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Autonow
Average Member
USA
101 Posts |
 Posted - 08/11/2018 : 09:48:46 AM
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Lots of Buzz about alexa but I am having a hard time grasping what all the features are? Please splain lucy! Its great you now have voice control I see that, but Alexa also needs to be withing listening distance of you. I suppose you could put alexa in every room. Kind of pricey for adding voice control. Can I speak to alexa through my smart phone? What else cab=n it do with regards to home automation that I am not already doing?
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Tfitzpatri8
Administrator
USA
10707 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2018 : 10:10:52 AM
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I see many people using multiple Alexa-capable devices, but they don’t usually end up in every room. More often people install one or two of the big Echos in the kitchen/great room/living room area, then sometimes the less expensive Dots or other devices in more compact locations where the acoutics aren’t as complicated but voice remote control is still desired. The voice assistant tech is also built into thermostats, speakers and smoke detectors, among other things, so it is getting pretty easy to deploy house-wide.
The nice thing is that they coordinate with each other. You can use them individually as room intercoms, or play music on a group of devices. If two or more hear you issue the same request, the one that hears you best now takes over the interaction.
You can use your phone with the Amazon app for voice control as well, but that’s considerably less convenient than just speaking into a room and seeing/hearing the result! |
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Tuicemen
Average Member
Canada
73 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2018 : 04:58:14 AM
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I've only been using Alexa for a year and 1/2 now but I used Voice activation for years prior.
I'm not big into music so I only run the simple Dot devices.
Amazon continues to add functions to Alexa and new skills are created by end users daily so Listing every thing that it can do will be incomplete by end of the day.
I have two Dots at my city place and only one at my cottage usually the Dots can hear me from the next room Unless the tv or radio is blasting.
As for what else it can add to your HA setup above what your doing now none of us can answer that as we don't know what your doing now!
Alexa should be looked at as a add on to your HA not a replacement to your existing setup.
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jacquelineflores
Starting Member
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2018 : 11:56:09 PM
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| Alexa is a digital assistant that control everything like set and manage alarms, to do shopping list, play music, get weather report, and much more things. |
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Why Alexa?
