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Why do people buy echo
- Thread starter Ubername
- Start date
Yea, that does sound nice. I'm too paranoid and I have to feel the off switch for everything though so I could never do that.
Lol, I believe I actually meant to say "Alexa" but echo was the first one to come to mind.
One Eyed Willy
Member
On the contrary its a been a game changer in our house hold. I also use carplay in my truck, use Siri to control all sorts of things there. At home, I set timers, play music, get information all without ever having to look for, reach for a phone and type shit like its 2009 or something.
Shit, that'd be a game changer for me.
That's a lot of what ifs
I'm not sure why lighting is so important that I'd have to spend over a hundred bucks just do something i can do by hand. It's an extra second of work vs.....
My brother has an Echo and I've babysat his kids at his home more than a few times.
It's annoying as fuck, because it constantly turns on while the TV is on and doesn't want to shut the fuck up.
Then there's the fact i have to tell it two or three times just to do something. Not really convenient.
Mine (a Google Home, technically) is in my bathroom. I use it to play music while I'm in the shower and getting ready in the morning, or to listen to the daily news in the morning or while getting ready for bed. I'll also occasionally listen to a podcast while doing other miscellaneous bathroom stuff.
80%+ of my use case was to get a music player that could integrate with my cloud music library that I could use in the bathroom. Being able to change music via voice ended up being a better solution than finding something that fit my needs that could be mounted in the shower.
80%+ of my use case was to get a music player that could integrate with my cloud music library that I could use in the bathroom. Being able to change music via voice ended up being a better solution than finding something that fit my needs that could be mounted in the shower.
I know. This is the thing with these products though, voice recognition is so shitty that people are fine with saying whatever the command was 2 or 3 times. That's fine, because what else would you expect? It's not like you should expect a device to work for $100, that's crazy talk. This, compounded by the fact that phone touch interfaces are slow and
clunky means we will be stuck with this crap for years.
I thank you for leading me to the thought I was grasping for but failed to articulate.
Oh my god.
Lmfao. You had no idea that most people didn't have a maid to do little things for them?
Stahsky
A passionate embrace, a beautiful memory lingers.
Nothing you guys are complaining about has ever happened with mine. You guys sound old and distanced from technology
Funny, because my brother had to move the Echo from where it was, the dining area, to the play room because of it reacting to the TV, but since his place has a very open architecture, sound still traveled loud enough to affect the Echo there.
Distance and age has nothing to do with how crumby voice recognition still is.
It's why i never bothered to use Siri and why i hate Bixby.
I've seen my nephews and their friends only use Siri as a gimmick that it is. They almost always input what they want to do manually on their phones instead of ever using Siri and when they do use Siri, it's just to ask for a stupid joke or some other easter egg. Even when they do use it for something they need, they give up when Siri starts fucking up and stare at their phones as if it were ever reliable.
Stahsky
A passionate embrace, a beautiful memory lingers.
Google Home is the answer to this problem.
Crazyorloco
Member
I use to be against echo/Alexa and google home.
I now own a google home and a google home mini (in my bathroom) and I love having these devices. I say hey google, good morning and I get my daily forecast and news. The sound quality is pretty good for music too. This morning I whispered okay google, play some jazzy Christmas music and bam Im in bed listening to Christmas music. (freaking amazing how it picks up sound even in noisy environments)
I also purchase Phillips hue lights so my place feels like a new home with the different color lighting I can set with my voice.
These devices arent needed, but they really making living at home a nicer experience. I feel like I have a new high tech apartment.
Someone told me to download the IFTTT app to be able to do a lot more...I havent looked at it yet.
I now own a google home and a google home mini (in my bathroom) and I love having these devices. I say hey google, good morning and I get my daily forecast and news. The sound quality is pretty good for music too. This morning I whispered okay google, play some jazzy Christmas music and bam Im in bed listening to Christmas music. (freaking amazing how it picks up sound even in noisy environments)
I also purchase Phillips hue lights so my place feels like a new home with the different color lighting I can set with my voice.
These devices arent needed, but they really making living at home a nicer experience. I feel like I have a new high tech apartment.
Someone told me to download the IFTTT app to be able to do a lot more...I havent looked at it yet.
I've directly said that the problem i have with Echo is with the voice recognition though (hence not being convenient) and how nothing like that has ever happened to you.
Well good for you then, man. But the tech I own malfunctions all the time, and is slow and crappy and cumbersome and obtrusive. I still like the things - don't get me wrong. But they have giant flaws that need work.
You still like them even though they are useless paperweights and are slow, crappy and cumbersome? Okay that's just odd.
To be fair, when it doesn't work like it's supposed to, it does make the product seem like a useless paperweight.
Feels bad when my phone has a button decidicated toward that voice app and its fucking annoying to accidently press it, since the app starts up and requires me to input data i gave up on with the last phone i had. So yeah, i can also say it's slow and cumbersome too, especially since what i paid for covers the cost for a worthless (to me) feature. Why the button is so fucking prominent makes me wish for an iPhone.
So when the entire appliance is just that? I have to wonder why people like it.
I've been checking out voice command programs for decades now, because my original Performa had limited voice command features and I always thought that would be cool if they ever got it to work right.
3 decades later there's more these voice programs can do (which to me doesn't seem worthwhile), but their actual recognition of our voices is as limited as ever.
... which isn't to say that their tech has remained the same, just that they still require to be told more than once what to do. They can understand more words and pretend to know complete sentences, but the requirement for your diction, angle, distance, volume, wind resistance, is as finicky as ever.
MultiCore
Member
I have 6 in my house. They work great.
But they're most useful as a voice recognition platform to command other things. They're of limited worth on their own, unless you just love ordering the deal of the day from Amazon, or playing Jeopardy.
Get a smart things hub, z wave switches, a smart thermostat, smart lighting, smart sprinkler controller, garage door opener, ect and report back on their utility.
"Alexa, lights off."
"Alexa, set hallway 20%."
The utility is very high.
But they're most useful as a voice recognition platform to command other things. They're of limited worth on their own, unless you just love ordering the deal of the day from Amazon, or playing Jeopardy.
Get a smart things hub, z wave switches, a smart thermostat, smart lighting, smart sprinkler controller, garage door opener, ect and report back on their utility.
"Alexa, lights off."
"Alexa, set hallway 20%."
The utility is very high.
Fnord
Member
Except that you can turn on lights in a dark house before even entering the room. With nothing but your voice. It's super convenient.
The Echo (and Google Home) also makes a significantly better speaker than a phone. So, lying in bed I can say, "Alexa, turn off my light (again - without getting up to hit a switch and then getting back to the bed in a dark bedroom) and Alexa, play rain sounds or Alexa, play <insert music here>." Again, it's about convenience mostly.
Nice shitpost, dude.
I mean I would never get smart "X" because I think they're such bad solutions to relatively simple problems, but if I did, then yea I'm sure echo would be fine and I would see why it's great. But I can extend this thread to those other smart items, as in: what is the gain you get from having a smart thermostat? I don't think you get jack for functionality, because I think my honeywell or westinghouse does a satisfactory job as it is.
Fnord
Member
I like the Google Home more for some things (it's superior at picking up voice commands amid noise (sometimes the Echo has issues picking up commands because it can't hear over itself)), but the Echo for other things. Like I can set an appointment on the Echo but you still can't do that on the Home. For a company that has such a rich featureset and ecosystem, they are woefully behind on integrating that ecosystem with their smart speaker.
Fnord
Member
I used to have a TON of issues with the Echo picking up commands from something on TV. Now it seems significantly smarter about it. It still goes off more frequently than the Google Home (the Home still hears things and starts to react, but it's better able to filter out actual commands - I believe because it has true voice recognition now - and stops without going further than blinking its lights a bit), but it's better now than it was.
LookAtMeGo
Member
I prefer Sean John personally
MultiCore
Member
Geofencing for everything, departure or arrival.
A schedule to turn on lights in the morning to wake the kids for school. All the lights turn off when everyone leaves the house. The security system automatically arms. A dinner time mode for lighting. A TV time mode.
The thermostat has an away mode to save energy automatically, and based on occupancy, and even room occupancy.
I can command my sous vide cooker, and even from a remote location.
It's great. It's extremely useful. If you can't see a use for it, it's probably not for you.
Not to mention being able to call or drop in via Alexa. Super great.
Yes, I know it's not for me. I'm trying to entertain why others like it. I wish people wouldn't get so offended when I say inflammatory things about this stuff, it's for discussion purely, so we can stop rehashing the fact that it isn't for me and other people have different wants and needs than I.
So can you cook remotely? Wtf? That's pretty effin crazy, man. I know I sound like an old man but that's some next level shit.
And I know all about Nest(R)'s energy saving features and I think they're dumb because I get the app, and they tell me how much money I saved, like how do you know, you don't have my old bill. I'm a nest hater though so take that with the reign of Saul.
MultiCore
Member
I'm not offended, but it seems like every good use case someone has brought up, you seem to just blow it off and say "Well sure you could use it for that, but I'd never do that, so what good is it?"
I'm not a Nest user. Much more impressed with Ecobee thermostats. They use your location data to to gather info about what your energy costs are. I think I can even plug in my kwh rate.
So many good reasons to use smart thermostats. I even get reminded to change my filters.
Lol yea I see what you're saying and I can't deny it but nonetheless I feel that way. Sometimes there are cool uses like being able to roast your turkey remotely but something like collecting my location data, even as innocuous as that may seem for my thermostat to be doing, is so not a value-add. My version would be the nest thermostat that functions exactly like the one on my wall but from a phone or pc application and nothing else.
If it's a shitpost because I call out you contradicting yourself then so be it, I've shitposted you but don't worry I'm sure you'll get over it. Ask your maid to explain it to you.
I don't get it either. It does nothing a Google search on your phone can't do (with voice if you're really fussed about that).
Literally absolutely pointless. Unless your fetish is an Amazon robot listening to your every word and trying to make you order more from the tax dodging supercorporation.
Literally absolutely pointless. Unless your fetish is an Amazon robot listening to your every word and trying to make you order more from the tax dodging supercorporation.
No, it was a shitpost bc you think you can't change your opinion in the course of a discussion, and you're just being annoying
Why do you think people pose discussions? To defend a single monolithic view of something?
Yes, in fact. I made this thread to point out how stupid people were who bought echo. Obviously. What else could have been my intent?
I'm not trying to argue with you but you seem to be content doing just that.
-Minsc-
Member
There's no doubt the Tickle Me Elmo factor. Looking into what the Echo is, I can see how people would make use of it. Personally, I'm not sold on the concept.
A general response to the theme of this post. On the flip side, not everyone thinks the Echo is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Hence, saying a product is worthless is just as valid as saying a product is a must have.
A general response to the theme of this post. On the flip side, not everyone thinks the Echo is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Hence, saying a product is worthless is just as valid as saying a product is a must have.
MultiCore
Member
I think it's pretty easy to demonstrate that the Echo is objectively not worthless.
-Minsc-
Member
Hence "just as valid as saying a product is a must have".
nekkid
It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
It doesnt have enough skills and isnt fast enough to be useful, yet. Certainly in my experience.
Ive got a friend who insists on adopting new tech and gadgets, despite often being a massive inconvenience. Him insisting on using an Echo is a perfect example.
Just use the fucking remote - your TV would have been off by now.
Ive got a friend who insists on adopting new tech and gadgets, despite often being a massive inconvenience. Him insisting on using an Echo is a perfect example.
Just use the fucking remote - your TV would have been off by now.
(Possibly perceived
Novelty, convenience, marketing, status, there may be more reasons.
Shotgun Anaconda
Member
You people care too much.
Sounds like most of you probably cant afford one and get upset. People have various amount of disposable income, so what if they bought this, it doesnt harm your life.
Sounds like most of you probably cant afford one and get upset. People have various amount of disposable income, so what if they bought this, it doesnt harm your life.
nekkid
It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
Sounds more like something you want to be true, tbh.
You carry around a GPS, a microphone and a camera device in your pocket everywhere you go...and you think an Echo is bad idea?
MultiCore
Member
Saying that you don't want one isn't the same as claiming it's worthless.
I don't think the claim that an Echo is worthless is valid. It objectivity has *some* worth. It will stream music, just as a bare minimum of functionality, so any claim that the device has no use just doesn't pass muster.
20cent
Banned
My hands are always greasy making sandwiches so I have 1 of them in each of my rooms to turn on the lights. Truly a life saver IMO.
I have parties where I need to change my lights colors on daily basis, in each of my 18 rooms home, there is absolutely no other way to do that without an echo.
People use their hands to turn on/off lights....SMH
Brb I have to refinance my 2 years loan for smart-equipping my home and sprinklers.
I have parties where I need to change my lights colors on daily basis, in each of my 18 rooms home, there is absolutely no other way to do that without an echo.
People use their hands to turn on/off lights....SMH
Brb I have to refinance my 2 years loan for smart-equipping my home and sprinklers.
Hissing Sid
Member
Used ours obsessively for the first month. Forgot the thing was even there afterwards.
Even the kids have gotten tired of seeing what responses they get to daft questions.
Now it just kinda sits there, a silent black cylinder.... listening.
Every now and again the blue cyclops eye will come to life when the Alexa advert is on the telly.
And thats kinda that, should probably turn the thing off to save electricity.
Even the kids have gotten tired of seeing what responses they get to daft questions.
Now it just kinda sits there, a silent black cylinder.... listening.
Every now and again the blue cyclops eye will come to life when the Alexa advert is on the telly.
And thats kinda that, should probably turn the thing off to save electricity.
MultiCore
Member
Yeah, I imagine this is common for people not using it as a voice platform for smart devices.
Secondarily, it's a reasonable music streamer, and they added groups recently, so you can stream music to your whole home. Pretty neat, if you're interested in Sonos-like functionality.
As a side note: a lot of people bought into the Echo platform because Amazon got there first. I'd probably be using Google Home instead, but Echo/Alexa was just compatible with more stuff. Google is catching up, but they're not at parity yet, and people have written some great skills for the Alexa platform. I'll be happy to switch when the time comes though.
You're either more correct than you could possibly imagine, or you work for an interesting department.