have Philips Hue lights so can turn the lights on or off in other rooms.
Each wifi light has a name so "Alexa...turn the Batcave lights on" turns on the lights in my son's room.
Also fun is "Alexa... wiki <subject>" - gives a snapshot from Wikipedia
I could probably find this info if I spent time looking but maybe you guys can answer off the top of your heads!!!
I have a Bose Soundtouch in my Kitchen and I use the app to play lots of stuff and Spotify. Could I use a Dot via a jack lead to control the Soundtouch?
Not via a jack lead (as that is just for audio output from the Dot).
But I think the Soundtouch is Bluetooth so you [i]*might*[/i] be able to control features on it with Alexa. Don't know for sure though sorry.
Can't see any specific Bose skills listed in the[url= https://www.amazon.co.uk/alexa-skills/b/ref=topnav_storetab_a2s?ie=UTF8&node=10068517031 ] Alexa Skills section on Amazon[/url].
At the very least you'd be able to use it as a speaker for a Dot.
Cheers, yes it does have Bluetooth
There's loads of Alexa related stuff at this site, I use IFTTT on my phone but I'm not an Echo owner as yet.
https://ifttt.com/search/alexa
so, the dot has no speaker, but can bluetooth to one?
the dot has a small speaker, fine for my casual kitchen use
and it hooks up to spotify?
so, the dot has no speaker, but can bluetooth to one?
It's got a tinny little internal speaker, but it's really designed to be used with your own external speaker, either connected via an audio jack or through bluetooth.
Decent summary here:
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/audio-systems/amazon-echo-dot-1328595/review
and it hooks up to spotify?
If you have the [i]paid[/i] version, i.e. Spotify Premium, then yes it hooks up to that.
I bought a dot and a bluetooth receiver so I could play Amazon Prime Music through my stereo.
When I checked the command history on the app, my housemate's friends have asked 'Alexa, show us your t*ts' and 'Alexa, is marijuana good for you?' He was at least a tad embarrassed when I shared this with him.
Apparently it can control the Amazon firestick.
Is "Alexa, clean my bike and bring my slippers" possible yet?
ok, I'll have one. Would one of you send it along please?
Sadly not.
But they did recently let you change the trigger word to "Computer" - so all I need now is an internet-plug, a teasmaid and some Earl Gray.
http://www.theverge.com/tldr/2017/1/23/14365338/amazon-echo-alexa-computer-wake-word-star-trek
They make good coasters for 1 pint mugs
Sounds like mefty or Jamie might have one you can have Charlie 😆
Open the pod bay doors?
You could buy a dolls house. http://www.theverge.com/2017/1/7/14200210/amazon-alexa-tech-news-anchor-order-dollhouse
Yeah I turned off the ability to buy stuff as soon as I set it up.
Though I do plan to go to my mate's house and say to his "Alexa, order me 100 rolls of Andrex please" 😉
Sounds like mefty or Jamie might have one you can have Charlie
Nuts to that. I ain't ever doing the dusting again!