Thanks, JB, you're the first person to explain to me what the Amazon Echo actually is:
A friend got an Echo (think siri always listening for a command + bluetooth speaker). It hooks into many services, including I-Heart-Radio and Tune-in-Radio.
You simple say "Alexa [one of two names you can give it for now] play radio station [call letters, or some way to identify it]."
We tried KQRS, and no problem. I tried "89.3 The Current" and it found the station I meant. I tried "WCCO-AM" and it found it. I tried "950 AM in Minneapolis" and it found the correct station (KTNF). I tried "KCCK" and jazz began to play.
For those who are into internet radio this is an interesting device. There are no dials, or knobs. You just, from the couch or chair, just say what you want, and the device tunes it. You can control the volume by commands as well. You can tell it to mute (so still streaming, just muted). You can tell it to stop.
It has many other functions as well, but I found that I really enjoyed using it as a voice-activated way to play music (it will also access some standard music services such as Pandora).
It can set alarms, timers, add items to a to do list (which you can see on an app on your phone). Add stuff to your shopping list.
For radio use, I would point out the current firmware does not support any sort of sleep timer. I've read several forums of other users who think this would be useful.
I keep in mind that this is really a product that is in its infancy, and features will be added all the time going forward (hopefully and if is successful).
It's not a cheap device, but it is rather novel, and I think some will take to it quite readily. As I said this was all via a friend's Echo, but I know have one on order as well.
This product intrigues me but I'm going to wait until more capabilities are added.
One thing is for certain, it will be on sale for less than the current $179 at some point. Remember it started out as a "by invitation only" item for $99 for Prime members. I can easily see it going down to that price, perhaps as a one day sale or something. Then I'll REALLY consider it.
Posted by: Ken K. in NJ | July 23, 2015 at 02:31 PM
I'd like to see the price go down and believe it will since like the Kindle it's a huge consumer tool that encourages lots of convenience buying.
Posted by: herculodge | July 23, 2015 at 02:45 PM
It was $129 on Prime Day. And it can do far more than just play media, more than could be listed here..
Posted by: StarHalo | July 24, 2015 at 06:44 AM