Top critical review
2.0 out of 5 starsSo far, I like it. More testing needed though. Updated.
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2017
2018-MAR-29 Revision Revision - lost my internet before finished.
YOU CAN, on the ALEXA APP, delete history, but; you must enter each device, and then each recording, and delete them ONE BY ONE. This is SLOW and very CUMBERSOME. At the least, I should be able, to select a SINGLE DEVICE and SELECT DELETE ALL. This is NOT an option on the ALEXA APP. I have 5-devices that RECORD. So consider if I have 5-devices, and each device has 10-to-15-different recordings, that means I have to hit "DELETE" 50-to-75-times before I have DELETED all of my so-called HISTORY! If I could do it at the DEVICE level, I would only have to do it 5-times. Seriously, deleting recordings is a very difficult thing.
And, I am very annoyed at the BIG GLARING RED CIRCLE on top of each ECHO, when I MUTE the microphones! It really should GLOW RED for perhaps 1-minute, then; VERY SLOWLY, BLINK RED - where by - it is OFF for 5-seconds, then slow FLASH red for 2-seconds, then 5-seconds off, then 2-seconds on. Or something like that. NOT that UGLY --CONSTANT-- RED RING on top when ever the microphones are OFF. Seriously. guys?
2018-MAR-29 Follow on - REVISED.
I still have an ISSUE - but - I MUST revise my statement. According to AMAZON, it does not record unless Alexa hears her wake word, and; then you are only going to be recorded for what "she" must hear, in order to respond properly to your request.
THAT is what Amazon says will happen. BUT,
It also says you can DELETE the recordings via the ALEXA APP. That is NOT TRUE. I have the ALEXA APP on my SAMSUNG phone, and; there is absolutely NO WAY TO DELETE RECORDINGs from that device. It is NOT supported there. Moreover, as it appears that I can only delete recordings from my laptop, there is still NO FEEDBACK that when I ask for my recordings to be deleted, that they are actually DELETED. As I stated before, it says a "request is acknowledged" but not actually "done".
And it SAYS that if you push the microphone button, that it shuts off the microphones on the device. I am dubious if this is true, and; it is really ANNOYING that it shines RED when you do this. Why not shine RED for a Moment, then BLINK VERY SLOW RED, until you turn it on again? If I want to leave it OFF, for hours, or even DAYS - I don't want to therefore WASTE the light - or over time burn the LED out.
Still, when I first reviewed my recordings here, there were several instances where stuff I did NOT want RECORDED was actually recorded. And a LOT of crap from my TV, where Alexa responded to the TV that was playing, and recorded useless stuff from there. So, I apologize to AMAZON for my outburst saying they are recording us, they are, but "NOT SO MUCH" as I believed.
I am still in doubt, and dubious about DELETE. Why can I NOT simply say, "Alexa - delete my recordings."???
********
Okay, I have a serious ISSUE with the ALEXA interface. I just learned, that ALEXA and my ECHO devices, are, according to AMAZON, "Constantly Listening". Okay, I get it. It has to "Listen" to know when you are ASKING it to do things for you. Fine.
BUT, did you also know it is CONSTANTLY RECORDING? That's right. It is not MERELY LISTENING. It is also CONSTANTLY RECORDING EVERYTHING that is making SOUND in your HOME!
AND, the ONLY WAY TO DELETE THOSE RECORDINGS, is to LOGIN TO AMAZON, via a LAPTOP, and MANAGE those recordings. WORSE, even when you order them to DELETE MY RECORDINGS, it does not do that! It says, "Your Request has been SENT" You never EVER get an actual acknowledgement that the RECORDINGS are BEING DELETED!
There are those who try to draw attention to "This could be used against you in Law Enforcement".
I am doing NOTHING that matters in that regard. THAT is not why I CARE about being RECORDED ALL THE FRAKKING TIME!
Consider the more OBVIOUS PRIVACY ISSUES - that have absolutely NOTHING to do with being ILLEGAL or such like:
Do YOU WANT AMAZON RECORDING YOU ....
* You reminding the kid(s) of the FRONT DOOR LOCK code?
* You discussing your private FINANCIAL facts with your spouse?
* You lecturing your kid about DRUGS?
* How about you and your mate making LOVE at night?
* THAT - is why AMAZON ECHO RECORDing is BAD.
Listening? Sure, I get that. But RECORDING? And NOT DELETING THEM EASILY by saying:
ALEXA - DELETE ALL OF MY RECORDINGS RIGHT NOW!
You CAN'T. And I, personally, have a SERIOUS ISSUE WITH THAT.
RECORDING? That I cannot merely say, "ALEXA DELETE MY RECORDINGS"?
WHY NOT???!!!
2017-DEC-07 Follow on
All in all, I like this device. It plays my Amazon music very well, and; the "daily briefings" and "Reuters News" are nice to have. I hope that as time passes, I will find more things to do. It is fun to ask Alexa things just to see what she "knows". I think Amazon should make it more clear where to go to learn more. Perhaps a devoted web page or three.
The ONLY thing that is "funny" and "off", is that I have mine seated near one of my TVs. And, Randomly, when I am watching shows, the sound from the TV activates Alexa, and; it is funny to hear her respond to the TV rather than to me. No complaint about that. It is impossible for it to not happen. Though it is really funny when it does!
The sound quality is outstanding. And, NOW I have two of them paired. They play music very well in sync. I'm a TECH, so; it makes me wonder what kind of firmware algorithm is used to make it so perfectly synced. Cudoz to the men and women who made that possible. I know that it had to be a serious challenge to make it so!
If you want a laugh or three, ask Alexa to sing and also to tell you stories.
;O)
2017-NOV-22 Follow on
Okay, really, it is a nice device. It needs MORE functionality, but; it is overall, a good buy, if you want help with your memory and lists and reminders and such like. I found that the recurring reminder is there, just not obvious - though - it should be. Search on Amazon. I'm working on it now. As for Alexa, for some of us, nice is important. One GLARING oversight... She does not respond to courtesy. You folks need to get her to RESPOND to "Thank You Alexa" with "You are welcome." or better, "You're Welcome Roger." or "You are very welcome!" AND best, a combination of either response - or even all three of them, randomly, whenever the user says, "Thanks Alexa" or "Thank you Alexa". or even just "Thank you" and "Thanks". It should be no issue for it to recognize at nice THANK YOU and reply. The ability to do so would add to the illusion that Alexa is your "friendly helper". Food for thought.
---------------------------------------------------
(original posting)
This is my initial thoughts ONLY. I am still getting to know this device. So far, the PRO(s) are, it is smaller than I thought it would be, which is nice. and, the sound quality is fabulous! It plays my Amazon Prime music very nicely. Alexa responds very well to my voice without any special "training", from 10-feet away across the room. I don't have to "yell at it" or anything. Just speak to her normally. That's really nice. And, the Alexa voice is easy to understand, and; well programmed to reply.
CON(s), though only MINOR: I had to EJECT then, REMOVE the SD-CARD, and also REBOOT my phone, to get the ALEXA APP to install on my NOTE 4 running Droid 4.4.4. Before doing that, I wasted nearly an hour trying over, and over, to download and install the app. It downloaded fine, but; REFUSED to install. And on every failed install, it would "claim" it could not download. My download manager showed clearly that it was downloading fine.
Frankly, I do NOT like that I must use my PHONE to "configure" and "modify" the settings for this device. THAT was not clear online. I would think AMAZON would ALSO supply me with a WINDOWS application for this. But, so far, I cannot find one. Seriously, it would be nice to NOT have to use ONLY my phone for the setup and reconfiguration activities. Yes, I know the CHILDREN do EVERYTHING on their phones. BUT, I am a DINOSAUR, and I use my LAPTOP far more than my phone for "things". Just a thought.
The built in activities are rather LIMITED. It does NEWS only from Reuters, and; will NOT allow me to RE-DO the news for "today". That is annoying. I don't always get to catch all of the information on the first pass. So, it seems that I should be able to RE-LISTEN to the same news cast - on DEMAND - All the time. But, once you have done the news "today", Alexa says, "You've already listened to your news" and refuses to do it again for "today".
I have not YET done it, but; I like that I can set up the device to REMIND ME of things, "to-do", and; also - to put things in my Amazon cart, and; also to BUY THINGs without being on the laptop, and; to give me order status alerts for Amazon purchases. I look forward to trying these features.
BAD BAD BAD is...
She does a terrible job of reading my KINDLE BOOKS. So bad in fact, that; it is not really worth doing. You cannot tell Alexa to SKIP over the Table of contents, or GOTO PAGE 1 or GOTO CHAPTER 3. Nothing like that. You cannot tell her to SKIP a page, or RE-READ anything. AND the biggest problem, she reads FAR TOO FAST. And telling her to "READ SLOWER" appears to do something, but; really - she reads at a breakneck pace, and; there is not way to make her read slower.
I will report again when I have had time to try the other things it clams to do. But so far, I LIKE the ECHO, and; the Alexa app is seamless with it. If Amazon can make it READ MY KINDLE BOOKS - and not keep telling me to get an AUDIBLE ACCOUNT, that would be a greatly appreciated thing to improve!
2017-NOV-19 - additional follow-up:
Okay, in general, this device works well. Some thoughts about how it can be IMPROVED. When talking to the device, it would be good if Alexa responded to polite interactions. If I say, "Alexa, Thank You", she should reply with "You're Welcome!" or even "You're Welcome Roger." Another Improvement, would be, to allow VOLUME to be SOFTWARE DRIVEN. Today, I MUST walk across the room to make it LOUDER or SOFTER. By pushing the VOLUME buttons. BUT, that is rather counter-intuitive. Since it does "everything else" by voice.... It makes sense that it would ALSO allow me to say, "Alexa, Volume Up please." "Alexa. Volume Down please". And, "Alexa, MUTE please" "Alexa, UN-MUTE please". With positive reply from Alexa, like: "Your Device will be muted until you UN-MUTE or restart it". And, "Your device is now UN_MUTED Roger."
It could, and perhaps should, also have a few more APPs available. I cannot say, for sure, what they might be. But, interaction between Alexa and the USER is the key. For instance, since it has TIMER(s) and REMINDER(s), it would be good to be able to have it, perform actions every day at given times--Recurring Reminders. The obvious reminders like: "Roger, It's NOON - time for lunch." or "Roger, it's 7pm, time to call your Mother." Stuff like that - that repeat - DAILY.
I still think Alexa should be able to READ my KINDLE books, with a SLOWER PACE. And, be told to SKIP pages, or even chapters." Right now, it annoyingly reads every single thing, including table of contents, etc. And, it does NOT remember where it left off. This would be useful. To have Alexa READ a kindle, and; like me, place a bookmark, and resume reading by saying, "Roger, we last left off in Chapter ###, page ###." Being even smarter, would be to BACKUP a paragraph, or so, when resuming. BUT, that would be far beyond what I am sure these young developers are capable of doing.
In summary: The ECHO is a solid device. It's sound quality is outstanding! And, it does a very nice job of playing my AMAZON music. It should have some improvements like: (A) Allow (also) LAPTOP - not merely PHONE - to interface with the device; (B) Allow (also) for SOFTWARE volume UP/DOWN/MUTE/UN_MUTE; (C) Have REPEATED REMINDERS; (D) Have PACE variable speed READING of KINDLE BOOKS; (E) Have MORE built-in applications - and perhaps more NEW(s) source options.
I hope to see some of these improvements in 2018.
;O)
