Reply With QuoteI love mine - use it with Spotify and Amazon music all the time
Amazon are doing a deal on a new one for 79.99 so just wondered they are actually any good, tbh I do have Amazon music and have just gotten a free years subscription to spotify from Vodafone but i primarily use Apple music. Is there any point getting one?
I love mine - use it with Spotify and Amazon music all the time
There is no Apple Music integration and it would function as more of bluetooth speaker. They're also doing deals with Bose SoundLink and Echo Dot packages which is a better prospect in my eyes when it comes to sound quality.
Other than music you can have it control your lighting, AV, nest etc. I have 2 echo dots and control my TV, lights, nest and sockets.
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Can you control hive with a echo dot?
https://www.hivehome.com/connects-with/alexaOriginally Posted by Martylaa
apparently, yes.
Do you that have one routinely use it? My dad has one and I think it's only used when I'm round to play music. It's like Google assistant on my phone, amazing potential but I just don't know what to ask it so I end up saying play music or what's the weather like?
Do they intergrate with Google Play Music.
I have two echo dots. Don't have the big ones as I have sonos throughout the house. Alexa is meant to connect to sonos at some point this year.
Good:
Can control living room lamps via wemo plugs.
Can control heating via Nest
Can ask quick questions or math
Bad:
Commands have to be unbelievably clear or it won't get it. You also have to pause between parts of the same command.
"Alexa, living room -- lights -- off"
I would get a Dot but wouldn't pay the extra for the full size one even on a prime day sale.
Has anyone got them working with Sonos - I heard it was in beta ?
Absolute bargain for £80.
Sack off the full size one and get a couple of Dots.
Yes it drives me mad at times "Alexa...turn the ******* headphone lamp on NOW!!!" but it is useful.
I typically use mine for the following in no particular order: -
Turning lights on/off
Daily alarms
Timers when cooking (very useful)
Adding things to Amazon lists
Playing TalkSPORT in the morning via the Dot speaker
They are not that great to be honest, although good for 5 mins of fun with friends.
I have lights connected, but it's quicker to get up and flick a switch. Heating integration is ok, smart plugs are good for things like a fan or items where you cannot easily turn things off. Works with Amazon TV, and it's great for shopping lists. As soon as you run out of something, you ask Alexa to add to the list.
My main reason for purchase was Sonos integration, but since music or even TV causes issues with Alexa understanding you, I'm not confident it will work well.
Well took the plunge on a dot for 35. Main reason was the Sonos app drives my girlfriend mad so either it will be easier for her to use or drive her berserk !
If they work I can see them proliferating like the Sonos boxes they control...
I'm getting an Echo and an Echo Dot today at the reduced price. I've been wanting to try them out for a while so decided to take advantage of the reduced price. To those of you mentioning Sonos control, there isn't a public skill of Alexa yet. It is still in closed beta to be released sometime later this year.
I've got a dot in the kitchen. It's decent but a gimmick in there.
However, just bought 3 dot's for £85. Pretty much a bargain even if I only used as a Bluetooth speaker!
Still not keen on the always on/listening though
Bought 2 dots, also bought a load of hive stuff which is well cheap today, plugs, motion sensors and door sensors...
We have our echo linked to our sonos - no idea how my husband did it but it is certainly possible. I can ask the echo to get the sonos to play music stored on our nas drive. It works well.
The sound quality of the sonos is far superior to the echo, but I do love the voice control, particularly when cooking etc
The Echo can connect to a Sonos with a 3.5mm jack. The Sonos is then a speaker, playing content streamed by the Echo. The Echo can't be used to directly control the Sonos yet.
Ours isn't connected via a jack. It is wireless.
I will find out how my husband did it. It may use a raspberry pi as an intermediary or something - I am not techy but I know it is possible with the right knowledge as I use it daily!
I believe this Alexa skill is in beta test with launch later in the year so maybe it is via the beta.
If you get two of these things (either the dot or the full size one), can they be used to play music together, so the same song is on all over the house like Sonos?
No, both will act independently. Could change eventually, but not at the moment
Thanks, I was hoping as it was playing music from Amazon that it would be able to work out and sync to each other.
Will put my purchase on hold for now. Might get a Roberts DAB bluetooth iphone dock as I was planning instead.
Love my ECHO and 2 dots - I've programmed a skill so that I can "alexa, ask Google...."
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Love my Echo Dot. I use mine mainly for our Philips Hue lights, Samsung smart things plug sockets, playing Spotify/Radio and checking the weather.
We went for the dot and use it through our soundbar via Bluetooth. Great bit of Kit. Would be keen to try out some new skills though.
Didn't realise these were cheap again. Ordered another Dot.
With student discount (use STUDENT10) - they are only £24 - so if there is one you know with an amazon account...
I've set the Echo up in the kitchen and the Dot in the living room. I've only set up one skill so far, the Harmony skill from Logitech so I can control my Harmony hub with Alexa. I had to play around with the position of the Dot to get it to work reliably. It didn't like being right by my centre channel speaker so I moved it away from it on the TV stand. I've got another Dot on the way to use in my home office.
Ordered!
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Incoming...Echo and Dot.....quite excited!
The Echo and Echo Dot are both boxed up and ready to be returned to Amazon for a refund. Neither worked reliably, losing connection repeatedly. 50% of the time they were unable to connect to Amazon which makes them useless. There is nothing wrong with the wifi (a 3 node Google WiFi mesh) using other devices at the locations of the Echos so I am returning them.
It's the bane of my life.
My best friend has Alexa'd his entire house. Tv. Lights. Music. Kettle. Cctv. Central heating. Everything runs voice activated through the dot and he's explained every twist and technological turn at great length.
The only downfall to this is that occasionally she doesn't understand his accent so we get things like
"Alexa! Play the prodigy."
"Playing van Morrison."
"Silly c**t alexa!"
Plus I'm content in the knowledge that if he irritates me I can confound all of his damned wifi phillips hue lights nonsense by flicking one off at the switch.
Worth noting that Amazon have just updated the Alexa/Echo line and there are 6 new products.
Also worth noting someone on here sold the echo in order to use google home - YMMV.
I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
Got to say u find alexa very useful I the kitchen - sets alarms/timers and tells me the news or plays music while I'm cooking/ washing up.
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We have a dot plugged into the stereo in the kitchen and really only use it to command Spotify/tunein but that functionality is enough for me.
love the idea but id only really use it with my sonos but i'm thinking the voice recognition still hasn't been cracked properly yet; i got a demo in currys last month and the results were hilarious the bloke said it was because we were in a noisy shop and background noise interferes with it does anybody who has one have this trouble?
He's speaking the truth. I have two and the voice recoginition really is good.
I've got a dot in the living room, it's ok a gimmick, i like the ability to voice control music streaming, but sound quality is poor, really need to pair it up with some sort of speaker, sonos would be nice, but can't afford that at the mo.
The thing i find really really annoying with it is my bloomin kids, my 5yr old daughter keeps asking it the same question/joke, "Alexa, what do you call a camel with 3 humps?" and my 6yr old boy is constantly asking it to play Gangnam style
I keep thinking about buying the Echo but not sure if I'd use it enough. Currently have a Sonos 1 in the kitchen which I use for spotify from my phone and also a BOSE mini link which again I use for spotify from the phone but when I'm in other rooms, garden and garage. Is it worth getting the Echo, linking it up to the Sonos and using spotify through it? Not sure how it all works to be honest.
Anyone got a google home...was going to see how they are as I have most things google in the house...
I like the idea but I have a son who'd soon twig to 'alexa buy all the toys'.
You can turn off buying by voice, was the first thing i did with it for exactly the reason you gave
You can't link Sonos and Echos at present. It is something they, Sonos, have in beta testing. At some point, hopefully fairly soon, Sonos will suddenyl announce it is all ready to rock. You can currently link an Echo Dot with a bluetooth speaker but the original Echo does not have BT support so can't do it.
They're allegedly launching their new Play 1 with built in Alexa today, in order to sell lots of those, it's probably not in their best interest to roll out echo/sonos link on current speakers, but it could happen today too
The latest version of the Alexa app allows you to call the echo from your phone and echo to echo calls as well as voice messaging. Was testing it out last night and is quite useful as an intercom!
Wait until tomorrow. New hardware being announced tonight. 6pm onwards I think.
As predicted, Sonos have today announced launch of the Sonos One, an updated Play1 with built in alexa, on pre order now for £199, same price as the play1
http://www.sonos.com/en-gb/alexa-on-sonos
Looks like pairing an echo with current sonos is now live too, but no deezer or spotify
https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answe...lexa-and-sonos
Last edited by Brighty; 4th October 2017 at 16:45.
Got it working with my Echo Dot. Neat.
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