I love mine, and with the help of wemo switches and ITaTT I have my lights automatically coming on at sunset
Sent from my iPhone > On 16 Oct 2016, at 4:25 pm, Dane Trethowan <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi! > I know someone who bought one and he's extremely happy with it though he had > to do a little fiddling to have it work properly in Australia. > Even now the Echo still doesn't read phone numbers correctly - we have 8 > digit phone numbers whereas the U.S. have 7 digit phone numbers. - > Part of getting the Echo working correctly was to set it to a location with > the same time zone as Australia, Guam was the obvious choice here. > Then the problem arose of getting the App from the IOS App store, the Echo > App isn't available in Australia so a workaround had to be put into place. > I don't recall all of what had to be done now as it was some time ago - I > actually posted all the steps required to techno-chat at the time - but now > my friend can sign into his account on the web and control the echo from > there - well most of it -. > As was written in the original mail, there are 3 different echos available > right now and a review of each model was in Access World a couple of months > ago, turns out the original echo is by far the best one to buy and - from the > demos I've heard - I'd be pretty happy with that too. > Amazon does have competition from the Google Home device, the Google Home was > demonstrated on the BBC Radio 4 Today show a month or so back, I actually > heard the demo live, Google is to launch the Home soon. > If you'd rather get ahead of the Home and the Echo - and you have an Android > phone - then you can either try the Google Allo App or - if you'd rather your > Android device be shiny and new with all the features of Amazon Echo and > Google Home Built-in - buy a Google Pixel smartphone. > >> On 15/10/2016 6:22 AM, Gordon Smith wrote: >> Hello everybody >> >> I’ve been silently watching this one for about 5 months now, and tonight I >> placed an order for one. It isn’t just a speaker that you can listen from, >> it’s a “Listener” that you can talk too. You add all your commands verbally, >> and you can now have it do quite a wide range of tasks for you. It’s the >> first step along the way towards a “Smart” home; read on: >> >> Amazon's voice-activated smart home speaker is undeniably futuristic, but >> it's also practical and accessible. With a rapidly growing slate of features >> and integrations, it's easy to get excited about the Echo's potential. >> >> THE BAD The Echo's sound quality is uneven at times, with weak bass at high >> volumes. The growing list of "Skills" in the Alexa app could also benefit >> from better organisation. >> >> >> THE BOTTOM LINE More than a year after its debut, the Echo is smarter than >> ever, and one of the best connected home products money can currently buy. >> >> >> Autumn 2016 update >> Since introducing the original Amazon Echo in November 2014, Amazon has >> continued to refresh and expand its lineup of hands-free, voice-enabled >> speakers. In April, the company introduced the Echo Dot, which is a smaller >> version of the Echo, and in September returned with an updated version of >> the Dot, simultaneously cutting its price almost in half to $50(US) or £50 >> (UK Sterling). >> >> >> This new Echo Dot, has a slightly sleeker design than the original, though >> it comes equipped with the same array of seven microphones and advanced >> noise-cancelling technology. Amazon says that the new Dot features a more >> powerful speech processor, which delivers improved far-field speech >> recognition accuracy. It's currently available for preorder and will ship on >> 28 October. >> >> The original, more expensive Echo can fill a room with sound. The Dot >> features much of the same functionality as the Echo, just with a less >> powerful speaker and a line-out plug on the back. In April, also Amazon >> introduced the $130.00 Echo Tap. Because it runs on a battery, you need to >> hit a button to initiate interactions; it's less convenient than the >> always-listening Echo and Dot, but it's also portable. And once you do push >> the button, you can issue voice commands to Alexa, play music from your >> phone or stream it over Wi-Fi, check the weather or news, and issue commands >> to control your smart home. >> >> >> I can’t wait! I’ve ordered the full Echo, so if there’s interest I shall >> produce an extensive audio demonstration to show it off in all its glory. >> >> ======================================== >> >> My compliments and kindest regards >> Gordon Smith: >> <[email protected]> >> >> Accessibility & Information Technology Support Specialist. >> Mobile/SMS: >> +44 (0)7907 823971 >> >> ———————————————————— >> >> >> >
