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I'm guessing you either live in the bay area/seattle or work at amazon. I don't know anyone in new york who uses an echo. I've heard of a few people who got on

by m_ke 9y ago

I'm guessing you either live in the bay area/seattle or work at amazon. I don't know anyone in new york who uses an echo. I've heard of a few people who got one when it came out but they all stopped using it after a day or 2. Google will be the winner the personal assistant market because they have billions of people who use android, maps, gmail, drive, search, calendar, translate etc. If we ever switch to conversational interfaces they could be in the position to really hurt Amazon.

untog 9y ago
I live in New York, so, no. While I agree that Google is in a stronger position to win the eventual personal assistant battle, I disagree with your original proposition that it'll be done through Android phones. I think the potential for voice assistants is overhyped, but there is still potential there, and you can't achieve the same thing with a phone that's in your pocket/bag/whatever. Ask someone that uses one before you dismiss the product category entirely.
- m_ke 9y ago
  I'd love to hear what the use cases are besides ordering stuff from amazon. I could think of maybe using alexa to control my IoT devices (I don't own any) but even then I'd be more interested in controlling them when I'm not home. If there's a market for these devices it's as a replacement for premium speakers like sonos / bose. Apple seems to be going in that direction with the homepod and it has a great shot at dominating because most of the consumers in that market already own other apple products. My phone is next to me 99% of the time. Google knows when my meetings are, where I'm flying next week and who I talk to. If there is a shift to voice it will probably be because of another wearable device (like airpods or glasses).
  - untog 9y ago
    Use cases - controlling IoT devices, like lights, which you control when you are at home - playing music, podcasts - playing videos (via Chromecast/whatever) - setting alarms - asking simple questions - checking weather I could go on. You're saying "if there is a market for these devices" as if there isn't already a demonstrated market. Amazon is selling a ton of them! Your phone is a personal device, while an Echo is used by a household. Their use cases are very different. Again, I get that this might not be a good device for you. But it's silly to say there are no uses beyond ordering stuff from Amazon, because people use them for a lot of stuff every single day.
  - tanilama 9y ago
    - Setting alarms and reminders. - Ask whether - Very occasionally, play music. I use it every day, it is not as important to me as a phone, but it cannot be replaced either.

by m_ke 9y ago

untog 9y ago

I live in New York, so, no. While I agree that Google is in a stronger position to win the eventual personal assistant battle, I disagree with your original proposition that it'll be done through Android phones. I think the potential for voice assistants is overhyped, but there is still potential there, and you can't achieve the same thing with a phone that's in your pocket/bag/whatever. Ask someone that uses one before you dismiss the product category entirely.

m_ke 9y ago
I'd love to hear what the use cases are besides ordering stuff from amazon. I could think of maybe using alexa to control my IoT devices (I don't own any) but even then I'd be more interested in controlling them when I'm not home. If there's a market for these devices it's as a replacement for premium speakers like sonos / bose. Apple seems to be going in that direction with the homepod and it has a great shot at dominating because most of the consumers in that market already own other apple products. My phone is next to me 99% of the time. Google knows when my meetings are, where I'm flying next week and who I talk to. If there is a shift to voice it will probably be because of another wearable device (like airpods or glasses).
- untog 9y ago
  Use cases - controlling IoT devices, like lights, which you control when you are at home - playing music, podcasts - playing videos (via Chromecast/whatever) - setting alarms - asking simple questions - checking weather I could go on. You're saying "if there is a market for these devices" as if there isn't already a demonstrated market. Amazon is selling a ton of them! Your phone is a personal device, while an Echo is used by a household. Their use cases are very different. Again, I get that this might not be a good device for you. But it's silly to say there are no uses beyond ordering stuff from Amazon, because people use them for a lot of stuff every single day.
- tanilama 9y ago
  - Setting alarms and reminders. - Ask whether - Very occasionally, play music. I use it every day, it is not as important to me as a phone, but it cannot be replaced either.