Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? I just learned a lesson, do not do the voice training in the Alexa app. For most of a week, my Echo has been flawless, then I decided to improve its interpretation of my voice so I did a couple of voice training sessions with it.In each of these sessions you are asked to say 25 sentences to the Echo in your normal voice and the way you would normaly talk.After doing this voice training my Echo now barely understands me. I now have to repeat things to it several times before it gets it right. Even worse, according to Amazon, there is no way to undo the effects of the voice training except to do a master reset to restore the Echo to its factory default condition, which means you have to go through all the set up you've already done including enabling all the skills you enabled and re setting them up if they had to be set up before use. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=317114#p317114 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? Hey, Dark.Don't feel alone in not finding things to do with your Echo, Ieven with all the skills I have available to me here in the United States, I only have two that are actually what I'd call useful and one of those, weather, came preloaded. The other allows me to order Pizza from Pizza Hut and all the rest, two or three, are games I plan to tinker with.Since I am a Prime member, what I use the Echo for most right now is to take advantage of the Amazon Prime Music service that is a part of being a prime member to get soft, easy listening, background music. There is also an Amazon Unlimited streaming music service I can subscribe to to extend the Prime music service I already get, but, like you, I have an extensive music library that I'd rather find a way to have the echo be able to play at no additional cost. I can load up to 250 songs to my Amazon drive and the Echo can then play those, but if you want to upload more than 250 tracks, a monthly char ge gets involved, and my current music library contains about 2,300 tracks.I'm sure, that as time goes by, and skills become available, that we will find uses for the Echo we never thought of. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316691#p316691 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? Actually I think the Echo has been available for two years with it's smaller brothers Dot and Tap arriving about a year later. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316617#p316617 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? Ah, glad that worked.I considered trying that myself accept that it would've inevitably redirected me back to the co.uk address .I do need to sort my echo out since I suspect my brother paid a bit more than what it would be in the states (things are generally more expensive over here and the echo had only just come out). URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316610#p316610 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? Thanks, Dark!I just substituted .com for the .co.uik, creating http://alexa.amazon.com, and it worked. No browser crash, so things are looking up! (Big Grin) URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316588#p316588 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? Unfortunately the only Url I have for the website version of the Alexa ap is the Uk one though you can try it if you wish and see if you get redirected: http://alexa.amazon.co.uk URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316585#p316585 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? I'm going to post this question in a separate message because just adding it to my previous message doesn't seem to be getting any results.Does anyone know the URL for the Amazon Alexa web site that I can use as an alternative to the iOS app?The iOS app seems to be working OK now, but using a full keyboard rather than the phone's on screen one would be far better.Last time I tried it back in February, it crashed my browser, hopefully that has improved too. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316565#p316565 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? I love my echo. I use it for listening to radio, alarms and timers, facts and maths stuff. Other things I use it for are more simple like checking time, date, weather. I also like the news updates. I also use it for spellings. The only thing I would say it's not so great at is facts. The google speaker can check anything on google, whilst Alexa sometimes doesn't know. She can usually check on wikapedia.I also wish it could translate.As for music, if you have amazon prime or amazon music (which you can get for around 3/4 pounds per month on the echo) or Spotify premium then it's great for music. If not then you can upload 250 songs to the cloud service and there's always radio too. Hope that helps. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316362#p316362 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? Dark, I think the problem is that the Echo is still primarily designed for the United States. Maybe there are more skills since you last looked in January. You may want to give it another shot. The Alexa app was updated recently and the accessibility is much better. Just use the menu button to bring up a menu that lists all the various options. The only slight issue I've found is having to tap somewhere in the center of the screen to focus the list. Aside from that, everything works well for me.Orko, have you tried contacting customer service? You definitely shouldn't be experiencing these issues. I know Amazon hasn't been the best in terms of accessibility for a while, but they've really turned their act around in the last two or so years. All their Fire devices are screen reader accessible, Kindle for Windows is now accessible when using both JAWS and NVDA, and they just introduced audio description to Prime Video. The Echo products are awesome as well . Now if only Kindle for macOS was as good as the Windows version. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316356#p316356 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? "Chris, when I tried the ios ap I found that it was impossible to go back to any menu. this meant it was literally impossible to look at say a list of or services or similar. I don't know if this got fixed, but I know it certainly was! still a problem in January of this year which is why I tried the web ap. "Orco, I can't speak for the issues, whether it's a jaws thing I don't know, then again sicne I've yet to get much good out of my own echo dot I'm probably not the best person to ask anyway. I would like to get some! use out of it, since I feel rather guilty at my brother being kind enough to spend what was undoubtedly not an inconsiderable amount on a Christmas present, when I tried it in January the things it did like weather and news it did not do half as well as Siri since it's voice recognition seemed far worse, and as for skills and what not there didn't really seem to be many available other than playing the national lottery, when I tried to get it to play music it failed miserably (I couldn't get it to connect to radio stations and the closest thing it found to beathoven was some dj crap), plus I don't really like the idea of a streaming service anyway I'd rather own my own music and play it on whatever I want whenever I want.Perhaps though at least from the point of view of skills and such I should try it again, since it is possible more skills are now available in Britain which might make the thing sort of worth using. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316324#p316324 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? I don't know either. I don't have the Echo anymore, I returned it. I'll just keep an eye on the iOS app, it it's rating goes up to something I'm a bit more comfortable with, I'll buy it again. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316318#p316318 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? The iOS app works very well. I'm not sure why you're having all these problems. The web interface works reasonably well with Safari on macOS and Chrome on Windows. I'm thinking it's a problem with your devices or internet connection. Try rebooting everything including your wireless router. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316254#p316254 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? I tried the web app and all it did was crash my browser. Maybe I have something going on with my browser, but still, something with the web site itself has to be quite off for it to do that, especially when it's the only web site I have problems with that aren't related to accessibility.Before anyone suggests using a different browser, the same argument against buying an Android device is true for a second browser.Besides, until the iOS app is fixed so that its actually usable by Voice Over users, I have no intention of buying another Echo. I'm just curious how other visually impaired Amazon Echo owners are getting around the Alexa app's problems with Voice Over. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316163#p316163 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? Well, there is the web application. If you use that, after the device is set up, you might find it a bit more usable in a modern browser. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316131#p316131 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
2017-06-19
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — Off-topic room : Trenton Goldshark via Audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? The Android version of the App:https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta … =en, currently has a rating of 3.5 stars. I can safely say, the interface is quite a fine experience with Talkback. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=316114#p316114 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? Hello,I like my Echo. You may be better off getting the $50 Echo dot and connecting that to a superior set of speakers or a stereo. The Dot also acts as a Bluetooth receiver. This means you could connect it to a really high quality stereo system and use your computer or smart phone wirelessly by pairing to the Dot. If I listen to audio on it, it is not through the cloud. I didn't purchase the Echo for music. I purchased it because it has a lot of potential and is constantly growing with new features. I also like the voice activation.As others have said, you do not need a prime account to use the Echo. The only thing you're missing out on are the prime music and voice ordering features which I don't use. Speaking of these smart speakers, Apple and Google are going to come out with competitive products. I'm not sure if they will take off or flop since the Echo has been such a success.Overall, I really like my Echo. I find it convenient to set quick alarms and timers by shouting at the thing from the hallway or what ever. It's better than Siri on my phone because I cannot use the Hey Siri feature on my 5. I've also noticed that the Alexa service seems far more responsive. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280710#p280710 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? True, if you are happy with streaming everything, or using it's many skills, then it might be worth it to you.While I would probably use it's other features if I had one, as long as streaming my music library through the cloud is a requirement, I'll never buy one. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280702#p280702 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? Again though Figment this might change in the future depending upon software developments, since if the other things the ecco does can compensate for not using media it might still be worth it. I had a similar debate with deciding whether to get an Iphone back in 2012. Eventually I decided that it was worth it for the aps and games and voiceover navigation even without using the media functions. I then struggled to get said media functions to do what I want, and gave up and bought a victor two years later, though even without said function I still use my Iphone quite a lot and wouldn't really want to be without one, especially for games and handy stuff like Siri. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280689#p280689 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? @DarkI agree with you 100%. If I got an Echo, one of the things I'd want to do with it is to be able to play the music in my library on it. But no, Amazon says that if you want to play your own music on it you have to put it in the cloud so the Echo can stream it.That is why I didn't buy one and why I don't recommend it. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280679#p280679 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? @figment, aside from the bloated nonsense and stupid interface, my dislike of Itunes is exactly as you described. I don't like the idea of either having to reformat all my own stuff so that it conforms to Apple's ordering conventions in order to play it,or of being forced to only buy and stream things from Apple and them be stuck in itunes forever more amen. amazon's prime streaming service seems very much of the same ilk, and even iff the interface isn't as annoying as Itunes, I don't want to be tied to a silly coorporation and their restrictions, if I have music, I want to play it where and how and when I want, and on what device I want, not this captive audience business. it's actually the media aspect of things that is my one major issue with Ios, I would much prefer if you could just copy files onto your Iphone and play them, then again I'm very happy with my Victor Stream. As i said if the ecco does other th ings that are fun, which it might do in the future then that could be a really handy thing. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280659#p280659 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? The thing about Starlanes interested me in the ecco, but again I'm not really a fan of streaming services for music like amazon prime or of the hole library thing, I've said before how much I dislike Itunes). For the speaker capabilities and alexa it might be worth it if it gets other features in the future, though from the sound of it if your not using it for streaming amazon specifically essentially you have a bleutooth speaker with a siri like service, and since I have siri on my phone it's possibly a little superfluous for me at this point, though if the amount of things it does and services available with alexa increases to things without Iphone iquivolence I might consider the idea. Then again at the moment I can do radio on my pc or my sterrio or for that matter on my victor stream when connected to the wireless, and similarly with my music library, so I'm probably okay thus far, though when I get a new pc in a few months I do intend t o get another set of speakers too since these need replacing. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280623#p280623 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? If you wanted to get an Echo dot or an Echo speaker, know the differences.Echo: Standalone Bluetooth speaker with Alexa built in, with no other audio connectivity other than Bluetooth.Echo Dot: Smaller version of the Echo with a smaller speaker, but with a 3.5MM out jack.I currently have an Echo dot, connected to an old school stereo with an RCA to 3.5MM jack cable. The stereo has 5 speakers and a sub woofer. Because I now have the Dot connected to my stereo, the stereo has Bluetooth capabilities, which allows me to connect my PC or iPhone to it, and stream music with out worrying about wires.Not only is the echo a cool streaming device but, it is also very helpful as well. Sure you can take your phone out of your pocket, and ask Siri questions but, I think it's just easier to ask Alexa. And to be completely honest, the Alexa voice sounds better than Siri's voice, and I think Alexa is way more responsive than Siri.HTH. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280583#p280583 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? One problem I've had with radio streams is that the one local radio station I want to listen to won't allow their stream to be played by anything other than a web browser if you are within their broadcast area.All I can conclude from that is that they want the revenue generated by the ads their web site displays on top of the ads you'll hear on their stream.So I just use a blind accessible clock radio to listen to radio, or my Victor Reader Stream when I want to listen to my music library.The Echo is just a connection to Amazon's Alexa service, which is also available on my iPhone at no additional charge, if I really want it. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280578#p280578 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? To your first question, yes, I would definitely recommend it. The audio quality is surprisingly good. You don't necessarily need a prime account. I used to have one, and it was nice to listen to my library using prime music, but I stopped using that after a while and stuck to streaming services e.g. iHeart radio, pandora, and Tune-in. Its surprising how much I use it, sometimes not even noticing anymore. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280553#p280553 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? The standard Amazon Echo has its own builtin speaker. Only the Echo Dot can be plugged into your existing speaker system. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280550#p280550 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? I think it also supports bluetooth so you can connect your phone to it as well and play music that way, or plug it into speakers with a 3.5 patch cable. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280548#p280548 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? I considered getting an Echo until I discovered that the only way you could give it access to your music library is by uploading it to a cloud based music service, and if you have more than 250 tracks, you'll be charged a monthly or yearly fee for it.All the other things it can do were secondary, all I was interested in was a convenient way to play music from my library. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280542#p280542 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? You do not need an Amazon prime account to use the Echo itself. However, if you want to use Amazon Prime features like Prime Music, you will need a Prime account, but only for those features. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280529#p280529 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? Hi.Thanks for the info about the device. Amazon didnt announce when they will release the speaker exactly, but they said that this will happen some day in the next month.Did I get this right? You need an amazon prime account to use it or does a normal amazon account work as well?Greetings Moritz. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280525#p280525 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it?
Re: amazon echo, would you recommend it? My sister bought me an Echo over a year ago and I use it all the time. You need a few things for it to work, an Amazon prime account, a wireless router, and a smart phone. If you've got all of them, then you're all set. The device has excellent voice recognition and speakers that sound every bit as good as my Bose mini. With your Amazon Prime you can stream a surprising amount of audio through the Echo, but you have to know exactly what to ask for, and there are some huge gaps in the library. It can answer all sorts of questions through Wikipedia, but once again, there are some gaps. Weather and news are just a voice command away, and with the right hardware you can control most of your home with simple commands like, "Turn on light 3." We have a thermostat from Sensi which interfaces with both a phone and with Echo, though I have yet to link it to the echo due to laziness and no need to run the heat yet. It has a ll kinds of skills from recipes for bar drinks to games and musical tools. The list of skills grows daily and there's even one for Swamp Trivia which I have yet to activate, also due to laziness. Finally, it makes a great Bluetooth speaker. I connect it to my iPhone with two clicks and can stream music, books, radio, or anything I wish. Not sure what it goes for in Europe, but in the States it's a steal at right around 100 dollars, but I think that is with a one time only 50 dollar discount. I'm more than satisfied with mine, and if it died I wouldn't hesitate to buy another. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=280522#p280522 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
