Amazon Echo – My Experience Getting to “Know” Alexa

I am not an electronic gadget kind of person. I held on to a phone for over six years even though I had free updates, simply because I get comfortable with what I know and am a bit lazy when it comes to learning new things. Not new things in general, but rather anything that gets plugged in. In my defense, I do so much research everyday on articles, my brain is just fried at times and reading instructions is the last thing I want to do. And I admit I am “that” person who doesn’t try any new things on my phone or laptop without someone showing me because of my (mostly) groundless fear I’ll mess up more things than not.

So when my husband bought the Amazon Echo and brought it home, I admit, I was not terribly excited. I figured it was just “one more thing” that seemed great but wouldn’t get much use from me. In fact, I most likely rolled my eyes as he set it up, thinking it was a waste of money for our household. I probably muttered a few things not nice too, feeling the “pressure” of learning and using it. Let’s just say I wasn’t thrilled with another cord in the house…ha!

WHAT IS THE AMAZON ECHO?

Without getting too terribly technical, it is a hands-free speaker, developed by Amazon, that you control with your voice. The device consists of a 9.25-inch tall cylinder speaker with a seven-piece microphone array and responds to the name Alexa. The Echo connects to the Alexa voice service to play music, provide information, news, sports scores, weather, read audiobooks, give info on local businesses, traffic reports, and more-instantly. Echo has 7 microphones and beam forming technology so it can hear you from across the room, even while playing music. (It averages for about $180.)

When you want to use Echo, all you have to do is say the wake word “Alexa” and Echo responds instantly. All you have to do is ask. Once you say “Alexa” the Echo lights up and streams audio to the cloud, where the Alexa Voice Service is leveraged  to recognize and respond to your request.

Because Alexa, the brain behind Echo is built in the cloud, it is always getting smarter. The more you use Echo, the more it adapts to your speech patterns, vocabulary, and personal preferences. And since Echo is always connected, updates are delivered automatically. With the voice recognition, Alexa is developed to get better over time.

SETTING IT UP…

I was surprised at how simple it was to set up. (Not that I was the one who did!) Three easy steps…

1. Plug in the Echo.

2. Connect to the internet with the Alexa App.

3. Just ask for music, weather, news, and more.

My husband had everything going in less than 15 minutes. You DO NEED a functional WiFi network smartphone/tablet to control Echo through the connection process.

AM I LOVING IT? USING IT?

Much to my surprise, I do use and talk to Alexa every single day. While trying out new recipes I can ask Alexa ingredient substitutions, measurement equivalents, add ingredients to my grocery list and of course, listen to music if I want. While enjoying dinner with my husband she can answer a question we might be “debating,” proving me correct, without having to get up from the table to google it. Ha!

REVIEWS –

I always research multiple sites of reviews and comments when trying out something new, wanting to know what other people think and what their experience was. Reviews were mostly positive with 67% giving it 5 stars, 18% giving it 4 stars, and 4% giving it 1 to 2 stars. And most of those who gave it 1 or 2 stars said they would still buy it again or recommend it to a friend.

TRUE STORY…

Alexa really does get smarter the more you use her. If she doesn’t have an answer or understand the question, she will say, “Sorry, I don’t have the answer to that question.” The first week or so we learned how to better phrase our questions but we found as time went on, we didn’t have to be quite as precise because she was “learning” us too. But in the beginning we were still feeling each other out and learning one another.

One night my husband and I were again “debating” about something and turned to Alexa to settle it. She gave us the “Sorry I don’t understand,” and I said something to my husband along the lines of her being stupid. (She’s not a human so I didn’t feel bad about using that word, just saying.) Anyway, her lights came back on and she responded with, “I’m sorry, I’m still learning.” Honestly, I felt bad! Ha! My husband made fun of me too in the beginning because with every answer she gave me I responded with a thank-you.

A FEW MORE THINGS…

You can also use Echo to control lights, switches, thermostats, and more with compatible devices (following link provides all that info.) You can switch on a lamp, increase the temperature, dim the lights, all with your voice. In the reviews I read there were quite a few from wheelchair bound people who said it helped them feel much more independent.

Because it is always getting smarter, there are new features and skills automatically being loaded, giving you more and more capabilities.

There is of course much more information, specifics, and “technical talk” that I’m not going to try to explain, which you can check out with the following link, along with pricing, more reviews and other compatible devices.

As just a “regular” person, with not the best tech-skills, I love the Echo. I feel like Alexa and I understand each other and she has actually saved me time with her hands-free convenience. And yes, I realize I say she and her instead of it…we’ve bonded.

https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Echo-Bluetooth-Speaker-with-WiFi-Alexa/dp/B00X4WHP5E