04-18-2015, 06:07 PM
My Amazon Echo arrived on Thursday. Amazon is still selling the device to Amazon Prime service subscribers by invitation only. I requested an invitation in November, ordered the device in January for $99. Amazon has increased the price to $149 and it will be $199 when Amazon begins allowing the general public to begin placing orders.
So far, I believe that this is the best technology purchase that I have made in many years. Even if never use it for anything other than an internet clock radio and blue-tooth speaker, it was a steal at $99.
Here is an example of what it can do - I said, "Alexa, play the theme song for the Any Griffith Show," and two or three seconds later, the whistling began. If you are a Prime subscriber and say, "Alexa, play the Fleetwood Mac Rumors album," the device will say, "Shuffling Fleetwood Mac Rumors album," and the music will begin.
Another example, my favorite radio station in this area is WMAL, so I can say "Alexa, play WMAL," and the station begins streaming after the Echo repeats the call letters and the station location.
Other things that you can do is ask Echo how the weather is, what the forecast is for a particular city, when the Boston Celtics next game is, or the score of yesterday's Reds game. You can also set a time or an alarm using voice commands, and then snooze by saying "Alexa, snooze 10 minutes."
I have a feeling that as impressed as I am after two days of using the Echo, its potential has barely been scratched. The Echo software development kit is still in beta testing, so third-party developers have not begun developing applications for it yet.
If you have Amazon Prime, I highly recommend getting an Echo.
Amazon Echo
So far, I believe that this is the best technology purchase that I have made in many years. Even if never use it for anything other than an internet clock radio and blue-tooth speaker, it was a steal at $99.
Here is an example of what it can do - I said, "Alexa, play the theme song for the Any Griffith Show," and two or three seconds later, the whistling began. If you are a Prime subscriber and say, "Alexa, play the Fleetwood Mac Rumors album," the device will say, "Shuffling Fleetwood Mac Rumors album," and the music will begin.
Another example, my favorite radio station in this area is WMAL, so I can say "Alexa, play WMAL," and the station begins streaming after the Echo repeats the call letters and the station location.
Other things that you can do is ask Echo how the weather is, what the forecast is for a particular city, when the Boston Celtics next game is, or the score of yesterday's Reds game. You can also set a time or an alarm using voice commands, and then snooze by saying "Alexa, snooze 10 minutes."
I have a feeling that as impressed as I am after two days of using the Echo, its potential has barely been scratched. The Echo software development kit is still in beta testing, so third-party developers have not begun developing applications for it yet.
If you have Amazon Prime, I highly recommend getting an Echo.
Amazon Echo
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