My wife added this Echo Dot to our Christmas List for next year, but may get one before then. At $49, that's not a bad price for what it can do.
Yeah, if it's hooked up right, you can even program it to get the carpet robot thingy going or start the washing machine or even start your car in the morning. Unfortunately, Alexa doesn't do windows, clean the toilet nor carry the clothes to the washing machine. Generally speaking, a kiss and a hug is all it takes to get those jobs done. Inexpensive but effective.
Gee, I'm doing all the laundry right now and I'll be cleaning both toilets in a few minutes. And, my wife is at work. She doesn't have to coax me at all to do this stuff. A regular "goodbye" kiss in the morning and she's off to work and I'm off to work at home.
This is an interesting current case where the prosecution is trying to use Alexa in a murder trial. I'm very leery of using any of these devices in my home, but from what I've heard, cell phones and computers with Google on them are or could be already recording everything we say/ask.
Way I look at it, let them record! Wife and I have nothing to hide. Sometimes we say things we shouldn't, but that's our fault. I grew up in a farming area with a fairly small population. IOW, everyone knew everyone and even on a personal level. Nobody minded it. I'd like to return to that small population. People are much, much more friendlier!
I totally disagree @Cody Fousnaugh. I believe we have an expectation of privacy in our homes, vehicles, etc., and shouldn't have to worry about Big Brother listening to and/or recording our every word. Although I have nothing to hide, I don't believe they have any right to my thoughts, beliefs or opinions. Those belong to me, and I believe we've ceded enough of our rights to the government (or a corporation, in its stead) as it is.
Well, even on this forum, many go "above and beyond" disclosing what some would call "private info". People do the same on Facebook. Sometimes I even have to give a "second thought" to starting a new Thread or making a comment, while others simply start a "questionable" Thread or make a "questionable" post. Shoot, today, since most job hunting goes on over the Internet, Online Applications have to be filled out and certain questions are asked. Don't answer the questions and the app process will cease. Want the job, have to answer the online and in-person/interview questions. Some people, where we live, are so private, they don't even open their window shades. We open our front living room shades every morning, but do close them when we leave to go somewhere.
I haven't got an Echo dot, I'm not sure I'll bother after listening to ones belonging to friends and colleagues. As for getting Alexa to automatically turn on the heating and lights etc...I've had the ability to do that with the Hive App on my phone, for well over a year. No longer do I have to come home to a dark or cold house because when I'm out...even abroad..I can turn the light on and the heating if necessary just by a click of a button on my iphone.. ..and of course if I really need an answer to a question when I have no access to google, I can simply ask Siri..
Now you have my brain going into overdrive. I do wonder if I can get them to start communicating with each other. I think if I key in a question to Siri and get a verbal response that would actuate Alexa and get a correlating or opposing response then maybe a loop with some minuscule changes can be created thereby simulating a conversation. Asking the initial question would be the crucial point otherwise it would just end with one counterpoint or agreement. Maybe even start a sort of "think tank" or.......! Hmmmmmmmmm.............I might really find out who put the ram in the rama-lama- ding-dong!
FWIW, @Cody Fousnaugh , my daughter has an Echo (the taller one with a built-in speaker) and she just loves hers, and that is why she showed up at our house to surprise us with one. Unless you have appliances that are able to be controlled remotely, you can't just have the lights turned on and off when you aren't home; but if you have those, then Alexa can do it for you. She plays music when you ask, and can also play Pandora and Spotify, although only when you have a paid account on Spotify. There are probably a lot of helpful things that you can do once you have an Echo besides listen to music, and I think if you investigate what all the Echo can do then you will enjoy having one, too.
My son and Dil in Illinois have "Alexa" and it's kind of fun. The boys had her telling "knock knock" jokes and they were ones I hadn't heard before and funny. I'm sure my son can set it to be rated G if the kids are talking to her. ..all the jokes were age appropriate. The 4 year old always asks Alexa to play "Go Cubs Go". The 10 yr old got an echo dot for Christmas for his room...think it can turn the light off and on and some other things...think my son said it was about $40. Here's one joke I remember... Knock knock Who's there? Kanye Kanye who? Kanye quit telling me knock knock jokes.
Well, after researching both the Echo Dot and the new Google Home, we are going with the Google Home and a Chromecast to attach to our HDMI input on the back of our tv. The Echo Dot is cheaper and has more apps to it, but there are things that the Google Home can do that the Dot can't. A couple of things is this: when the Echo Dot plays a song, you can't Stop, Pause or FF the song, however The Google Home you can. If a person wants to know about a camera or other item, Echo Dot will try to sell it to you instead of giving you the info you want about the item. Echo Dot is by Amazon, which is a selling site, not info site. When a person asks the Goggle Home about an item, it will give you the Specs and other info. The Echo Dot can be connected to a Sound Bar, or other sound system, by way of either a cable (sold separately) or Blu-Tooth, whereas the Google Home can't be, but does have a nice size speaker/loudness to it. The Echo Dot is being sold for $49, has a lot of apps, but the Google Home will overtake it in apps quickly. The Google Home is $129, but does get some better reviews than the Dot does. The Echo Dot can't communicate with a person nearly as well as the Google Home can.........this is a proven fact. Plus, match Goggle Home with the Chromecast item ($35) and............let the FUN and ENTERTAINMENT begin and move on. Our pick, and my wife's birthday present, will be the Google Home and the Chromecast for our HD tv.
Okay folks. Do you wish to have some fun with whichever tell me somethin' gadget you have, while earning the ire of the same? Ask it one simple mathematical question and your day will be complete: What is 0 divided by 0? If ya have Siri and Alexa and ask Alexa, she might even consult with Siri or, you could even get the Oakridge Boys singing "Elvira"! Both will reference google and google will refer to parts unknown. A personal experience warning though: Don't press the point too much or you might wind up getting the silent treatment like Siri does to me. Fickled female!