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I got an Amazon Echo as a present a couple months ago. I haven't even bothered to unbox it. What can it really do, besides order stuff from Amazon for me? Play

I got an Amazon Echo as a present a couple months ago. I haven't even bothered to unbox it. What can it really do, besides order stuff from Amazon for me? Play Amazon music? Not a subscriber. Turn off my lights? Nice party trick, but I live in a small apartment, not much use there. Look stuff up on Wikipedia?

vollmond 9y ago
Play music (spotify, amazon music, pandora, etc), control any home automation you have (hue lights, etc), be a super easy hands-free kitchen timer ("Alexa, set a timer for 45 minutes"), answer basic information questions (forecast, store hours, unit conversions). If you have more than one, it can be an in-home intercom. edit: I started this before you edited in your examples, so sorry for the overlap :-)
JimmyAustin 9y ago
I use my dot almost exclusively for music. Hook it up to a nice stereo system and it turns a dumb stereo system into a Spotify device that i can control with my voice or from my phone.
- urda 9y ago
  Same. I just have a nice little bluetooth speaker paired to it that I can move around my space whenever I like.
gxs 9y ago
I agree with you. Its most useful features so far have worked best in the bedroom. Alexa, set my alarm for 7AM. Wake me up in 2 hours. what's the weather in X? What's my commute? Nightlight. That's about it.
sfilargi 9y ago
I find it useful for just three things: 1. Play music 2. Timers, especially when cooking 3. Turn lights and heating on and off. It's nice to be able to control them while in bed with just your voice. Nothing I couldn't live without, but it adds convenience.
conception 9y ago
It also supports spotify, pandora, etc. For me Alexa is great for Home Automation (which while turning off the lights is a night party trick, it's pretty great to turn down the lights when you're already on the couch. Yes, 100% unneeded, but it is nice.), Cheap Sonos Style Music in Every Room sync'd, and yes, ordering stuff from Amazon. Again, totally unneeded, but for certain goods, I've found it nice to just say, "Alex, order me more blah" and it replies, "These that you recently ordered?" "Yep" "Ok. Done." All of this isn't stuff you need, but hey, it's pretty rad nerd stuff.
onion2k 9y ago
You can write new skills very easily, or use IFTTT with it, so it can actually do pretty much anything.
raker 9y ago
I get daily use from my two echos with these functions: set a timer for x minutes, remind me to x at y am/pm, set an alarm for y am/pm, connect to my phone (so I can play bluetooth music), what time is it (when I'm in bed at night; I prefer not to have a bright clock splitting the darkness). A lot of this stuff my phone can already do, but it's easier not having to always pull out my phone. I've never used it for ordering, amazon music, lights, or to ask it questions for its biased responses.
- slantyyz 9y ago
  >> it's easier not having to always pull out my phone. Not just that, but you don't have to hunt for apps and fiddle with UI. Asking Alexa to set the heat to 21.5 degrees is way faster than finding the closest mobile device, unlocking, launching the app and doing a bunch of taps. While I'm missing a couple of skills in Canada (stupid region locks!), the smart home control has been fantastic for our household. We also find the shopping list helpful.
spelunker 9y ago
Hooking it up to my lights and playing music is nice, but honestly having a hands-free timer when cooking can't be beat. So yes, a $40 timer. Still worth it.

vollmond 9y ago

Play music (spotify, amazon music, pandora, etc), control any home automation you have (hue lights, etc), be a super easy hands-free kitchen timer ("Alexa, set a timer for 45 minutes"), answer basic information questions (forecast, store hours, unit conversions). If you have more than one, it can be an in-home intercom. edit: I started this before you edited in your examples, so sorry for the overlap :-)

JimmyAustin 9y ago

I use my dot almost exclusively for music. Hook it up to a nice stereo system and it turns a dumb stereo system into a Spotify device that i can control with my voice or from my phone.

urda 9y ago
Same. I just have a nice little bluetooth speaker paired to it that I can move around my space whenever I like.

gxs 9y ago

I agree with you. Its most useful features so far have worked best in the bedroom. Alexa, set my alarm for 7AM. Wake me up in 2 hours. what's the weather in X? What's my commute? Nightlight. That's about it.

sfilargi 9y ago

I find it useful for just three things: 1. Play music 2. Timers, especially when cooking 3. Turn lights and heating on and off. It's nice to be able to control them while in bed with just your voice. Nothing I couldn't live without, but it adds convenience.

conception 9y ago

It also supports spotify, pandora, etc. For me Alexa is great for Home Automation (which while turning off the lights is a night party trick, it's pretty great to turn down the lights when you're already on the couch. Yes, 100% unneeded, but it is nice.), Cheap Sonos Style Music in Every Room sync'd, and yes, ordering stuff from Amazon. Again, totally unneeded, but for certain goods, I've found it nice to just say, "Alex, order me more blah" and it replies, "These that you recently ordered?" "Yep" "Ok. Done." All of this isn't stuff you need, but hey, it's pretty rad nerd stuff.

onion2k 9y ago

You can write new skills very easily, or use IFTTT with it, so it can actually do pretty much anything.

raker 9y ago

I get daily use from my two echos with these functions: set a timer for x minutes, remind me to x at y am/pm, set an alarm for y am/pm, connect to my phone (so I can play bluetooth music), what time is it (when I'm in bed at night; I prefer not to have a bright clock splitting the darkness). A lot of this stuff my phone can already do, but it's easier not having to always pull out my phone. I've never used it for ordering, amazon music, lights, or to ask it questions for its biased responses.

slantyyz 9y ago
>> it's easier not having to always pull out my phone. Not just that, but you don't have to hunt for apps and fiddle with UI. Asking Alexa to set the heat to 21.5 degrees is way faster than finding the closest mobile device, unlocking, launching the app and doing a bunch of taps. While I'm missing a couple of skills in Canada (stupid region locks!), the smart home control has been fantastic for our household. We also find the shopping list helpful.

spelunker 9y ago

Hooking it up to my lights and playing music is nice, but honestly having a hands-free timer when cooking can't be beat. So yes, a $40 timer. Still worth it.