See what Alexa can do
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People have such high expectations these days. I bought the echo dot (never having had one over privacy issues) and I am chuffed to bits. It’s so much more than Siri, my last flirtation with voice AI. I bought it to listen to a bit of music, to ask about news and weather and for it to read my kindle (not audible.com) books. For this the speaker is great. How anyone can expect it to compete with a home sound system for its size and price is anyone’s guess. But I can move it around from kitchen to bedroom and it’s a fun little companion when I’m washing up. I used to use my smart phone connected to a Bluetooth speaker and this is way more convenient. Spotify is great and the voice recognition is superb. Took no time to set up and I like the fact it is powered by a proper plug because I am likely to leave it on a lot. I bought it also to help me sleep, I like the fact that I can listen to ambient sounds such as rainfall and have it switch itself off after a period of time. I could got on that it can be used a phone too but I don’t use use that. Frankly it’s worth the money alone for the little things it does.
I’ve now had this a few weeks and these are my thoughts. With a Spotify account you can ask for most songs. If you didn’t, it automatically accessed Amazon music. Now I don’t have Amazon Music Unlimited and so a part of me is wondering whether I would get charged to listen to songs or whether it would automatically click onto the Amazon Prime Music service. Who knows? But I instantly deactivated the Voice Purchasing function through the Alexa app so I hope not. But be wary and maybe keep an eye on your Amazon bills for a couple of weeks just in case. You can adjust the volume by asking it higher or lower or even giving a number between 1 (lowest) and 10 (highest). It will still hear you say Alexa at the top volume but you kind of have to pick your moments in a quieter section of song. I can hear the Dot when I am upstairs and it is downstairs. Beware you could develop a mild strain of your voice if you keep asking Alexa questions (I am thinking of those buying it for elderly relatives). Speaking of which, the ability for them to call you just by voice if, say, they had a fall and could not reach the phone is a pretty reassuring feature. I’ve played some of the quizzes and they are fun. I still like the device and how solid it feels.
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Reviews with images
So much more than a speaker
I've been curious about the echo devices for a while and when I saw this available for £25 as part of the black Friday deal I thought why not.Received it today via prime delivery. I've only had it a few hours but I love it!Super easy to set up. Just download the Alexa app on any smart phone or tablet and follow the instructions.I've also added my hive which was simple so can now control the heating from my sofa, lazy or what!!!As a prime customer I can play virtually any music I like including playlists I have on my phone. I find theres so much on prime music i doubt i will need to buy downloads or cds again! A new update means you can use it to play Apple music if you have it. Ask it to turn the volume up, skip a track and it does. Ask it to play radio two, ask for the latest news headlines and it does. I even asked what is on itv tonight and it gave me a schedule of programmes. You can set an alarm; timer, reminders, ask it anything really. If you go to the Alexa app you can enable 'skills', much like apps really. There are things like tv guides, quizzes, weather, news. The more you use it the more it will do for you.We have quite a large room with open staircase and the sound is pretty good. I dare say it will not be the only echo device that ends up in our house.A couple of advantages it gives over just buying a Bluetooth speaker for music, even if music is all you want it for, is that you don't have to pair it to Bluetooth everytime you want to listen to music nor do you even have to have your phone or tablet switched on to ask it anything. Though you can just use it as a blue tooth speaker if you want too, pair it with your phone and it will play any music you have stored, just ask it to pair blue tooth. Plus being permanently connected to the mains rather than having to keep rechargeing it is a major bonus. As you can probably tell I'm a fan!Update: I just attached this to my sound bar via a 3.5 to 3.5mm Jack. The sound is unbelievable, loads of base and my sound bar is just a cheap one!Update May 2019: Just bought a second dot in white for the bedroom. As I already had the Alexa app this took literally seconds to set up. Love the fact I can ask it to play my audio book at bedtime. Also great alarm for the morning. Really love these little smart speakers.
Top reviews from United Kingdom
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2018
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2018
I've been curious about the echo devices for a while and when I saw this available for £25 as part of the black Friday deal I thought why not.
Received it today via prime delivery. I've only had it a few hours but I love it!
Super easy to set up. Just download the Alexa app on any smart phone or tablet and follow the instructions.
I've also added my hive which was simple so can now control the heating from my sofa, lazy or what!!!
As a prime customer I can play virtually any music I like including playlists I have on my phone. I find theres so much on prime music i doubt i will need to buy downloads or cds again! A new update means you can use it to play Apple music if you have it. Ask it to turn the volume up, skip a track and it does. Ask it to play radio two, ask for the latest news headlines and it does. I even asked what is on itv tonight and it gave me a schedule of programmes. You can set an alarm; timer, reminders, ask it anything really. If you go to the Alexa app you can enable 'skills', much like apps really. There are things like tv guides, quizzes, weather, news. The more you use it the more it will do for you.
We have quite a large room with open staircase and the sound is pretty good. I dare say it will not be the only echo device that ends up in our house.
A couple of advantages it gives over just buying a Bluetooth speaker for music, even if music is all you want it for, is that you don't have to pair it to Bluetooth everytime you want to listen to music nor do you even have to have your phone or tablet switched on to ask it anything. Though you can just use it as a blue tooth speaker if you want too, pair it with your phone and it will play any music you have stored, just ask it to pair blue tooth. Plus being permanently connected to the mains rather than having to keep rechargeing it is a major bonus. As you can probably tell I'm a fan!
Update: I just attached this to my sound bar via a 3.5 to 3.5mm Jack. The sound is unbelievable, loads of base and my sound bar is just a cheap one!
Update May 2019: Just bought a second dot in white for the bedroom. As I already had the Alexa app this took literally seconds to set up. Love the fact I can ask it to play my audio book at bedtime. Also great alarm for the morning. Really love these little smart speakers.
Received it today via prime delivery. I've only had it a few hours but I love it!
Super easy to set up. Just download the Alexa app on any smart phone or tablet and follow the instructions.
I've also added my hive which was simple so can now control the heating from my sofa, lazy or what!!!
As a prime customer I can play virtually any music I like including playlists I have on my phone. I find theres so much on prime music i doubt i will need to buy downloads or cds again! A new update means you can use it to play Apple music if you have it. Ask it to turn the volume up, skip a track and it does. Ask it to play radio two, ask for the latest news headlines and it does. I even asked what is on itv tonight and it gave me a schedule of programmes. You can set an alarm; timer, reminders, ask it anything really. If you go to the Alexa app you can enable 'skills', much like apps really. There are things like tv guides, quizzes, weather, news. The more you use it the more it will do for you.
We have quite a large room with open staircase and the sound is pretty good. I dare say it will not be the only echo device that ends up in our house.
A couple of advantages it gives over just buying a Bluetooth speaker for music, even if music is all you want it for, is that you don't have to pair it to Bluetooth everytime you want to listen to music nor do you even have to have your phone or tablet switched on to ask it anything. Though you can just use it as a blue tooth speaker if you want too, pair it with your phone and it will play any music you have stored, just ask it to pair blue tooth. Plus being permanently connected to the mains rather than having to keep rechargeing it is a major bonus. As you can probably tell I'm a fan!
Update: I just attached this to my sound bar via a 3.5 to 3.5mm Jack. The sound is unbelievable, loads of base and my sound bar is just a cheap one!
Update May 2019: Just bought a second dot in white for the bedroom. As I already had the Alexa app this took literally seconds to set up. Love the fact I can ask it to play my audio book at bedtime. Also great alarm for the morning. Really love these little smart speakers.
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