I just picked up the Amazon Echo and I have to say I am in love! I’ll update this post as I discover more interesting functions of this beauty. I have to start saying I own a SONOS system to stream music via Spotify. However, my kids can’t listen to music unless I’m home. So I needed something they could use just with voice using voice commands. The Amazon Echo seems to be the answer.
Please note the Echo is not available in Canada yet, but you can find it on the classified ads with a very little price difference. The service is supposed to be also for the US only, but with some tweaking, you can make it work flawlessly in Canada.
Set up was a breeze. I highly recommend downloading the Amazon Alexa app from a US account on iTunes or the Play Store, to get a fuller experience; I find it easier to do changes controlling the Echo with my phone rather than having to log in from my computer. (with a little bit of research you can find a way to create a US account on iTunes).
Once the Echo was ready, it was easy to and a lot of fun to ask “Alexa” (the equivalent of Siri) for anything from the weather, jokes, traffic, etc. And of course, now anyone in the family can listen to their favourite music on voice command.
The quality of the sound is acceptable if what you are looking for is just music while you are cooking or doing the home worm. If you are hosting a party, the Echo will not do the trick. I would say is more an ambience speaker.
The advantages I see in this type of devices is they integrate very nicely with most of the home automation you already have. Now I can close the locks at home or turn lights off on voice command. This is nice when you are trying to stay away from your phone’s screen when you are home.
For example, it is fully compatible with the Harmony Hub, so you can control any device connected or controlled by the Harmony with your voice. So you can say “Alexa, turn the TV on” or “Alexa set up the temperature on the main floor to 22 degrees”
It also integrates with your Wink system, so now you can close the garage door, locks or turn lights on and off. And the list goes on and will get bigger as many manufacturers are making their products compatible with the Amazon Alexa echo system.