Staples and Toys R Us had it on sale not too long ago, cheaper than Amazon. That's why I asked. Looking for the cheapest way to buy one currently.
I know someone who works in that dept and they're continuously trying out cutting edge stuff. This is not a device they're half assing and they know they're up against the other big boys.
I bought one for $99 when it first came out. Sold it two week later. No reason to now pay $175 for basically Siri.
I got the invite to the beta for this thing and almost bought it for $99 last year (invite to spend $99 for a beta product... thanks!). A co-worker talked me out of buying it. I really didn't see anything earth-shakingly revolutionary about the product, to be honest, and after watching several people nearly shoot the thing because it couldn't figure out what they were saying, it did provide some humor. :grin: Nice idea, but limited usefulness for me.
I got into the $99 beta, and have enjoyed it quite a bit. I can tell you, I think it works really well in the kitchen. (All while I am looking at a recipe, for example) Alexa, add cream of chicken soup to my shopping list Alexa, add spinach to the list Alexa, set a timer for fifteen minutes Alexa, play Elvis Christmas music Alexa, when does the Rockets game start tonight? It's not world-changing or anything, but it works exceptionally well at voice recognition, it sounds pretty good, it pairs to Bluetooth easily, it can still hear your voice even when it is playing music (even loudly), and every week the email updates are talking about some new capability they have added to it, for working with the Nest or electronic appliances, etc etc. Very nice gadget. And yes, I COULD use my phone to do all that same stuff, but not anywhere CLOSE to as easily. Everyone who has been at the house and seen it/played with it has left saying 'I have GOT to get one of these!' Shrug.. so take it for what it's worth. I don't regret the purchase, but that was at $99. At almost twice that? Wellll... Look for the best deal you can find.
I love mine. Great for just listening to music and checking weather and scores. Makes an awesome clock radio also.
I believe I read that they have added Alexa to the newer Fire TVs, yes. Could be wrong,but I think they did, and from that, I would expect it to do the same things. Now your Fire TV is not going to have the multiple omni-directional microphones in it, and I don't know if it pairs with bluetooth devices or anything like that though. From what I vaguely recall, they just decided to add the 'Alexa' functionality into the Fire TV, so whatever that means exactly, I'm not sure.
Several months later, how is everyone like their Echos? I'm thinking about getting one primarily to use with my Nest thermostat and for streaming Spotify. Eventually I'd want to get into the cool lighting and home automation stuff, but that seems like an expensive hobby, so I'll take baby steps.
I love mine. Controls both my Nests like a charm. I'm getting Hue lights this weekend. I use the shopping list and timers all the time. It's less of a gimmick now and more of just an item I use every day.
I have never tried, but never understood how it’s different than Siri, which is either poor marketing, or my own misunderstanding. It’s like if you married Siri and she put on a few pounds, got a little rounder, and doesn’t go out with u anymore.
Integration with Amazon shopping, exclusive Amazon deals, integration with Amazon smart products, can interact with your smart home. So yeah, that's why Apple is coming out with a smart home assistant as well.
