Tell me about Alexa/Echo

[Ellapaella]

I'm stumped for ideas for DS1 who is 16. He doesn't know what he wants this Christmas either.
Usually it's a new phone or the latest Xbox game but he already has these and we've recently had to get him a new laptop for starting 6th form so that's the only other thing that he was really wanting/needing.
What exactly is ECHo/Alexa? He has a Bluetooth speaker for playing music already but it's not a great one so could do with an upgrade on that tbh.
I was thinking of getting him this for Christmas as a surprise present but don't know an awful lot about it. Is it the sort of thing a teenage boy would like?

My oldest DS has Echo Show and loves it. We got it when it was reduced. The sound is good, it displays lyrics when playing music, plays movies and programs from Amazon Prime and shows the time/headlines on the home screen. It's more pricy but it does loads.

I love my Alexa but am definitely not using it to it’s full potential. I imagine a techy teenager would be able to work wonders with it.

Good to hear - Thanks both.
I think it will be great for helping him to be more organised. I imagine if we get one downstairs too it will be great for actually being able to converse with a teenager who loves his bedroom so much!
Think I will go for it.

Op, it’s worth waiting until Black Friday if you are going to get one. Amazon normally put the Alexa range into the deals

Echo Show sounds goood thank you for sharing that one and thank you OP for starting this as it's something I would never of thought of.

My ds asked for this too but does anyone know what the difference is between an echo dot and an echo? 

Thanks for that tip @Willow4987 when is Black Friday usually?

@wherehavealltheflowersgone it’s the last Friday of November...30th

The difference between the echo and the dot is the speaker size.

I think.

I just came on to post the exact same question as wherehavetheflowersgone. Echo 2nd gen is 69.99 on Amazon and echo dot 3rd gen is 49.99. What's the difference?

Oh and we have the dot and normal echo. The dot is good for literally putting round the house. We use the bigger echo in the kitchen as it has a better speaker so doesn’t bounce off the kitchen tiles so much (the dot sounds quite tinny in there)

@Willow4987 thanks for the tip! I already ordered it just before your post though! Maybe it's worth returning and waiting until Black Friday. There is currently quite a bit of money off anyway though on Amazon if anyone is thinking of buying.

I’ve have a show and a dot, love them! Going to get an Echo on BF. I use it for shopping list and playing songs from Spotify mainly .

Is there a big difference with the speaker ? I would rather buy the dot as it's cheaper! But it will be used for music a lot so don't want to get it if it's going to be quiet.

We have 3 Echo Shows - love them.

There's a massive difference between the speakers in the Dot and the Show. The Show can also be used to view your home when you are out via the app, and links to Ring doorbells etc. That's my next plan.

I have the dot in my kitchen and it's absolutely fantastic!

I also bought the Echo and Alexa guide for dummies to go with it

So all those who have it you'd recommend for a teenager?

My kids have dots in their rooms. The speakers are better than I thought they’d be but nowhere near as good as the normal echo.
They drive me mad with them to be honest-they can’t go 5 minutes without asking Alexa something, playing songs (well, bits of songs then changing their minds), stories, jokes etc.
They are well used and I imagine a teenager would enjoy it too but in different ways.

I definitely would and am getting one for ds' room too. He's 15 and in year 11.

I honestly couldn't live without mine now.

Dd is 7 and it's still a novelty to her and when she has play dates they love to say "
Alexa tell me a joke please " whilst my favourite phrase is " Alexa stop!!! "

My ndn did think I had lost the plot when I
first got it though as my kitchen door is at the side, hers is the opposite side of the fence and she could hear me talking to Alexa all the time

I'm looking at an echo dot for DD so glad you started this thread OP. I might have a nosey & compare a few Alexa models.

For those looking for deals Black Friday is the 23rd November - it's always the day after thanksgiving in the US.

We got one last year, DS (14) hated it so much it went back in the box after 2 months. I hated it too - hard to put a finger on why, but it felt very invasive having it sitting there listening to you. It rarely got anything right either.

Dd 8 loves her dot it's fantastic for what we paid for it

She loves her audio books and uses the alarm, music and asks questions. Much better than I thought it would be for what we paid

If you can I’d cancel/return the one you just ordered and wait for Black Friday. The Alexa devices are all getting an upgrade so they are slightly better performing and look a bit rounder. I’d imagine a teenager would prefer ‘the latest one’ and the current version would be ‘old news’ by Christmas.

I’d think you could get the newer version for a similar price to the current version in Black Friday deals.

Following.