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What is Alexa?
Alexa is the voice control system of Amazon that is named after the ancient library in Alexandria. What I love about it is the fact that it enables me to speak the wishes that I have to theEcho smart speaker.
Then suddenly, once I have spoken, all my wishes get fulfilled. At least the simple ones though, like playing music in my house and dimming the lights on and off.
The responsiveness that I get from using my Echo speakers and Alexa is so amazing. This is one of the reasons why I prefer them to other first-generation voice assistants. You don’t need to have a button for pressing.
All I do in my house is to say the trigger word like “Alexa, Amazon or Computer” Then I follow with the instruction of what I want to do. It has usually been done most of the times considering that I have set up everything correctly and used the correct command.
By now, I have so much gotten used to my Amazon Echo and Alexa, and I use my phone less frequently when I am at home.
The experience I have had using itis much more natural and responsive than when I am speaking to a phone-based voice assistant like Siri. There is nothing more I would want from such.
How Useful is Alexa?
If you are a smart home user like me or would like to venture into having a smart home someday, then you will find Alexa particularly very useful to you.
Alexa will enable you to control all your Alexa compatible devices and does not require you to have your phone and launch an app.
There is an Alexa app, though it is mainly for configuration and set up or if you would like to add new abilities to it. The app may also help you in viewing your to-do and shopping lists.
The Amazon echo, tap and dot enable you to access useful features of Alexa without you interacting with a screen at all.
Alexa enables you to walk inside a quiet room and ask for music or walk right inside a dark room and ask for light, and without touching anything, all these get done for you.
What Else Can I use My Alexa For?
Beyond just using my also to play music I can also use it for the following.
- I use Alexa to search to search Wikipedia
- I use Alexa to make quick-cooking conversions especially when I am helping my wife in the kitchen
- I use my Alexa to help me in math homework for my weekend classes and my daughter’s homework.
- I use my Alexa to create a to-do list
The good thing is that I already had a smart home hub, the Samsung SmartThings which made my access and adding echo to be very interesting and also convenient. You can have a look at one of my article here about SmartThings.
Features of the Amazon Echo
- Surround 360 degrees audio streaming
- A smart and skillful speaker
- Voice recognition
- Beam forming technology
My amazon echo is a hands-free speaker that I connect to Alexa voice services and enable to control with my voice.
Surround 360 degrees audio streaming
This second generation Amazon echo that I use a 2.5” down-firing woofer and a 0.6” tweeter and this enables it to have a crisp vocal and dynamic bass. It enables me to play music from Spotify, TuneIn, Amazon Music and many more others.
I also listen to audiobooks from radio stations, podcasts and news briefings.
I like the fact that it has multi-room music which enables me to tell Alexa to play music across all my echo devices that are available. I now have to play different kinds of music in my living room and the kitchen.
A smart and skillful speaker
I recently installed smart security cameras, and smart lights in my home and I like amazon echo because it enables me to switch on the lamp before we can go to bed at night.
I also get to turn up my smart thermostat while I am just reading on my couch without lifting a finger.
Voice recognition
The voice recognition that amazon echo has enables me to talk with my friends that introduced me to smart homes. We can also send each other messages through text or voice to each other.
It also enables me to notify everyone in the house when food is ready or remind the kids to go to bed especially when we are not around the house.
Beam forming technology
The seven microphones and noise cancellation enables Echo to hear me while in my house from any direction, even when music is playing. This is awesome.
The speakers have Dolby processing that enables improved immersive sound. All I have to do is say the wake word.
The Cost of Amazon Echo
When I was deciding on the AmazonAlexa I wanted to purchase, the cost was also among some of the factors that I had to put into consideration. But then I did not want to lose out on the quality and features that would be excellent.
You can have a look at the current price and reviews of the Amazon Echo here on Amazon.
Conclusion
The experience I have had withAmazon Echo is so far miraculous and very intriguing. I had been told by my friends a couple of months ago, but I was reluctant to go in.
But the wait is now over; I decided to jump in with both feet and buy it. If you can own one of the modern computers, then you will not have a problem in using it.