I don't understand what value these could possibly have to anyone. It's probably the most frivolous purchase you can make and I think people know it, they know it doesn't do shit and that it's a pretty little paperweight that costs a hundred dollars. Why would anyone want to buy this? Apple won, even from the grave Jobs strikes at thee, when a tech product that does literally nothing of value can be profitable.
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Why do people buy echo
- Thread starter Ubername
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SDCowboy
Member
I'm not even sure where to begin with this. Are you sure you now what an echo is?
D
Deleted member 713885
Unconfirmed Member
I like it.
I have an Echo Dot in my kitchen.
I use it as a timer, recipes, plays music and every morning at breakfast I play Jeopardy lol
I have an Echo Dot in my kitchen.
I use it as a timer, recipes, plays music and every morning at breakfast I play Jeopardy lol
crisdecuba
Member
We play music, set timers, set alarms, get the weather, get the days news, do measurement conversions, pay our credit card, get sports results, maintain our grocery list, and more, just through voice. Really convenient.
And thats without getting into the smart home applications.
entremet
Member
Not everything is made for you, OP.
This is one of the things that baffles me from online discussions. The lack of ability to see that others have different wants and needs from you.
I have an echo enabled speaker in my kitchen. It's incredibly handy for the weather, setting timers, recipes, playing music via voice when I'm cooking and my hands are occupied.
This is one of the things that baffles me from online discussions. The lack of ability to see that others have different wants and needs from you.
I have an echo enabled speaker in my kitchen. It's incredibly handy for the weather, setting timers, recipes, playing music via voice when I'm cooking and my hands are occupied.
Poot Poot Splash
Member
I feel the same way about cars. I don't drive and just bike everywhere. If I don't need it, no one else does.
mashoutposse
Ante Up
Home automation. I control lights, A/C, and window shades via Alexa.
chixdiggit
Member
I use mine every day. If it broke I would replace it immediately. Great thing to have in the kitchen.
Sosokrates
Report me if I continue to console war
When I can do all the stuff with my phone and a Bluetooth speaker, having the added convenience an echo brings is not worth it to me.
It is the future but this kind of tech is to fragmented, theres to many echosystems, its like the wild west of this emerging tech.
It is the future but this kind of tech is to fragmented, theres to many echosystems, its like the wild west of this emerging tech.
Kurt Angle
Member
its made by amazon, not apple
i use it for controlling lights and my heater without getting up. Weather before i head out in the morning and music
i use it for controlling lights and my heater without getting up. Weather before i head out in the morning and music
snausagesUK
Member
Yeah it seems frivolous to me also. Like none of the things you can do with it seem like things you can't do now with a phone. From my point of view at least it doesn't come anywhere near the kinds of tech like a kindle which is really good at the one thing it does. Just seems more of a 'wow so this is the future' kind of item.
Well that's my hot take on it anyway.
Well that's my hot take on it anyway.
Really useful for smart home control.
Let's say you have a bunch of smart light bulbs. it's easier to teach everyone in the house to say, "Alexa, turn off the lights" then it is to install/setup the app on every person's phone, and then have them open that app and turn the light bulbs on/off one by one.
Let's say you have a bunch of smart light bulbs. it's easier to teach everyone in the house to say, "Alexa, turn off the lights" then it is to install/setup the app on every person's phone, and then have them open that app and turn the light bulbs on/off one by one.
This.Can't help:
I'm surprised people are so comfortable living with such a device. But then on the hand, Facebook continues to be popular - so perhaps it's not so surprising.
Light switches are superior than having every lamp on the on position in order to make that happen.
I'm with that guy about how smartphones can already do most of this, and also with that guy about how tablets are pretty lame because they're just oversized smartphones, but also with that guy who says why should what you buy bother me?
Just in this thread to check out if I'm missing anything worthwhile and everyone has confirmed I'm not.
DJ Incompetent
Member
Glorified on/off switch that plays music. Greatest while managing the toddlers.
Onoz the government knows I listen to radio and need to buy diapers.
Onoz the government knows I listen to radio and need to buy diapers.
T8SC
Member
It's a gadget for lazy people or people who have the excuse "My life is just too busy" yet single mothers probably don't have them but will have busier lives.
Or, it's a gadget for people with a lot of surplus cash and nothing to spend it on so they buy random stuff to fill the void in their lives.
Or, it's a gadget for people with a lot of surplus cash and nothing to spend it on so they buy random stuff to fill the void in their lives.
Revolutionary
Member
It's funny because it's true.Can't help:
teruterubozu
Member
It was fun for the first month or so, but these days I may ask the weather or set the timer, but that's about it. A novelty at best in our house.
This seems like a circular problem. If you installed a switch on your wall you wouldn't need an app for your phone to turn your lighrs off
Reverse Giraffe
Banned
I mean, its mostly a speaker, so I use it to play music.
Crankshaft
Member
Exactly this. My mother-in-law bought one for us last year. This year she is talking that she wants one for herself. I about said, "you can have ours". We only use the Echo to set timers and check the weather. The speaker is not quality enough for enjoyable music listening (unless you have really relaxed standards)
I don't get it either. It seems especially useless if you don't have home automation (which, over here, is almost everyone), and doesn't seem to do anything a phone can't do. Have a more integrated voice system on a phone and it looks more like a paperweight than ever (surely this is an inevitability).
If people find it useful though, good for them.
If people find it useful though, good for them.
sometimes i game
Member
1. "Echo, turn on the lights. Echo, turn change my thermostat to X degrees. Echo, turn on my car" = valuable
2. "Echo, play X song. Echo, tell me the news. Echo, set a cooking timer" = convenient
Your post is a little silly. Maybe smart homes or bluetooth speakers aren't for you, but saying it has no purpose or utility?....
Ecto311
Member
Weird how they win when Amazon is making money and almost all smart home devices connect to their stuff when home kit does nothing without an apple tv at home. I can use alexa through the amazon app when I am away to control my temp and lights at home. I can use it with IFTTT to do a ton of things too. But I get it they won when they have nothing to do with that ecosystem other than having apps that partially work or I need their hub (apple tv) that costs 3x as much as my Echo Dot.
Plus there are alexa only sales that are pretty decent. Also sales on the dot its self. But apple is winning.
Horsemama1956
Member
Yeah I'll stick to doing it the old fashioned way. Didn't those automated vacuums collect a shit load of data and the companies sold/plan on selling all that info? Half of this shit has data going who knows where.
LordOfChaos
Member
Apple won at...What?
They're not shipping their home speaker this year, and the abilities of Siri are still in question for it.
They'll sound better than the Echo, but at correspondingly higher cost, and Google has higher sound quality ones coming.
I pay my maid to do that and she does a fine job at it. The value you get from these things is very little, in my opinion. But apparently that isn't the case for everyone, who knew.
They paved the way for stuff like this to be popular. The iPad is a particularly succinct manifestation of this because it's basically an oversized phone that can't call, and has the worst keyboard known to man, and guess what it's one of the hottest tech products out.
Keeps getting more ridiculous
I don't mean to be rude, but you're the guy who berated the normals for using oven mitts.
That's not a maid, that's a slave.
BibiMaghoo
Member
I use it to control the lighting in my house with voice and also to ask questions pertinent to whatever conversation may be happening in a room, instead of grabbing a device and telling people to wait a second while I google it. It also makes a very convenient timer, I just really, really wish I could use it to play google music as I use them over amazons service. When I did have that, it was also useful for playing tunes.
It was worth every penny for my lighting and questions though.
It was worth every penny for my lighting and questions though.
RastaMentality
Banned
How good are the echo speakers? Can you control it with a mobile device or is it just with voice?
BibiMaghoo
Member
Speakers are legit great, but I'm no audiophile, so ymmv. Voice is all I use but there is an app to teach it and hook up other devices.
Ancient Gray
Member
I bought an OontZ since I really only had need for the portable speaker. A bit too expensive for me too. But OP, you seem to have a very poor understanding of the product.
WHOAguitarninja
Member
I have it. It does everything Alexa does, but NOT everything an echo does(this is a distinction I was not aware of when I got it). For example, it currently doesn't support Audiobook playback through audible, which seems frankly unbeleivable, but for now it's the truth. Apparently Audible support is coming early next year.
I like it a lot though. Just be aware of the limitations. It's not exactly an Echo replacement.
That's googles play. Amazon obviously launched first in this space and currently have the position of having the most support, which won't last. Google Assistant is awesome integrated on media devices. I have a fair bit of my home automated now but I'm reluctant to get Google Home devices as they're always on which I don't need and an eyesore. Automating lights, HVAC and security using geofencing is one of those things that you don't realize how handy it is until you have it.
I don't really get the fears about wiretapping though, your web browser, GPS and DNS pose a far greater risk to your privacy.
What if you use a lot of lamps and don't have a light switch wired to the right outlets? What if you like to party and want to change the color of your light bulbs? What if you want to program your lights to turn on/off at certain times, or sync with certain events? (ie, you coming home, etc)
NintendoRev
Member
I havent used the device so Im going to hate it for no reason - most of the thread.
I thought it was goddamn Useless before getting one. Now love my echo and echo dots. playing music throughout my house, controlling our smart home things, all of it is very useful and nice to have. Makes things a lot easier for my mother as well who is forgetful at times, so she can turn off stuff from across house.
I thought it was goddamn Useless before getting one. Now love my echo and echo dots. playing music throughout my house, controlling our smart home things, all of it is very useful and nice to have. Makes things a lot easier for my mother as well who is forgetful at times, so she can turn off stuff from across house.
You should pay your maid to open new topics for you. She likely has a better grasp on reality.
Are you so up your own arse that you don't understand that people aren't all you.
The echo exists and has a strong merket because people use it, not because it's a useless waste of money.
Are you so up your own arse that you don't understand that people aren't all you.
The echo exists and has a strong merket because people use it, not because it's a useless waste of money.
entremet
Member
Nah, you're fine lol. I guess I can sound pretty intense online. It's all in good fun.
MidgarBlowedUp
Member
I have one, bought it last Christmas and it petty much doesn't do anything for me.
So, I understand where op is coming from. I'll ask it for the weather and it won't understand what I'm asking. I'll set a timer and scream for it to stop and it never does. I'll try to make a grocery list and it just doesn't get it. It's just way more trouble and time consuming than it needs to be.
I have a bit of a southern draw so maybe that's why it never understands me.
Anyway, I just use my phone most of the time. Even for recipes it's better if I use my phone or tablet since I can get a visual and read ahead.
I think if it was hooked up to control the lights, thermostat, or tv I'd use it.
So, I understand where op is coming from. I'll ask it for the weather and it won't understand what I'm asking. I'll set a timer and scream for it to stop and it never does. I'll try to make a grocery list and it just doesn't get it. It's just way more trouble and time consuming than it needs to be.
I have a bit of a southern draw so maybe that's why it never understands me.
Anyway, I just use my phone most of the time. Even for recipes it's better if I use my phone or tablet since I can get a visual and read ahead.
I think if it was hooked up to control the lights, thermostat, or tv I'd use it.
Heavy Iron Industries
Member
I use mine to control my smart bulbs, play music, weather updates, morning alarm, kitchen timers.
I have 3 echos in my home currently.
I have 3 echos in my home currently.
I love mine. Can control all lights, heating and tech equipment throughout my house with it.
"Alexa, turn everything off" just before I leave the house every morning is a wonderful thing...