Electronics

[gardenman]

I check Amazon's site a few times each day to see if the buy option is there for me. Maybe late Monday it will pop up. They pop up the buy option before they send out the e-mails. Every Tuesday they've been sending out the e-mails to the chosen few and it seems like two thirds of those who signed up have gotten the invites now, so that should leave just one third left to get one. With any luck the rest of us will get the invite this week. (By the way, my two thirds have Echo's is based on posts on the Kindle forums where that seems to be the general ratio now. Very few posters got the first invite. Slightly more than half seem to have gotten them now.)

[Kachina624]

I just wonder if the invitees are Prime members who are also Kindle tablet owners, as am I? I will get my Echo tomorrow. Have read everything about it I can find, it seems like it is just a glorified speaker, not that $99, isn't a good price for a high quality speaker. I really don't need anything to tell me the time or weather or how high Mt. Everest is. Just another toy with which to play.

[gardenman]

While it's mostly a very good glorified speaker at this time, it should soon morph into a total home control system where you can control all of your home's function by voice command. You should sometime in the not too distant future be able to say, "Alexa, record today's episode of (insert show name here) for me." Alexa will then select turn on your DVR, set your cable/satellite box, or DVR tuner to the correct channel and record it for you. With a few attachments you'll be able to operate your whole home through Alexa. The potential is enormous. Amazon's taking baby steps now, but in a few years time, Echo will be many times more capable than it is now.

[mima]

On 11/27/2014 kachina624 said: I just wonder if the invitees are Prime members who are also Kindle tablet owners, as am I? I will get my Echo tomorrow. Have read everything about it I can find, it seems like it is just a glorified speaker, not that $99, isn't a good price for a high quality speaker. I really don't need anything to tell me the time or weather or how high Mt. Everest is. Just another toy with which to play.

I own 2 HD'S, 2 HDX's and a Paperwhite and I haven't gotten my invite. I signed up right away too.

My DH won't use tablets nor smartphones. He constantly asked me to look up things for him including weather forecasts, temperature, etc. but won't do it himself. This would be great for him! I want one!!!

I also would love making my lists and using it for reminders. I want one for work and home both. I would be willing to pay full price for both of them even though I'd love the discounted price on one of them.

[Kachina624]

Echo is now up and running at my house. It's very easy to set up, just have your WiFi password copied and ready to paste before you start. It gave me the weather for a city 150 miles away...we'll fix that. Doesn't support Pandora (yet, it says). Nice speaker, not the best I ever heard but better than what I've been using. Probably comparable to a Bose radio. I'm wondering if there's some way to get this to play an iPod playlist?

I'm not worried about "listening". A soul would die of boredom listening to what goes on at my house. Barking dogs are very big.

[Kachina624]

On 11/13/2014 dancingwoman said:

On 11/12/2014 Roni said:

I watched the video on Amazon.com and it is ''stand alone''....but you can use an android app to link it to an android phone or tablet

Can it be used with an iPhone or iPad?

Yes, I got mine today and am using it with my iPad. There is an Echo app to download so presumably you can use it with any tablet. It syncs with the music you have on your device, plays from a couple of universal radio services or plays Prime music. Not yet supports Pandora which is my favorite.

[lovescats]

I went and watched the video and it reminds me of the movie from last year Her where that guy falls in love with voice of his computer's operating system. Wonder if it will play audible books?

[sylva]

I signed up 2-3 weeks ago. Got an email invite Tuesday afternoon and immediately accepted. My ECHO arrived today. If it didn't do anything else but serve as a speaker for your music on your kindle or iPad or smart phone, etc., it is well worth the $99 or even the full price of $199. The sound is fabulous and can be as loud as you want it. It rivals a Bose. But, it does a lot more and with access to near unlimited music for Prime members, it is so worth the cost. Plus the ability to play I heart radio or other on-line stations. The first function I asked it to do was play music. It chose a song for me in a genre based on songs I have in my playlist on my kindle. It was a band I had not listened to before but I loved it! How cool is that!? Unlike my "smart car" GPS that can't understand my southern accent, ECHO has no problem with it. In setting it up, you download an app for Amazon dot com/ echo setup, and it walks you through a simple exercise of phrases to let the device learn your speech. It's exciting that this little cylinder is going to be growing in its capabilities and usefulness. Amazon is light years ahead of TV shopping and on the cutting edge with innovations like ECHO. And it is wonderful to use smile Amazon dot com and choose your favorite charity that they will donate a percentage of what you spend in ordering from them.

[Nuttmeg]

On 11/28/2014 lovescats said:

I went and watched the video and it reminds me of the movie from last year Her where that guy falls in love with voice of his computer's operating system. Wonder if it will play audible books?

No, not now maybe in the future.

[Nuttmeg]

On 11/28/2014 sylva said: I signed up 2-3 weeks ago. Got an email invite Tuesday afternoon and immediately accepted. My ECHO arrived today. If it didn't do anything else but serve as a speaker for your music on your kindle or iPad or smart phone, etc., it is well worth the $99 or even the full price of $199. The sound is fabulous and can be as loud as you want it. It rivals a Bose. But, it does a lot more and with access to near unlimited music for Prime members, it is so worth the cost. Plus the ability to play I heart radio or other on-line stations. The first function I asked it to do was play music. It chose a song for me in a genre based on songs I have in my playlist on my kindle. It was a band I had not listened to before but I loved it! How cool is that!? Unlike my "smart car" GPS that can't understand my southern accent, ECHO has no problem with it. In setting it up, you download an app for Amazon dot com/ echo setup, and it walks you through a simple exercise of phrases to let the device learn your speech. It's exciting that this little cylinder is going to be growing in its capabilities and usefulness. Amazon is light years ahead of TV shopping and on the cutting edge with innovations like ECHO. And it is wonderful to use smile Amazon dot com and choose your favorite charity that they will donate a percentage of what you spend in ordering from them.

Thank you for the information about the app. I noticed the app on Amazon's site. I bet it will work with a cell phone, but who knows about a tablet, that is not a Kindle.