My issue with Alexa is that I find that unless you use a skill all the time I may simply forget what I have to say to get a particular skill to reply. Yes, Alexa can answer quite a few things natively, but so far I have found all these skills not super useful. We mostly use Alexa to turn our Philipps Hue lights on or off, so far the integration with our Honeywell Lyric Thermostat is not working even though it says the skill is set up and we do use it for timers in the kitchen and occasionally as an intercom. I have a fibre internet connection with 125 Mb download and 10 Mb upload but find that making phone calls is often not a great experience, we can hear the other party just fine bu tthey often say there is a big Echo (maybe that is where the name comes from)and the audio on their end is choppy.
Regards, Sieghard -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Alan Lemly Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2018 8:53 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Mark on Echo I've had my first Echo a little over a year and like Kimber, I'm now a 4-Echo household with three of them being Dots. I realize the speakers in the Echo products don't compare with the new Homepod at least based on the gushing I'm reading here about the Homepod but I use these smart speakers for their intelligence and capabilities. And in my opinion, the Amazon Echo system is progressing geometrically in that regard. Alexa keeps getting smarter and more adept at answering my questions and the available skills are expanding very quickly. I've been less than satisfied with the intelligence of Siri on my iPhone and really don't expect her to get any smarter on the Homepod. It is wonderful to have so many choices regarding smart speakers and I encourage everyone to experiment and find the best fit for themselves. Alan Lemly -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kimber Gardner Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2018 7:38 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Mark on Echo I have to say I bought my first Echo around Xmas when they were deeply discounted. Since then I have purchased three more and now have them all over my house. At first I found the iOS Alexa app a little spotty in its performance. Sometimes I would tap and nothing would happen. Things have gotten some better with the last update. Like Mark I mostly use Alexa for music playback though I have to say it was a breeze to integrate my calendar and contacts from my iPhone. Now I can tell Alexa to add events to my calendar and see them on my iPhone. Likewise, I can add items to various lists and see them on my phone. I also use Alexa to control lights and the thermostat in my house. Echo? Yes, totally worth it. On 2/20/18, Kathy Brandt <[email protected]> wrote: > With the Amazon echo work with Spotify premium? > >> On Feb 20, 2018, at 1:53 AM, Sieghard Weitzel <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Hi Mark, >> >> What is your reason for the Echo Plus? It is the same as the Echo but >> with built-in smart hub which is supposed to help connect to various >> smart home devices (if you have them). >> We also bought one but when I bought it during the introductory offer >> here in Canada it came with a Philipps Hue bulb so that was a bit of >> an incentive. So far I still have to figure out if that smart home >> hub is actually doing anything, I don't think it does in our case >> since we also have the 4th gen Apple TV which acts as a hub for our smart >> home devices. >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of M. >> Taylor >> Sent: Monday, February 19, 2018 11:44 PM >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: Mark on Echo >> >> Hello Everyone, >> >> Well, today I went over to Best Buy and purchased an Amazon Echo >> Plus. Of course, I got the black-on-black-on-black, model. (smile). >> >> I must say that this device is a blast. >> >> The iOS Alexa app was a breeze to configure and I was up and running >> in a matter of minutes. >> >> Thanks to all of you who replied to my free music iOS app question. >> >> From the App Store, I downloaded and created both a free Pandora and >> iHeart Radio account. From within the iOS Alexa app, I linked these >> two accounts to my Echo and wow! They work marvelously well. I have >> exactly what I want with amazing voice control over both. Alexa is >> truly incredible. I love the fact that I can create custom radio >> stations with my voice, only, via my Echo as the iOS app is not needed. >> >> As I stated in my previous post, I have decided to use HomePod for >> personal contacts, tasks, reminders, etc. but, at this time, I'll be >> using Alexa for fun and random music playback, while using HomePod to >> play my own personal music collection. >> >> Would you believe it? After demonstrating my new Echo Plus to some >> friends who had never seen Alexa in action, we went to Best Buy and >> each of them purchased an Echo Dot. I setup three Dots, today. So >> that's 4 Echoes I worked with in one day. (big Smile). I'm >> definitely on my way to becoming an Echo guru!!! (Big Smile). >> >> How wonderful it is that we have such a marvelously accessible >> platform such as iOS from which to explore so many new and wonderful >> devices. Long live Apple Inc and its incredible developers. Also, >> kudos to the Amazon Alexa development team, as well. >> >> Mark >> >> -- >> The following information is important for all members of the V >> iPhone list. >> >> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, >> or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact >> the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. >> >> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: >> [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara >> at [email protected] >> >> The archives for this list can be searched at: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "VIPhone" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >> send an email to [email protected]. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> >> -- >> The following information is important for all members of the V >> iPhone list. >> >> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, >> or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact >> the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. >> >> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: >> [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara >> at [email protected] >> >> The archives for this list can be searched at: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "VIPhone" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >> send an email to [email protected]. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone > list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, > or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact > the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: > [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at > [email protected] > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send > an email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Kimberly -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
