To ask about Alexa

[WinkyisbackontheButterBeer]

I was considering getting Alexa for my dad for Christmas but am not sure how much use he will get from it. This may be because I don’t fully understand what it can do.

Could you please tell me what you use it for?
Thanks.

Setting timers, listening to radio stations I can't get, traffic info for my drive to work, listening to the latest hourly news summary and playing music I want to hear.

I am surely under-utilizing it, but it's really nice to have in the kitchen.

Had ours about a month. It is linked to the heating, so we can check the ambient temperature and boost it if needs be. It keeps my shopping list and acts as kitchen timer. Also for radio. We don't subscribe to amazon music nor have lighting .

I use it to:-

1. Play music on my Sonos One speaker
2. To control my reading light (via a wireles operated plug).
3. To give verbal reminders.
4. List appointments (from Goooogle calendar)
5. Make shopping lists.
6. Tell jokes.

Google "Alexa skills" to get a beter idea about the possibilities

There's a whole other thread about it.
I can't link (am on my phone) but I thing the title is 'OMG we have Alexa'. Have a look.
It gives you a good idea of all the things it can do.

Gaaah think.

I love mine and have the echo and a dot and want another dot. I use them every day in lots of different ways but here is a quick list off the top of my head-

• radio/music play

-alarm clock -timer -intercom (stops me shouting up the stairs to dc) -weather and news apps -use them to control bedroom lights (I love turning the bedroom light off from bed and also if I'm on my way out of the door and notice I've left the lights on I don't have to go back upstairs) -murder mystery games -spell check

My dc like-
-tell me a joke
-make a fart noise
-is it going to rain?
-guess the animal.

I'm rubbish at remembering to take my tablets, so I have reminders when I need to take them.

Wow. I didn’t expext so many replies so quickly. Thank you.
I have just realised that the echo is a lot more expensive than I was thinking.

Can I still use a dot without an echo?
And can I still do all of these things on a dot?

Sorry for so many stupid questions.

Yes you can use the dot on its own. It does pretty much the same thing as the echo, I find the main difference is the loudness and quality of the speaker.

Fab. Thank you so much.

I didn't think I needed one and thought the novelty would wear off. I got my echo for Christmas last year and then my dot in the Easter sale. Hoping for another dot for Christmas (they're on sale at the mo!)

We use it to control lights via plugs as well as wireless bulbs. Listening to the radio. Telling stories to the kids when we’re all in bed (as A lot of them are awful and we giggle at them!) games, facts, weather, music.

It’s basically our go to in the kitchen and bedroom for us and the 4 year old(who’s especially interested in the weather!).

Alexa is currently hooked up to turn off all of our Xmas lights. It also has our heating set up too so we can ask it to turn the thermostat on instead of running into the kitchen.

We generally will enable a skill and use it a lot, and then move on!

I have the dot hooked up to the external speakers for my computer, so if he has other speakers those can be used. The sound quality of the dot by itself is fine for news, timers, shopping lists, etc.

How poor is the sound quality on dot for things like listening to radio? Am looking at the bargain price on amazon at moment and thinking I could get parents one each for Xmas for less than price of echo but they do like to listen to radio/music so if it's really tinny that could be bit rubbish. Also - do they work in garden/decent WiFi range?

On I'm going to go smug mug, I've gone full smart home. Us greatvin the middle of the night to shout Alexa time, no ditching on lights or opening eyes.

I'm a single parent with 2 dd's, so getting Alexa to shout reminders at them in the morning. Don't forget or kit, or time for bus or off to school.

Timing and shouting on the lights, playing Amazon prime.

My dd's like to torture me my shouting Alexa play country.

I use it as an interconnected when they are having a spat

It controls the Xbox and TV (bit shit) .

I can use it as a speaker phone

The times for cooking are ok ish
I'm a bit hooked now, but it's nothing like the smart home address make out.

Plus Alexa doesn't under really get what you say, and if you have the TV on it ends up reading out some shit from Wikipedia because it doesn't really differentiate voices

How poor is the sound quality on dot for things like listening to radio?

I have the first generation dot. The audio is what you would expect of a two inch speaker. I've heard it's substantially better in gen three.

I think the newer ones can be connect to a bluetooth speaker if they have one. The dot might be okay for background music, but not if they are used to much better quality on other audio systems.

Get a gen 3 dot for yourself and judge the music quality directly.

Yes you’re being unreasonable because theirs 358392 other threads on them right now.

But get one. They’re fab.

Sorry. I didn’t realise that there were lots of threads. I haven’t seen any.

One last stupid question for now
He had a kindle with Alexa. Can this be connected to the dot and could he use it to play his music/ audiobooks that are saved on there?

Yes you can get Alexa to read kindle bit meh audible is better, also plug it into speakers of a soundbar