Amazon Echo (2nd Gen) - Smart speaker with Alexa - Sandstone Fabric

I was curious about this device and read numerous reviews prior to buying (and also in the meantime had changed broadband supplier), when Amazon then offered this for £20 off i saw that as my opportunity to get one. Now, from my research and personal experience so far i would like to add a further useful review, some people have complained about connectivity, sound quality and overall usefulness. I think there have been some unrealistic expectations from people, this device does not make the tea, or coffee, does not park your car or communicate with the spirit world. What it does do amongst other things is play music, give updates on news, weather etc and you can ask it various questions on knowledge or local information. It is not a mind reader but it does learn. As an example, I asked for my local weather update but it gave one from an area in the USA as phonetically they sounded the same, therefore the next time i asked I specified the location in the UK and hey presto now when i ask I get the correct area. I was actually surprised on the sound quality being as good as it is, it is a small but heavy unit which gives the feel of good build quality and a decent speaker, however it is a smaller unit a little bigger than a tin of baked beans therefore the sound will not be quite the same as a full size hi fi unit in the same way that the speakers on flat screen TVs are not as powerful hence the sound bar. For my music the sound is excellent, i do not need to vibrate the walls of the house with high volume and never did with a hi-fi, if you regularly listen to heavy metal or something else at high volume you will alsways need a bigger system but for my generously sized kitchen the volume is just right. I am an Amazon unlimited music account holder which obviously helps, some people seem to have been expecting free music which is unrealistic, i have downloaded 5 new albums this month for less than the price of buying one CD in the shops so to me that too is excellent value. You do need to download the Alexa app to your phone and i would suggest you need a decent broadband provider/system, had i been with my previous provider i would not have purchased the Echo as i dont think it would have worked well enough, that is not a criticism of Alexa or the Echo but more a reflection between good and bad broadband coverage and signal strength in the home. You do need to 'activate' various Alexa functions, some useful and some fun and gimmicky. As an avid cook, being able to hands free play music, skip a song or get news updates while having my hands full is so handy as is the ability to add reminders as i often forget certain events until its too late! Alexa will play music from its prerecorded selection of genres such as classical, pop, easy listening etc, i can only assume one needs to be an Amazon music account holder in some way in order to access this. For me the hands frees voice activated system works really well, it does struggle to understand my step daughter but then so do I, half the time. As Alexa does not lip read or read expressions, if you talk too quickly, mumble or perhaps have a thick accent then Alexa may struggle but then so would the average person in a real life situation and again, if you update interactions on the Alexa app app this will assist the system to learn I love this device and will be adding to it over time, maybe the household control is a way off but I can communicate with the echo dot in the bedroom and use it as an intercom (well the Mrs does!). So in a final conclusion i would say this is a great device to have in the home, if you are an Amazon customer already it is certainly worth it, yes there are some subscriptions which i would expect and already had prior to the echo which has opened me up to a whole load of new music. Be realistic with your expectations for it, its is mainly music and interaction and you probably would need decent internet to fully appreciate,

I'm not quite sure where to begin with this review, as I bought 2 of them and only received them yesterday. I am a bit of a gadget man, but I'm certainly not an IT expert! I had seen adverts about Alexa and other devices, but simply didn't appreciate the potential impact on my life an Amazon Echo (x2) could make. To put my comments into context, I was diagnosed with quite a serious and rather debilitating illness 10 weeks ago, which has somewhat restricted my mobility. I live on my own and due to those factors, boredom and lack of stimulating experiences have also restricted me mentally. Moving onto the Amazon Echo 2nd generation: To say I have been blown away by this marvellous, small, intelligent appliance would be a huge understatement. SOUND QUALITY: Fantastic and very easy to adjust, either by hand, or by direct spoken command to Alexa. How they manage to completely fill a whole room with deep, rich surround sound I have no idea. VOICE RECOGNITION: I have commanded her, asked her nicely and almost insulted Alexas's intelligence several hundred times over the past 2 days and have come to the rather humiliating conclusion that she's much brighter than I will ever be! She has performed pretty much faultlessly. LOOKS AND AESTHETICS: It can be difficult to imagine the size of something like this, despite being able to access the product specifications. It is very small, despite a very large AI and sound performnce beyond many of the best and most expensive sound systems of the past (I'm quite old) If you imagine 1.5 times the size of a tin of Baked beans, that's about it. As I am not exactly a fashion guru, you will have to take my word for it, it looks great to me. ACCESS TO MUSIC, NEWS, KNOWLEDGE ETC: Having spent far too much time watching SKY television, the TV is now off most of the day, as I simply don't really need it much anymore. One day wonder? DEFINITELY NOT! The range of music you can access, be it classics, humourous, rock, pop, albums, tracks by your favourite artists from bygone days etc. is incredible, only twice has Alexa failed to find what I'm after and that was probably more due to my lack of thinking than her inability to understand, or access what I desired. I have asked her questions about Einsteins theories, the age of obscure people and lots of silly questions you would expect from a 2 year old, not a 58 year old. Almost anything you can ask her, she will have a detailed and vast knowledge base with which to enlighten you. SET UP: Even for a Neanderthal like me, it was simple and pretty obvious and successful. A younger person, who didn't grow up using OS Leadead Windows, would have no problems. PACKAGING: Very classy. I will writing another review when I get gradually used to wearing a rather stunned smile on my face, by which time, Alexa and I will have fallen completely in love and will be married, If she will accept my proposal.