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All New Amazon Echo Dot
- LeonidBugaev 10y agoWell, I guess one of the most interesting things hidden in then Q&A section: > Comes with 90 day warranty vs first gen had 1 year > Optional 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year extended warranty available for U.S. customers sold separately.
- Grazester 10y agoThere is money to be made having people buy these warranties separately. Good for business not so much for the customer.
- post_break 10y ago90 day warranty is highway robbery. I have stopped buying electronics with anything but my AMEX because of these crap warranties.
- shostack 10y agoWhat does AMEX offer?I should probably reread my cardholder benefits.
- post_break 10y agoExtends the warranty https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/benefits/detail/extended-warranty/premier-gold https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/benefits/det...
- rdslw 10y agoJust move to EU. Two year minimum warranty period for consumers.
- overcast 10y agoAt this point I buy everything with my American Express. The amount of extras they give you is just crazy. Between saving 6% on grocery, 3% on gas, extended warranties, credit on utility bills, and other random deals. It's basically a no-brainer. Assuming of course you're responsible, and pay it off every month.
- dawnerd 10y agoI've been slowly switching everything over. I've been flying a lot too so getting a delta branded amex is really tempting for all the miles and such. Besides the extended warranties they give you, the travel aid is also a huge benefit. Instead of dealing with the airline I just give amex a call and they deal with it.
- overcast 10y agoLike I said, if you're responsible with payments, its awesome. However the fees/interest rates will murder you otherwise.
- outworlder 10y agoMany AMEX cards are not credit cards, they are charge cards, and supposed to be paid in full every month. Get one of these. Won't prevent mistakes but will remove the association between credit and money that many people have.
- gcr 10y agoWhat's the difference between a charge card and a debit card?
- celticninja 10y agoNow they are selling Alexa in the UK I wonder if the rules are different here due to consumer protection laws. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1677034/Two-year-warranty-EU-law.html http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1677034/Two...
- CodeMage 10y agoThey just need to wait until Brexit is implemented and then it becomes a moot point, right?
- celticninja 10y agoWell it is also for sale in Germany, which probably wont be leaving the EU anytime soon.
- jlittel 10y agoIt's $60 with a two year warranty (vs. $90 for previous model and one year warranty). I appreciate being able to choose to purchase the warranty, as opposed to bundling it.
- overcast 10y agoIt's also almost half the price.
- bpicolo 10y agoPretty interesting that their recommended Dot + Speaker combos are more than the cost of the Echo by like...50%.
- swalsh 10y agoI actually kind of like that, I love the echo functionality, but it's nice to be able to pick the speaker I want.
- machbio 10y agoIs it not bound to be that - Bose v/s Amazon Echo Speakers.. I donot see any problem with that.
- bpicolo 10y agoYeah, it makes sense. I mostly mention it because their QA section talks about how the only difference between the dot and the echo is the speaker.
- mmcclellan 10y agoIf anything, the new price point for the Dot and the fact that the Tap has been on sale for $99 recently could presage a lower price point for the Echo this holiday season.
- awesomerobot 10y agoThat's just basic business logic, no?
- Stratoscope 10y agoFor me this is a huge plus. I got one of the first batch of Echos when they were sort of an invitation-only thing. I wasn't sure how the voice interaction would turn out, but I figured it would at least make a decent streaming music speaker. Ugh. The sound quality of the Echo was its worst feature for me. Really not what I expected from a speaker, especially after seeing their fancy descriptions of how they worked so hard on the sound quality. It's boomy and muddy, not at all what I'm looking for in a music speaker. Oddly enough, I didn't see a lot of complaints about it, so I guess that boomy muddy sound is what a lot of people like? In any case it's not for me. So yeah, having the Alexa functionality but being able to connect higher-quality speakers - and stereo too? That works for me.
- swalsh 10y agoWill these be networked together? For instance, if my washer finishes can Alexa tell me? Or if I want to tell something to my wife up stairs, can I ask Alexa to tell her? Also, I know it's not possible... but something I wish I could do in the SDK, I want to ask Alexa (which sits on my counter) to listen for my instant pot to beep, and than tell me. Sometimes I walk away, and don't hear it.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- new_hackers 10y agoawww snap! that is a great idea! "Alexia notify me when my instant pot beeps" That my friend is the next level!
- new_hackers 10y agoThe ad-hoc instant intercom is also a HUGE win. In the 50s and 60s, all the fancy houses on TV had an intercom (didn't the Brady Bunch?). The intercom seemed to just fade away. However, I would MUCH rather say "Alexia, tell upstairs that 'its time for dinner'", and it to be replayed upstairs. Rather than walking into the next room and yelling up the stairs like a neanderthal.
- jethro_tell 10y ago>Rather than walking into the next room and yelling up the stairs like a neanderthal 'My Cave is so big I can't even shout to the end. . . '
- new_hackers 10y agoThe question is not can I shout, rather should I shout. I shant hazard a kerfuffle in the nursery, or disruption in the conservatory.
- bengoodger 10y agoMy house is nearly 120 feet wide end to end, split across three levels. My wife & I use IM/SMS to communicate from the extremities. The struggle is real.
- ajamesm 10y agoIntegration with Domino's Pizza is a real win. If you're eating two to three deliveries a day, those few minutes of friction are costing you hours a year, never mind the overhead of the mental context switch. Buying this product is, in effect, adding quality years to your lifespan.
- deegles 10y agoWell, you're not wrong about it saving you time. Even if it's only a few seconds, why is that something to deride? Sure, maybe paying $50 to save a few seconds isn't a choice most people would make, but it's not like that's all it can do.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- johnwheeler 10y agoBut, it's not hard to see how this functionality can be extrapolated: One day you ask Alexa for items off Amazon and a drone drops them off on your doorstep. Think about all the pieces involved in that: The hardware and software design of Echo/Alexa, Amazon's distribution network built out over years, FAA lobbying to get the drone flying. If that doesn't impress you, nothing will.
- the_watcher 10y agoI'm with you. When they launch, to demonstrate the functionality, they need some functions, which means partners. Obviously there are near infinite applications of "Alexa, ask X to do Y". Zapier and Iffft have made entire businesses out of a much more annoying way to do this.
- VLM 10y agoI think its understood that "ordering pizza" is just polite conversation for "Alexa activate emergency toilet paper delivery" while you're sitting in the bathroom cursing whoever used up the TP without ordering more.
- new_hackers 10y agoAmazon may just be the 800lb gorilla that has enough man-hours and computing power to finally integrate all the disparate APIs into a single platform. And their device doesn't cost very much
- aljones 10y agoThey're punting though. After a triggering phrase is said it hands off a string to the API associated with the phrase. So, no natural language processing unless the API does it. Users have to be trained to say particular triggering phrases.
- URSpider94 10y agoThe only trigger you have to say is "Alexa", just like Siri or Ok Google. Everything else is processed.
- Eridrus 10y agoI would buy one of these in an instant if it could control a Roku without me having to my own server and could control my infrared TV/sound bar. I can't believe how I still have so many remotes.
- normalfaults 10y agoLogitech harmony hub with ifttt might help. Checkout r/homeautomation for lots of different ideas
- the_watcher 10y agoIt does help. A lot. It's easily the best option out there. It's still just really frustrating to have to buy a $150 device that's more expensive than any of the disparate devices I am trying to control in the first place (save the TV). That said, given today's state of things, it's worth it.
- celticninja 10y agoI have a redmi note 3 Pro phone that has an IR blaster that I can programme for all the TVs in my house, I assume it will also work on sounds bars or anything else with IR.
- the_watcher 10y agoSome of the skills they list are pretty hilarious: There's something called a Meat Butler.
- bigtunacan 10y agoAlexa, when does the world end?
- mapletree 10y agoBuy 5, Get 1 Free OR Buy 10, Get 2 Free I'm no mathematician, but...
- OJFord 10y agoI hate this sort of thing! Not only are "normal people" - non HN-readers, that is - going to see through this anyway, but even if not, what's wrong with: 1 FREE Dot for every 5 you buy! How is that not a better UX? It seems so obvious, and yet this happens repeatedly - even from a company like Amazon, which I imagine has this tagline run past a fair number of people before it goes live.
- mathrawka 10y agoThe power of suggestion. If you see that if you buy 5 and get 1 free, you are now thinking about how great having 6 in your house would be. What's this? Buy 10 get 2 free? Now you are thinking about getting 12. That's now putting your find on the 12 vs 6. So now you may think 12 is too many, but 6 is good. So instead of buying 1, you just bought 5.
- pkaye 10y agoAnother trick I see in grocery stores is a get 2 for $2 deal. This tells you nothing about the price of 1 but people assume getting 2 is some sort of deal and buy more than they need.
- overcast 10y agoJust an fyi, it's ALWAYS 1 for $1 in those types of "deals".
- Infinitesimus 10y agoAnecdote time! Had an incident at a shop with my SO where we did the math and realized that the 'Deal' price was more than buying 2x of the individual package (it was something small but I forget what it was) . Someone screwed up...
- rdslw 10y agoHow did they manage to reduce price by half (AFAIK) ? Does Amazon subsidies echodot now?
- pgrote 10y agoAs someone who bought the original dot at twice the price, I wondered the same thing. They are cutting us a break, though: "Something just for you As a customer who purchased the previous–generation Echo Dot, you can get a $10 Alexa Shopping credit when you order the All-New Echo Dot using Alexa Shopping. Order today through October 20 and a $10 Alexa Shopping credit will be applied to your account within one week after your new Echo Dot has shipped."
- Karunamon 10y agoAlexa Shopping.. I think that means you have to order it via the echo rather than online. I.e. "Alexa, order me an Echo Dot"
- stronglikedan 10y agoThey aren't really cutting us a break though. In order to take advantage of the offer, we have to buy the new dot and then purchase something else from them. They lose nothing, and gain everything. A break would be $10 off the new dot.
- gakada 10y ago$10 off vs $10 credit is exactly the same thing unless you never buy anything from Amazon ever again.
- stronglikedan 10y ago> unless you never buy anything from Amazon ever again Exactly my point. You have to buy something else to take advantage of the offer. That's not a break - it's like a BOGO slap in the face for 1st gen owners. Another thing I thought of: There are a lot of people who didn't know they were "early adopters" until yesterday. The 1st gen was marketed as "available until sold out", adding urgency to the purchase. It just keeps getting better and better (read worse and worse). I will very seriously consider further purchases of Amazon products, so they will definitely lose money over this.
- SoulMan 10y agoGreat innovation but at the same time amazon.in proudly sells a Chetan Bhagat book on their home page.
- amckenna 10y agoI'm not familiar with Indian current events, could you elaborate?
- pbreit 10y agoHas Apple made any moves suggesting it will get into this category? A Siri-enabled Beats speaker would be a decent start. Call it a "hobby" if concerned about low volume.
- mxuribe 10y agoAnyone have personal experience with either Triby [https://www.amazon.com/Triby-portable-speaker-built--Service/dp/B013DJSKKQ/ https://www.amazon.com/Triby-portable-speaker-built--Service...] or Nucleus [https://www.amazon.com/Nucleus-Anywhere-Intercom-built--Service/dp/B01I5O5LCO/ https://www.amazon.com/Nucleus-Anywhere-Intercom-built--Serv...]??
- tlrobinson 10y agoWhat's new about the 2nd generation, besides price? One thing I'd really like is to be able to configure the Alexa voice to play back through both the speaker and aux output, since sometimes I turn my speakers off. Also, if multiple Dots in the same household can work together as a Sonos-like system that would be awesome. ' At the very least if two Dots hear the same voice commands hopefully only one (the closer one?) will respond.
- CharlesW 10y ago> At the very least if two Dots hear the same voice commands hopefully only one (the closer one?) will respond. That's what the newly-announced "Spatial Perception" feature does. In theory, it will detect which Echo or Dot is closest to you, and respond only on that device. Happily, it's going to be rolled out to existing Echo/Dot devices as well.
- djhworld 10y agoAre they ever going to release any of the Echo products outside of the US? It feels
- tonyedgecombe 10y agoIt's available in the UK now, not that I would ever buy a product like that from Amazon.
- hochchristoph 10y agoIt says available starting October 26th here in Austria for Prime customers.
- jedberg 10y agoThey just today announced that it will work in the UK and Germany.
- lowglow 10y agoIf you're interested in this tech, come work on something cooler with us at Asteria: https://getasteria.com/ https://getasteria.com/ We're based out of San Francisco and have plenty of need for people interested in building the future with us. https://getasteria.com/careers https://getasteria.com/careers
- byebyetech 10y agoEcho Dot project should be renamed to NSA@Home.
- jedberg 10y agoPeople keep saying this, but you can actually see a log of everything that is sent to Amazon. And you can verify the log yourself by sniffing the traffic to Amazon. You can see that it most definitely does not send data unless the blue ring is lit. Now, you may argue that it is recording all the time and then sending its recordings when you issue a command, but I'm willing to take the risk that Amazon is not willing to risk their entire reputation on helping the NSA like that.
- byebyetech 10y agoI totally agree that Amazon would not "wish" to risk their reputation by snooping on their customers, however if they are forced to do so they might comply. Perhaps Echo is not installed in many homes for it to be any interest of NSA yet. But if it were installed in millions of homes I would imagine some agents knocking Mr. Bezos's door. In terms of sending data, I would imagine they may optimize it by first matching the spoken keywords before they start extensive logging, or you have to be on some list to begin with.
- meow_mix 10y ago"Alexa order 12 dots" Getting a little ambitious
- jedberg 10y agoMy Alexa products would be so much more useful if I could push things to them. Like even if you just gave me a way to subscribe my echo/dot to an SNS topic. I could do so many awesome things when combined with all the AWS buttons that I've won. Push a button, make the echo say "dinner is ready!". Put a button outside and when someone pushes it say "someone's at the door!"
- chanandler_bong 10y agoA 12 pack? The Dots were created by Bezos. They rebelled. They evolved. There are many copies. And they have a plan.
- Zenst 10y agoOne aspect about this that did not sit well was that bluetooth speakers will not work if they use security as "Bluetooth speakers requiring PIN codes are not supported." an aspect that puts me off. For example a neighbor got a branded speaker with the usual extra's like mic and ability to work with phones and it had no PIN code and I demonstrated how anybody can connect and indeed record using that built in mic. So I hope that improves though you can just use a wired speaker, which would be somewhat better anyhow.