Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Echo is the way of the future where every home will have a "central" device like this. You can pick from a small handful of names to refer to your Echo device such as "Alexa." Currently, Echo is convenient for the small or day-to-day things ("Alexa, what's the weather like?" or "Alexa, set an alarm for 6am") or fun things (the Simon Says feature where it will copy what you say or "Alexa, play, 'Sing' by The Carpenters"). Amazon is also really good about making updates to Echo where they continue to add cool, fun, or useful (e.g. traffic) updates. Let's explore it further: Physical looks: A black cylinder looking device where the top half is solid and the bottom half has a mesh of holes you'd expect to see from speakers. The top has a ring that lights up when Echo is processing requests, speaking, making updates, etc., but it looks really cool and kind of what you would see in a TV show or the movies. The top ring part of it can also be turned to control the volume and there's a mute button on the top of Echo, too. Overall, it will not be a distraction in your house and will fit right in pretty much anywhere near an outlet (and wifi of course!). Remote: There's a small remote control (think of the AppleTV remote, but with more thickness) and initially I thought it wasn't necessary, but it's useful if you're ever out of the Echo's listening range. Echo app: The app is pretty legit, too. It's intuitive when using the Menu tabs to access different things such as grocery lists, to-do lists, settings, etc. It allows you to custom some of the default settings so it caters to your needs better. It just needs to allow you to stay signed in otherwise it's a pain to sign in all the time and makes me want to use it less. When you log into it, it shows a feed of the last items you requested and also asks if Alexa heard you correctly. Using Echo: So like I mentioned above, it serves a purpose beyond just being a novel gadget (which, yes, it still is), but it's informative, too. For example, ask Alexa (side note: my wife makes fun of me for selecting "Alexa" because she said it's the only "woman" that will listen to me...) for a flash briefing and it provides about a five minute update on news from NPR focusing on headlines (you can also select BBC news from the app and make other customizations to it with respect to what you want to hear). For me, that's awesome and I use it in the mornings when I wake up and am ironing my clothes or making a cup of coffee. Alexa/Echo is also very responsive and listens well. There are rare occurrences, due to background chatter, it might think someone called it, but, again, it's infrequent and honestly not something that should impact your buying decision. We have three young kids so there's always "background chatter" so it's fine. Also, if the kids (or, hey, even adults) are loud, this is where the remote is useful but even then if you just speak a little louder, it will respond. Alexa's feature that takes down your grocery list, which is really nice and convenient. How many times are you in the kitchen and realize you need a resupply of milk or eggs? Now simply ask Alexa to make a note of it and, with the app, you have it for when you go grocery shopping. Yes, a lot of the phones do that these days and we typically have our phones on us even in the house, but it's the convenience of having a central device that makes it appealing and, more importantly, practical. Echo can improve here by allowing you to say a bunch of items in a row ("Alexa, add strawberries, honey, and chocolate to the grocery list") and know that they're separate. In my experiences, they're listed as one item. Echo can also improve by having the app be available offline for the purposes of the grocery list or to do list especially since you might not be in areas where reception is weak. What I expect and am hoping for is that Echo continues to evolve -- as it has -- and wholeheartedly adopts the Internet of Things. In other words, the interconnectedness of technology and devices. So maybe we could ask Alexa to turn on the TV, record a show, close the blinds, control the room temp, etc. This is why I think Amazon has excelled and created a category for home-based technology controlled via a central device. Kind of like those baller homes you see where a lot of things are controlled by a remote, but the next evolution of it. If you've ever watched Star Trek The Next Generation, you'd often see the crew say, "Computer, tell me XYZ thing" or "Computer, do XYZ thing" and it was so convenient, useful, and simply awesome. Well, this is what Echo can be and, to a limited degree, is. So beam yourself up to the future and enjoy! Cheers