Amazon Echo and Dot

Anyone else tempted to try an Echo. Only £100 if you have a prime account. There is also the Echo dot at £50. Prime offer finishes today.

I'm going to try both, the dot can by plugged into my Sonos system and is a greta way to control Amazon Prime music and the Phillips Hue lighting. Well that is the theory!

In the States they sell out fast so if it fails to impress it will soon be sold on.

5 O'clock 16th Sept, bockers

Well she is home and fitting in very nicely. Amazingly useful when cooking for instant imperial to metric conversions and setting timers.

Those in the house who asked why have been the most frequent users.

I'll be getting a Google Home when it's launched on 4th October. Similar to the echo, but Googles eco system which I much prefer.

Got mine on day of release and finally got round to setting it up. And it's pretty impressive.

Sync with Amazon music library and prime music, radio through tunefm.

Loads of other stuff I have not even looked at

Update. Have the latest Colour Hue Bulb and it is very vibrant and works well. Set up lounge lights via Lightwave and they are working well after a day of issues.
Also got aquainted with out Nest Thermostat and I must still it is the biggest pile of shite to emerge from the Internet swap i have ever used. Don't go near it. Overpriced poorly supported rubbish. Got my first data rich monthly report, we just shows the number of hours heating was used for, no dates or breakdown that is clearly all sent to google, my conclusion is it is a fancy Google spy and as such is on its way to eBay.

There is a fiver off the dots on amazon today...

Nest was bought by Microsoft as far as I know and I believe they've stopped all development on it whilst they use the technology in their own products. Certainly I wouldn't go near it.

Did you find anywhere that sells Hue bulbs with any sort of discount? They seem to be never discounted when I look.

Nest is now a Google company, but your points still stand. It is going on ebay, I hate it with a passion normally reserved for iTunes.

Amazon, set up a camelcamelcamel watch. Got my new "Enhanced Colour" one for £29 It is a big improvment, especially the green.

Just got one of these echo dots for Christmas - trying to fathom out what I'll use it for...

I use it all the time for setting timers in the kitchen. Then there is a our food shopping list we all add to and imperial metric conversions. Then there is chance of Rain, my daily work commute, listening to Radio and Spotify.

For me there is also all the Smart home stuff.

I use mine for all radio, accessing my Amazon music, timers etc. The extra skills are a bit cobblers at the moment

So this sounds like a vital bit of kit we can't live without. i'll postpone my purchase until JimC tells us how to use it properly.

You might be waiting some time for that particular review...!

Makes an ideal paperweight, which can be found in the dark..

I think the Dots are great, wet ave three of them, the Echo? Nope save your money, we have one on them and a Dot could do what it does better. Combined with TP-Link Smart plugs, Philips Hue Bulbs, Nest Thermostat, Sonos (with Spotify and Apple Music and a 3.5mm cable ) and a Logitech Harmony , we are moving towards a smart home.

There are still too many competing standards (HomeKit anyone?) but my test is how the wife and daughters react and, I have noticed they use "Alexa" all the time.

Oh and combined with Sonos and Hue Disco, its brilliant at parties

Have you used ITTT with your connected products? I really like Hue. Unfortunately Nest I think is a bit of a dead end since whichever of the tech companies bought it (for its IP if my inside source is correct).

Fccuk me. Can anyone recommend an on line translation service for this

Lol at Chris. What Charlie is saying is that home automation is a nightmare of competing and complementing standards. However if one person takes the time to set up Alexa it means none of the other residents in the house need to be aware of the sellotape and string holding it all together. it just works.

As a side note I have a nest. It is utter rubbish for the price and now owned by Google.

I have looked at IFTTT and it's not for the want of trying but I cannot find a single use for it. I did consider having it set my Hue lights to Blue when there was rain forecast in the next hour but it didn't work so that was that.

Ha - a colleague of mine was fuming at IFTTT - her husband was away and he'd set the Hue lights to flash whenever Venezuela scored in the World Cup or whatever.

I've just purchased an Echo Dot and am doing quite a bit of research before i invest in other IOT capabilities to ensure im happy with the route im going.

Hue systems looks to be my next step.

Interesting to hear the feedback on the nest - I was all set to get a complete system with the connected smoke alarms throughout the house. Why is it not that good? I'd be interested in hearing opinions....?

Anyone tried or seen the smart door bells? Ring (albeit it does not connect to Alexa) looks pretty cool.

I'd also be interested in feedback on the Nest. I already have Nest cameras and smoke alarms.

I've not tried Nest but I understand it will no longer be developed

Nest, promised so much delivers so little.

Here are my ramblings/feedback etc. And some woners may not be affected by this stuff...

The smart features are no so smart. House heating coming on at 2 am because the cat has moved onto the sofa for example. Or setting thermostat heating timers only to find the nest Geo fencing technology has overridden it. Heating going off at weird times with no explination. In fact I have just checked my nest and it is busy heating an empty house for no reason!!!! In a house with multiple occupants one of whom works less than a mile away means the geo fence is useless anyway, plus it assumes you all have the app on your phone, and your phone is with you. Leave it at home and the heating comes on!!!

So geo fence turned off, but you have to check it as it does turn on again without user input.

Support is crap, the user forum was taken down to be rebuilt. That was over 6 months ago. Phones support is rubbish and email takes 2 days to respond. Then they have no answers anyway.

Then there is the wonderful Monthly usage (useless) report. It just tells you how many hours your heating was on for, add some unfathomable eco points rubbish and that's it. Why? I expected a full day by day, minute by minute, breakdown. They collect all that stuff so why can't I see it. Yes I can see it on the app but I cant get to that info to compare with smart meter readings for example.

So it looks great, except why can't it display current AND set temp all the time on screen, and maybe time too. Oh yes and the stat must be plugged in all the time. Why not have a decent battery instead like every other system?

It has so much potential but as MRS says it seems Google have just lost interest. The security camera feature is laughably expensive too. As for Smoke alarm, I'm not sure I'd trust Google that far. After all it seems to be doing its best to torch my joint by setting the heating on all the time.

It is very close to going on ebay. It works for me at present (although today's home check has worried me) but just as a dumb thermostat... which is really what I need now. Alexa integration is handy but again limited to just temp changes. It would be handy if there was a Nest boost heating function, you know the one that our 20yr old heating had that boosted temp for an hour and stopped. That would be very simple to add.. but no.

And another thing. There has been little development but what has been done involves screwing up most of the users as the QA and testing is so poor.

I think Hive or some of the Honeywell systems look a better option in retrospect. I was too smitten with Nests looks.

It's not just me:-
Rant 1
Rant 2
May fave if only i'd read this before being seduced


And there are loads more.

I admit it may work for some but I hate it with a passion. An impulse buy, yes we've all done it, and I regret it deeply. Currently researching for it's replacement as keen not to make the same mistake twice.

I feel better now

and finally, yes this is a 1st world problem

Ah, modern day tech' must have gizmos of today eh? Reminds me of back in the day when technology consisted of all the kitchen & home gadgets that made life easier & more pleasurable only to end up with the rest of these crappy devises in the back of a cupboard, either broken or fed up with...

The concepts are often good just the execution poor

No doubt about it, lots of gadgets about these days, some are just clever toys, some can be very useful, while others are just a lazy means to an end. Whether you need or want any of these devises are obviously two entirely different questions. One of my brother in laws works with computers as a programmer for a well known company up here. Every time I go see him for something I'm always bemused how much tech' devises & gadgets he's accumulated, played with & then onto the next thing. He admits he's a geek when it comes to this.Each to their own.

One of the side effects of working in this industry is that largely one is unaffected by current trends...

With IOT things I generally consider them an interesting technical solution for problems that don't exist, and where in general simple timers/thermostats/switches do the job cheaper, and by my lights, better.

I think I work even closer than you and I pick and chose very carefully those elements that work well. I use Hue and Sonos mostly. I'm waiting to see how the home control standards shake out between the big players. Google will do its own thing beyond Nest.

Heh. I'm currently developing an IoT thing about which I can't talk until it's announced/released in a few months - but this is (a) essential for people with a certain situation and (b) can't be easily done *without* IoT.

My team (cos I don't work on anything) are working on IOT things all the time - a few of which are already in the public domain and are designed to match several of these global home standards. I even have one on test at home and another Eve is using.

Interesting to hear the feedback on nest - thanks for sharing.

Will continue with some more research

Not sure how good it is but LightwaveRF seem to have built a pretty comprehensive range. Looks interesting and cover a multitude of things.

Anyone tried it?

Yes, I'm uding lightwave dimmer lightswitches and a couple of socket adapters. There is occasionally a 2-3second delay but otherise they work well and the wall switches look good and can be operated regardless of wifi or internet state. The lights must be dimmable though or you have to use relays etc.

You mean IFTT (If This Then That)?? Yes I do, mainly for stuff like "if Nest Smoke detector/CO2 detector sounds turn all lights red and flash", Turn on certain lights 30 minutes before dusk etc etc. Its quite good.

As for Nest, it was purchased by Google who then seem to not know what to do with the company, the Nest Cam is a rebranded product (Drop Cam).

We also have Canary interior CCTV/Alarms, which are pretty good but again use their own standard.

There really does need someone to unify these competing standards.

Oh and just to ensure that our WiFi remains stable, we have UniFi USG Pro Router, Switches with POE and 4x WiFi Access points....

Now if Amazon and Sonos would finally get together then I can remove the 3.5mm cable from a Dot to one of the Sonos 5s and move on...

There is a Sonus Beta App to link the echo - not sure if you've tried that yet?

Yes - If This Then That - I'm sleep deprived: that's my excuse.

From what I understand, Google knew exactly what they were going to do with Nest.

The big players are pushing their standards which is meaning that the generic manufacturers are having to jump through hoops to meet them all. Apple HomeKit, for example, requires the use of an Apple approved chipset. In fact, the whole bit of kit needs certifying to the standard similar to meeting IEC, FCC etc standards which makes the burden on manufacturer approvals even higher (Prop 65 anyone?). In some ways I get it but, in others, what it will do is limit the number of products available to users and (partially as a consequence) push up prices.

What would be useful is someone to come up with an open, not-for-profit, standard rather than the current land-grab.

The Echo skills, whilst being a bit archaic do at least bring it all together, from the user perspective. It is just the home admin person who has to get the initial set up right.

Any hints and tips on the Echo - for use with Hue and Dyson?

Pretty impressed with the device itself. The app, in common with many, is terrible - I think there aren't enough decent app developers to go around.

The naming conventions and set-up between Hue, Apple and Alexa are confused but can be sorted. There's still quite some progress needed in IoT before your average bid is going to find it effective.

What Dyson product?

I have Hue bulbs in our Garden Cabin but in the house I got rid as they are not practicle if the rest of the house keeps switching off the lights at the switch. Plus they come on full power after even the briefest of powercuts, not great for bedrooms.

The lightwave Kit for house lights and sockets has proved a real hit though. Have Harmony TV control but it's not a hit.

The killer app for me will be Sonos integration, that's not due till later this year

However in the meantime the Radio and Spotify integration is excellent.

Cooking timers are very useful as is the shopping list, although it quite often gets some spicy items added!

The Dyson Pure isn't yet integrated.

I love the Hue lights - been using them for 3 years now and think that they are great: wake up to gently increasing light. They are also great for rented properties - giving a bit of colour without paint.

Eve and I have been trying a few things today. The 7-minute workout was a disaster- the Echo was totally stuck until you discovered the magic word "End". It also doesn't seem to be too clever with finding info - ask it how strong the wind is and you'll get temp and precipitation but not wind. The Google Home seems to be better in the respect.

I'm not sure about Sonos. The Echo does some sound and music - I think I'd rather operate the Sonos from its own app.

I might get the Google Home to try out.

I have a google home in the kitchen. It works pretty well, but it's crying out for multi user support which has just rolled out in the states but isn't here yet.

Integration works perfectly with my Lifx lightbulbs. It's great being sat at the dining table and asking for the lights to be turned up etc. Also great to be able to play any music on my old-school proper hifi via the chromecast.

A couple of annoyances: the sound quality from the unit itself is very poor. Reminders are not yet implemented, and in typical Google fashion they've actually removed functionality since launch - Google Keep integration in this case.

Yup - any of these Home products that don't support multi users are of very limited use

To that very point, we had Amazon call us back last night to find out how to add a second account - the guy put us on hold for 7 minutes then cut us off!

Good point about casting capability. I have a nice Arcam Solo I don't use - it would be nice to press that back into service.

Trying the Google Home this evening. First impressions is that it deals with questions much better than Alexa. What it doesn't do very well is connect to my Hue lights. What it seems to want to do is use the Hue app. Only trouble is that I have two Hue apps - one controlling my Wilts Cottage and the other looking after Cambridge. Of course, it connect to the Wilts version and I can't find a way to get it to connect to the lights on the same wifi network. It also won't connect to the existing Chromecast video - but it tells me relentlessly that it's there (even after "ignore"). I'm also getting a bit bored of it telling me that it can't do that right now but they're working on it. Sound quality is nowhere near as good as Echo.

So, in summary, if you want to have good sound and good device control, I think Echo is currently ahead. If you want a better virtual assistant, not surprisingly, Google is better. Both apps are frankly pretty poor.

A -ve of negative is Alexa uses Bing

I was a bit surprised that Eve's BF had instant access and notifications to the Google Home just by logging onto the WiFi network with his Google phone - I don't get that with my iPhone. And I can't find a setting that restricts access.

Little bump for this as I'm looking at getting one of these toys.

I think the answer is no but thought I'd ask people who actually have one. Can either of these (Amazon Dot or Google Home) play music from a DLNA compatible server on the network to a DLNA compatible speaker? We can all already do this via mobile phone app (Android and Win Phone 8!, check me out! ) but it would be nice to be able to do it via voice control. If they can't, can anything else in the near future?

I ask as ideally this "thingy" would sit in the kitchen and answer whatever cooking/shopping/weather related questions we could chuck at it but the deciding feature for us would be if we could also tell it what tracks or playlist to play on our existing kitchen stereo. I don't have any interest in playing music through the dot/echo/home, I'd rather use the system we have for that.

I think Google Home can achieve much of what you want. You can get it to stream music through a Chromecast Audio device plugged into whatever music system you have. And the Home is better than Echo for the types of questions you have. What I don't know is whether Google can access the music on your server. I use Spotify and I could certainly get Google to play music from Spotify through my Arcam Solo.

One watchout is that, inevitably, these voice-activated devices struggle to operate when the volume is up on your music.

What these devices are capable of is changing daily.

Cheers, I may just end up ordering one and trying it sometime.