800pods.com – Page 4 – Smart speakers and devices.

Echo Dot which one is for me and which one is for you.

The Echo Dot* is currently available in three flavors. The standard Echo Dot* is Amazon’s most popular speaker and normally retails for just under $50. For this you are to stream songs from Amazon Music*, Apple Music, Spotify, SiriusXM, and others. Also access podcasts and audiobooks.

Of course will all these type of Amazon products you get Alexa* who will attempt to fulfill your every command, including telling jokes, some are better than others. And of course you can control smart home using voice command.

For $10 more go for the Echo Dot with LED display*. Perfect for your nightstand – See the time, alarms, and timers on the LED display. Tap the top to snooze an alarm.

Third in the range is the all-new Echo Dot Kids Edition* – Our most popular smart speaker with Alexa*, made for kids (not a toy). Kids can ask Alexa questions, set alarms, and get help with their homework.

Unlock a world of kid-friendly content – The included year of Amazon Kids+ (FreeTime Unlimited) gives them access to thousands of hours of kid-friendly Audible* books, interactive games, and educational skills.

Any links with an * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to us.

Talk to me Alexa!

Coming soon to your Alexa device is an upgrade called “natural turn-taking”. The thought behind this upgrade is that you shouldn’t have to continually say “Alexa” to complete relatively simple tasks when they are only a few seconds apart.

Alexa’s AI will be able to recognize when users have finished speaking, when their speech is directed at the device, when it’s not, and whether or not a reply is expected.

On to privacy matters, you can now delete you can now delete every interaction you’ve had with Alexa with just one command. To do so, just say “Alexa, delete everything I’ve ever said.” This follows on from being able to delete everything you had just said that was introduced last year.

Echo Buds

Looking to replace your earphones, headphones or ear buds then Amazon now have a very impressive set of “Echo Buds“. They have Bose Active Noise Reduction Technology and a sealed in-ear design that limits background noise.

The Echo Buds work with the Alexa app to stream music, play Audible audiobooks, make calls etc. It will carry out the majority of tasks that you other Alexa controlled devices do. They will also allow you to access other assistants like Siri or Google Assistant from a supported device.

The Echo Buds will give you up to 5 hours music playback per charge. If you are in a rush get 2 hours with a 15 minutes quick charge and up to 20 hours with the charging case.

There are 3 sizes of ear tip to help you obtain the best sound from your Echo Buds. There is a handy feature built into the bud app to allow you to work out the best ones for you. Due to this, it means that when exercising they remain secure.

Also available are a Echo Buds Ear Tips and Wing Tips Fit Kit. This kit includes XL Ear Tips that do not come as standard with the Echo Buds.

Ask Alexa 7

I came across the Alexa command “Red Alert” a few weeks back when it appeared on the screen of my Amazon Echo. You are instantly greeted with a siren and a message that says “ship’s deflector shields have been raised.” It is now my got to damage when I am frustrated. Thirty seconds of the siren wailing seems to calm me down. Its as if to say that there are more important things it in life. The Enterprise is under attack and unless I refocus it could be obliterated.

In fact in an interview with the Washington Post in 2016, Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, said part of the inspiration for the echo came from Star Trek. Growing up, Bezos and his friends would play Star Trek every day who got to play Spock, Captain Kirk and the computer.

Star Trek Figures — Alexa, watch Star Trek

I have come across a number of Star Trek related commands that you might like to try for yourself. “Alexa, beam me up!” … or “Alexa, fire photon torpedoes!”. Other favorites of mine include: “Speak Klingon” to get the phrase of the day. “State Starfleet rank and class” and finally do you trust Klingons.

You could if you wanted to change the command word on your Alexa to “computer” to give it that genuine Star Trek feel. Whilst waiting for your next Star Trek mission ask “Alexa, watch Star Trek” and you will be given an extentsive list of Star Trek series and films to choose between.

Google Nest Learning Thermostat

With increased compatibility between Smart Devices you can use items that you thought were not previously available to you. A good example of this is the Google Nest Learning Thermostat. Please not that this item requires professional installation.

In as little as a week the Nest Learning Thermostat will automatically adapt as your life changes. It learns from your patterns of us and soon you won’t need to remember to change the settings because it will do it for you. That doesn’t mean that it is inflexible to one off situations. You can control the temperature from your smart phone, echo or other Alexa compatible device.

Google suggest that its Learning Thermostat will help you save money as it will adjust the temperature to your needs. It will adjust itself to an Eco Temperature after you leave the house. You will also need a Nest Temperature Sensor to ensure a certain room is the exact temperature you would like it to be.

Independent studies have shown that on average customers could save around 10% on their heating and around 15% on their cooling bills once a Nest Learning Thermostat has been installed.

Ask Alexa 6

Not managed to get away on vacation this year. Then why don’t you ask “Alexa, open Beach Sounds”. Then sit back and listen to the sound of waves crashing on the beach. What a wonderful day to spend a sunny day sitting in your yard, eyes closed. You could be on any beach in the world. Use it a night time to help you get off to sleep. When you want a change from the sound of the waves then just say “Alexa stop” or if you have no manners “Alexa shut up“.

Beach Sea Sand Wave Enrique — Beach Sounds

You may as well check the temperature at home “Alexa what is the temperature?” or in your favourite holiday destination say “Alexa what is the temperature in xxxx”? For the weather rather than judge the temperature just swap out temperature for weather. Change your commands slightly and get the weather for tommorrow. Try “Alexa what will be the weather be in Miami tomorrow?”

If you want to, you can try Ocean Sounds “Alexa, open Ocean Sounds”. See if you can hear the difference to Beach Sounds. Having straying in a real beach hut in the Caribbean a few back. In the real world the novelty can wear off if you have been listening to the waves crash all day and night long!

Finally whilst we are still dealing with the inpact of the coronavirus on our lives you can ask Alexa the following: “Alexa, what is the coronavirus?” “Alexa, what’s the latest with the coronavirus?” “Alexa, help me wash my hands.”

Hand washing: Couleur — “Alexa, help me wash my hands.”

Echo Glow

The Echo Glow is a smart lamp designed with children in mind. It can be paried with any compatible Alexa device to control color and brightness with your voice.

With Echo Glow you can create various lighting cues to make family cues colorful and less stressful. For exampe it can be used to help countdown to meal times, homework times and even bed time. Using the Rainbow Timer – your children will get a visual reminder that can help morning and bedtime routines stay on track.

Children (or young at heart adults) can create and choose to add fun lighting and color whilst playing or listening to music. Ask Alexa to start a dance party for a music and light show. have fun with dynamic modes like color flow, campfire, siren, firetruck, and underwater, and try holiday modes for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Valentine’s Day.

Alexa and Audible

Personally I prefer to physically hold a book. I have a Kindle but just have this thing about having a real object. Though I am seriously considering upgrading to a Kindle Oasis. I also like to think that I am doing a community spirited action by then donating finished books to my local charity shop. A few year back I go through a phase of downloading free books onto my kindle device to see whether my opinions would change but I always came back to the action of turning real pages.

I am a member of 3 book clubs and awhile back we were reading Michelle Obama’s book “Becoming“. I kindly lent me copy to a friend who promised to return it in time for me to read it before our book club meeting. They let me down and I had a week to rebuy the book and then read it on top and work and life in general. I realised that was unrealistic.

The option was to download an audio book. The playing time for the book was 20 hours, but you have the option of playing it slightly faster than normal and with over two hours commuting by car, I managed to get through most of the book on the move. I now have an Audible subscription.

Sign up for the free 30 day trial and you will get one book free, there are extras if you are already a Prime Member. Your monthly subscription then allows you to download 1 book per month at not extra cost. A selection of complimentary Audible Originals each month Complimentary digital newspaper subscriptions to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. Exclusive daily deals and a 30% discount on further audio book purchases.

Even without an Audible subscription you can access free book via you Alexa device. Just ask “Alexa, what’s free from Audible?” Maybe not the most up to date books, but you will certainly find classics. So give it a try today.

Ring Indoor Cam

The Ring indoor cam is a compact plug-in camera that lets you see, hear and speak to people and pets from your phone, tablet, or select Echo device. By connecting multiple indoor cams you can watchover you whole house.

It’s very to set up the Indoor Cam, place on a flat surface and mount on a wall and then plug it into a standard electrical outlet and connet to your Wi-Fi system. Its small design allow you to place and indoor cam almost anywhere in your home. With Live View, you can check in on your home any time through the Ring App.

For added peace of mind, pair with Alexa to help you keep an eye on your home.

Standard features include FREE instant notifications, live view and two-way talk. However Ring Protect allows you to review, save and share your videos. It saves all your videos to your Ring account for up to 60 days and photos for up to 7 days, so you can review what you missed and share what’s important.

If you wish you can take out an subscription service with Ring that will record all you videos and review what you might have missed for up to 60 days.

Connect Ring Indoor Cam with Alexa for hands-free home monitoring. When your Ring Indoor Cam detects motion, your Echo device will illuminate and make an announcement, so you’ll always know when someone’s there. And if you have an Echo Show or Echo Spot, you can also see, hear and speak to anyone captured on camera.

Ask Alexa 5

Adjusting the volume on your Alexa device or version of echo, whether its a dot, show or couldn’t be simpler. I started off with “Alexa volume up” or “Alexa volume down”. There are variations on this like “Alexa, turn up/down the volume” or “Alexa, louder/quieter”. I tend to go for the option that requires the fewest number of words to be spoken.

However you change set the volume more precisely with the “volume command”. I would use “Alexa volume 5” as opposed to a more formal “Alexa, set the volume to 5”. Maximum volume is 10 and depending on which Alexa device you are using you might have problems getting it turned back down again. For example when my Echo set is set to volume 10. I have to shout at the top of my voice and from not very far away to get it to comply. Most of the time it would be easier to manually turn the sound down.

In addition to volume you can adjust the way your music sounds by adjusting the bass and the treble. You can play around with commands such as “Alexa, turn up the bass/treble,” “Alexa, set the bass/treble to 6” or “Alexa, set the bass/treble to maximum/minimum.” To reset just say “Alexa, reset equalizer.”

Finally this week. Amazon have introduced a “Whisper” mode so that you can have some privacy or alternatively not wake up the whole house. Open the Alexa app on your Android phone or iPhone. Tap the menu button on the top left of the app.

Select “Settings.”
Tap “Alexa Account” at the top of the screen.
Choose “Alexa Voice Responses.”Enable the “Whispered Responses” mode.

When you whisper to Alexa, it will whisper back. Remember than you have to be close by your Alexa device. At present this only works in English.