ALEXA - AMAZON ECHO DOT - My test in South Africa
"Alexa" has become my new favourite word/friend - Just got new Amazon Echo Dot(2ndgen) in South Africa. Unboxed, setup and connected, spent the day activating a ton of skills, trying not to miss any possible question or request I may conjour up :-)
Setup was extremely simple and it works extremely well. I also connected it to my bluetooth sound bar and then placed the dot in the kitchen at an angle that is accessible from a wide area. The Sound is not too bad, but I wanted some extra volume and rounded sound, especially when playing music.
One problem though, Amazon music and a few amazon features and skills I cant use, because it is not supported in South Africa, but got around some of those by adding radio skills for different genre music so not exactly perfect but ok for now. Also refuses to set location, so weather etc, you have to ask specifically for weather in the exact South African city you in. also obviously the restaurants recommendations and all location dependent information may not be accurate. Would have been great to actually be able to use the Amazon music or unlimited. Spoke to guys at amazon, and seems they are working on getting it working in more countries.
Have also sorted a makeshift wifi plug that works on South African sockets. Can get these at GEEWIZ. works like a charm, using that to control lights etc.
- R292 for 2200W max connection
- R476 for 3500W max connection
Apart from that I am super excited and very happy with the purchase . Setup my lights with a adapted plug for South Africa, which switches lights on and off, hooked coffee machine for my morning Java fix.
Wow, really impressed with this little gadget, very helpful in the kitchen and general knowledge. Gets better and better with more and more skills being added all the time.
LOVING IT!!! - For Saffers. trust me it is worth it, and as I said there are some work arounds with location skills :-) So yes!!!! well done to Amazon Echo Dot and the development team Great Job. Just. PLEASE get South Africa on your setup.
#happytechboy #boystoys #gadgets #echodot #amazon #kidinme #lovetechnology #echodot #smarthome
bigSMILES :-)
Blessings to all, have a great evening...
Have you tried the Google Home? I found it to be a bit more feature-rich (especially when it comes to providing information / answering questions, not just controlling things) than the Echo Dot, and the Google Home Mini has a comparable price point.
@willemvzyl
No haven't tried google home, have heard great things about it though a friend of mine has one he seems to be quite happy with it, Alexa also answers tons of questions and also reminders and shopping lists etc. which you can send to your phone etc.
There are 100's of new skills coming out daily, so you basically just have to enable all or any of the subjects you interested in and it will answer any related questions.
You can also have a "normal" conversation with the AI bots which are being tested and perfected by university students around the world which is also pretty cool.
May get one and give it a go.
Thank you for commenting.
stay blessed