topic Re: Echo Dot in Electronics

Echo Dot

SeaMaiden — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 20:38:47 GMT

I was gifted an Echo Dot about a year ago. It sat in the box as I just did not feel I need one. Out of boredom yesterday I set it up. I still do not understand what good It is for to ask stupid questions like what is the weather.... I have no questions for it. I asked for it to play some music by Queen....and it said I would have to pay for it.....WHAT?

what do you aśk Alexa?

Re: Echo Dot

I am still oxox — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 20:37:55 GMT

It plays music also not just for answering questions

Re: Echo Dot

Reever — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 20:52:50 GMT

@SeaMaiden wrote:
I was gifted an Echo Dot about a year ago. It sat in the box as I just did not feel I need one. Out of boredom yesterday I set it up. I still do not understand what good It is for to ask stupid questions like what is the weather.... I have no questions for it. I asked for it to play some music by Queen....and it said I would have to pay for it.....WHAT?

what do you aśk Alexa?

Another needless electronc device that a technology addicted society is wasting money on. My CD player plays music and I can use my PC to google information. The Echo Dot is overkill

Re: Echo Dot

meem120 — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 20:53:45 GMT

I listen to books on it .

Re: Echo Dot

NickNack — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 20:59:52 GMT

@SeaMaiden I have the regular Echo, not the Dot, but I think they do the same thing. I have a floor lamp behind a living room chair. It's hard to turn the lamp on because of the way it's situated. I have a smart plug outlet that the lamp plugs into. It's connected to my Echo, and I ask Alexa to turn the floor lamp on and off.

I ask her what the weather is for the day. I tell her "good morning," and she tells me an interesting fact for the day. I have a Playlist set up and ask her to play it for me. I also have a Christmas music playlist.

There are many songs that are free, but some you only get with Amazon music. My niece has Amazon music, and you can share it with anyone you want to. She shares it with me, so I don't pay for my music.

There are many other things you can do with it. You can search for information about it. Amazon has lots of suggestions for things Alexa can do. I love my Echo.

Re: Echo Dot

PA Mom-mom — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 21:12:49 GMT

@SeaMaiden I mainly use it for cooking. I can set multiple timers and name them. I can ask for measuring equivalencies - like if I'm doubling or tripling a recipe. I can add to my shopping list as I'm cooking if I see I'm running out of something. If you have Amazon Prime, you have access to lots of Prime music.

Re: Echo Dot

Krimpette — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 21:19:13 GMT

I use mine all the time, mostly for timers, alarms and reminders. Can't imagine how I survived without Alexa!!!!

Re: Echo Dot

spiderw — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 21:27:46 GMT

There was a time I thought I would get am Echo Dot bit I didn't and have no interest in doing so. I find Alexa creepy and I am fine without these devices. For those who like them, that is their choice but for me I survive just fine without.

Re: Echo Dot

QVCkitty1 — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 21:40:45 GMT

I have an Echo show in my bedroom. I listen to podcasts and listen to radio stations from all over. I also watch shows on Prime, and listen to my Amazon music.

Re: Echo Dot

ValuSkr — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 21:46:03 GMT

I use it mainly to listen to radio stations - it's free - no subscriptions required. Also to check on the weather, turn on the lamp, hear jokes, etc.

Re: Echo Dot

Sooner — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 21:57:16 GMT

We have a couple of Echo's and a few dots in a box in the attic. We were using them a lot until they started having unprompted conversations and asking unprompted questions at random times.

Re: Echo Dot

Kachina624 — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 23:04:18 GMT

I have an Echo in the living room and a Dot in the bedromm. Use them all the time. Dot does not have good sound quality so I have it connected to a Bose speaker.

I don't use them nearly to their maximum but do ask the temperature outside, correct tine, distance between two geographical points, how to spell words, metric conversions, use as an alarm or timer, ask any question that pops into my head. She turns on some lights for me, makes lists of my favorite music. I can't even think of all the things I ask it but I use it often. If it quit working, I'd immediately get another.

We have poor radio choices here...Spanish or C&W. I have a Bose radio which is compatible with Echo so I can use my Amazon Music and play it using the Bose quality speaker.

Re: Echo Dot

SeaMaiden — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 23:28:55 GMT

ThankYou everyone for sharing! I guess it is something that grows on you....or not. I will hang in there for a while and see if Alexa earns her keep😄

Re: Echo Dot

Deb213 — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 01:56:14 GMT

I didn't know what to do with my dot initially myself. But as I have gotten used to it, I use it everyday now for a variety of requests that many people have already detailed.

I really love that it is hands free so I can shout a command or question from anywhere and not have to go to the device. Much more convenient than finding a remote or going to my laptop to look something up.

What was really helpful to me is that if you are a Prime member, you will get e-mails from Amazon about what's new with Alexa. I read those and they give me more ideas. Also, I love that I can stream music through the bluetooth with it. So I can play my music from Itunes and Spotify through the bluetooth. I even have an Echo connected to my Bose radio so that I can stream music and radio stations. I love my Dots and Echo Shows!

Re: Echo Dot

geegerbee — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 02:03:35 GMT

I have a regular Echo in the family room and a Dot in the bedroom. I use it to set an alarm, ask the weather, word definitions, ages of celebrities, general knowledge questions. I also ask it to play music to sleep by, lullabyes, and meditations.

Re: Echo Dot

tucsongal — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 03:30:16 GMT

We got a free Dot last year and I use it as an alarm, listening to music, checking the temperature/time. I like it at night for sleep sounds such as thunderstorm, fan, ocean, etc. I can also listen to my Pandora stations on it.

Re: Echo Dot

January121 — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 07:14:38 GMT

@tucsongal wrote:
We got a free Dot last year and I use it as an alarm, listening to music, checking the temperature/time. I like it at night for sleep sounds such as thunderstorm, fan, ocean, etc. I can also listen to my Pandora stations on it.

@tucsongal .... just a question .... do you need Amazon Prime to get the “sleep sounds” ? ... Thanks 😉

Re: Echo Dot

Mimi 1883 — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 11:32:12 GMT

@SeaMaiden We love ours. You can create a grocery list and it will also go to your phone so that you have it there when you're out shopping. That's great if you're in the habit of forgetting your list at home. Along with certain plug-ins, you can control lighting. Every week, we get email updates on things to use with Alexa. Recently, a poster said that one thing they use theirs for is, while in bed, they can tell it to turn the heat/air up or down without having to get out of bed. I like that! Unfortunately, we don't have the capability with our current thermostats.

You can probably Google Alexa suggestions and will find that there is a lot.

Re: Echo Dot

tucsongal — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 17:22:12 GMT

@January121 wrote:
@tucsongal wrote:
We got a free Dot last year and I use it as an alarm, listening to music, checking the temperature/time. I like it at night for sleep sounds such as thunderstorm, fan, ocean, etc. I can also listen to my Pandora stations on it.
@tucsongal .... just a question .... do you need Amazon Prime to get the “sleep sounds” ? ... Thanks 😉

———————

I don’t think so. Just try saying “sleep sounds thunderstorm” and see what you get. I believe it’s listed under skills in the app. Or just ask it to play rain sounds, white noise etc.

Re: Echo Dot

patbz — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 21:04:30 GMT

We are an Echo family. We were very early adaptors (10 year???) and have an Echo, several Dogs and a Tap. We use it for: alarms, timers, cooking, music and sounds (rain, ocean) playing games and jokes, songs for kids, news, weather.