Amazon Echo

[bodhi]

Hey all,

Anyone got the Amazon Echo and have any thoughts on it? I'm in Sydney but was going to buy it from the UK and get it set up over here.

Any thoughts more than welcome.

 

[Becky]

Hey bodhi, great to see you back on the forum!

Don't know anyone with an Amazon Echo I'm afraid, and I've read mixed reviews. Apparently the sound quality isn't great, but the speech recognition is meant to be pretty good. What will you be using it for primarily?

On a personal note, I'm not keen on the fact that it's always listening - bit too 1984...

 

[bodhi]

Yes, it's been a while. It's good to see all the old names still on here and still contributing!

I think I've decided against it. I fancied it (my mum is desperate to know what to buy me for Christmas!) but I'm just not sure the UK version will work in Australia all that well...

 

[bootneck02]

Hi bodhi welcome back, just because you are on the other side of the earth in Aus don't forget us.

 

[Abarbarian]

You could always build your own and it would certainly work in Aussyland.

The Amazon Echo is useful to have around the home. It can play podcasts, take reminders and notes, tell you the length of your commute, even control other appliances in your house. But at prices ranging from $50 to $150, it’s an expensive proposition if you’re not sure you’ll use it. Good news though, you can make a fully-functional one using a Raspberry Pi.

How to Build Your Own Amazon Echo with a Raspberry Pi

 

[bodhi]

That looks like a lot of work Abarbarian! More than 120 quid worth of time and effort I think!

 

[Becky]

Guess it depends on what you want to use it for, but if it's mainly for music how about Sonos instead? We use three speakers around the house and it's fantastic!

 

[bodhi]

It's not really for music, it's more for my inner geek and wanting to play with it.

I think I'm going to buy the Dot, it's the same without the good speaker and it's only 40 quid right now.

The issue I have is that I can't download the app in Oz but I'm home at Christmas so I guess I can somehow download the app while I'm in he uk? Will my iTunes automatically change to the U.K. iTunes when I'm in the uk do you know?

 

[Becky]

I don't have an Apple phone so I don't know I'm afraid