Echo – Macinations

October 27, 2016

More Dots! More Echo Dots!

So, I now have two more Echo Dots to add to my collection. This means I have an Echo in all the major rooms, which is pretty awesome. Those rascals are great for weather, setting timers, bits of trivia and of course the ever decisive coin toss. I like the little Dots, they are very handy. And to be honest, $50 for all that technology is a damn good deal. I know Apple has Siri in their Apple TV, but it really seems like they should have been first to market with a standalone Siri box. But oh well, Alexa won this round. I will say, having an Echo Dot in the kitchen is extremely handy. Not only is it good for music, but you can always double check on something without having to stop and wash your hands.

September 15, 2016

Amazon Echo, Tap and Dot

So there is a new offering for the Amazon Echo Dot, and a nice price tag to go with it. It’s the new 2.0 version, although I’m not sure what they’ve done under the plastic to warrant a 2.0 revision. The original Echo has been software updated multiple times I’m sure and doesn’t bear a 2.0 moniker. Nevertheless, a new model is out, this time in white and at a price of $49.99, which is significantly lower than the introductory price. I got my first Echo Dot at the higher offering. However, I did jump on board and ordered another. I decided to get the white one and it will go in the living room. So why exactly get an Echo Dot? What is it good for? Well, it makes a perfect alarm clock that’s for sure. The original is in my bedroom and is set every night. The alarm is far more pleasant that the horrific buzzing of a […]

March 3, 2016

Amazon unveils the Echo Tap and Echo Dot

Amazon has just sent out email about two new devices in the Echo line, the Amazon Tap and the Amazon Dot. Both are variations on the original Echo design, but offer some nice variety. The Echo Tap is roughly the original Echo, but cordless and portable. You can take it from room to room or if you have a WiFi hotspot, even further. The Tap isn’t always on and listening for the “Alexa” keyword, so you have to push a button for it to respond. That doesn’t seem a problem and was done to save battery life. The other is the Echo Dot which looks like a little hockey puck. It’s the brains of Alexa without the big speaker. It can still play music, but it’s meant more for answering questions and looking up information that streaming music. It can make up for this with its Audio Out so you can hook up external speakers. I’ve already ordered the Tap, […]

January 27, 2015

A closer look at the Amazon Echo

So let’s take a few minutes to have a closer look at the Amazon Echo and go over what’s good and what needs work and who would benefit from such a device. First off, the device is heavily reliant on Amazon Prime. Obviously, this is the first group that is allowed to buy it, so if you’re not keen on Amazon Prime and don’t see the benefit, Echo clearly isn’t the right device for you. The Echo is really a device to push the benefits of Amazon Prime Music which I think will develop into a pretty good service. Amazon has vastly improved Prime for shipping and the catalog for Prime Instant Video continues to grow. I have no reason to doubt their music collection won’t grow and many more albums will be available under the Prime umbrella. To that end, Echo is a nice way to hook into that service. You can easily talk to the device or you […]

January 18, 2015

The Amazon Echo – Out of the box and onto the network. Hello Alexa.

When Amazon first sent me email about their new Echo device, I was quite intrigued and looked over the material with great interest. It’s a wireless and hands-free device to play music and to be used as a basic research tool. It hooks into your Amazon music account to play music you already own and searches through all the free music (if you’re a Prime subscriber). It can also answer standard questions such as "what is the weather like today", "what time is it?" and "set a timer for 30 minutes". And while on the surface it seems pretty simple, it turns out to be a whole lot of fun! Mine showed up on Friday so I spent the weekend tinkering around with it. First of all, when you open it up, it looks like you’re unwrapping a fine bottle of Scotch. I guess Amazon took some cues from Apple on how to package a device. Opening you’re new product […]

More Dots! More Echo Dots!

Amazon Echo, Tap and Dot

Amazon unveils the Echo Tap and Echo Dot

A closer look at the Amazon Echo

The Amazon Echo – Out of the box and onto the network. Hello Alexa.

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