Amazon Dot/Echo

[Ducklakeview]

As above, anyone got one/used one? Thoughts & comments?

Seeing as I've had to do two "extra" days work in a shop this week, due to staff not turning in at short notice, I now need to treat myself

If I have to cover a shift, I make a point of spending the "wages" saved by not paying that staff member, on myself for goodies, and these have caught my eye...

Should I?

I am already a "prime" subscriber, so have the music and of course the upcoming TGT!

Mike

 

[sharpyboy]

My sons had one for a few days and loves it. It seems to understand him very well and it plays his talk sport and Spotify playlists whilst he is cooking in the kitchen and he's happy. It also connects to his hive thermostat so it can control the house temperature and tell you a joke at the same time.

 

[Chris_D]

Sorry mike, but for me the jury's out on this kind of gadget and i'm inclined to think it's just superfluous crap!
My degree was Product Design and Engineering and it was drummed into us that form follows function and the 'end-user need' are the kings of any design equation.
While I think this product obviously fulfils a brief and market sector I just think it's a bit tawdry - speaking to an inanimate object that will perform minor tasks for you for what is it 100 quid or something? gah!
I'd rather spend the cash on a new pair of walking boots or some winter biking gear. Something that will be of tangible benefit to my health rather than turning me into a feking tech zombie.
Crikey that turned into a bit of a rant didn't it?! lol
going to make a cuppa....

 

[pvr]

That time of the month Chris?

 

[Chris_D]

That time of the month Chris?

That reminds me, I need to stock up on some..

 

[Carol M]

I've got one! I love it. I've got a lighting set coming today which you can control via the echo. There are so many possibilities for it and now IFTTT is starting to develop.
I love a gadget so it's right up my street.

 

[Nictrix]

Questions I have about all these auto light things, these things are plugged in all the time and switched on therefor do they just act like an old timer and are constantly using electricity 24 hours a day.
How much electricity do these use on a daily basis and how much does it cost to run them?
If you have a dozen of these around your house will it end up costing you hundreds of pounds a year just to save you flicking a switch?

 

[Marco]

I'm pretty impressed with mine, it's a matter of convenience. It's so much easier to say "Alexa, play some music" than to have to fumble around on the phone to do this for example. She can also play almost any Radio station (even foreign ones) and if you have compatible devices such as lights or heating, it's super convenient. More and more apps are becoming compatible with her such as Uber, JustEat etc and I would imagine this will only grow over time. I haven't tried it yet but there is another compatible app whereby you can tell Alexa what ingredients you have and she can recommend a meal to make out of them......Can't wait for the day she can make the meal too!

I will say though, if you don't have an Amazon Prime membership (or any compatible devices such as Hive, Hue etc) then not sure what the point is other than being able to ask random questions such as weather, news etc.

I got one of these for my mother and it's a lot easier for her to just speak commands rather than to try and do things on a PC/Mobile. She loves just being able to ask Alexa to connect the Bluetooth Speaker and play whatever Music she fancies!

 

[Carol M]

Questions I have about all these auto light things, these things are plugged in all the time and switched on therefor do they just act like an old timer and are constantly using electricity 24 hours a day.
How much electricity do these use on a daily basis and how much does it cost to run them?
If you have a dozen of these around your house will it end up costing you hundreds of pounds a year just to save you flicking a switch?

It's just a little hub that is on all the time. I shouldn't think they they use much electricity but don't know. The echo tells the hub which lights to control, how and when, even if you aren't at home (by app). So your lights have to physically be switched to on and the system turns them on or off. The hue system I have ordered has great reviews. You can also add a security system to it with sensors etc which will then tell you on your phone if it's been tripped.

 

[Ducklakeview]

Questions I have about all these auto light things, these things are plugged in all the time and switched on therefor do they just act like an old timer and are constantly using electricity 24 hours a day.
How much electricity do these use on a daily basis and how much does it cost to run them?
If you have a dozen of these around your house will it end up costing you hundreds of pounds a year just to save you flicking a switch?

I have about 30 "Lightwaverf" devices throughout the house, http://www.lightwaverf.com/solution/smart-home/

My system comprises replacement double sockets, light switches, a couple of inline switches, and 8 TRV's (thermostatic radiator valves)

I REALLY like the system, and it's compatible with the Amazon echo/dot. At the moment, it's all controlled from my android phone.

There is a small hub connected to my router that controls everything, which uses about 3 watts continuously, the sockets less than 0.2w each according to the specs.

I have it set to turn off the kids TV's at a set time on school nights! It also turns off the radiators in all of the bedrooms once they have gone to school, turning them back on 30 mins before they arrive home. Have only had the rad valves for a couple of months, so not sure of the savings yet, but when you consider that supposedly, 78% of the average uk home's energy use goes on heating, then having over half the radiators turned off for a significant portion of the day should make a decent impact on that.

It's also quite clever, as for instance my teenage daughter likes to open both sets of windows in her room, even in the winter but they now have magnetic triggers fitted to them, which turn off the radiators in her room and ensuite, turning them back on once she closes the windows. In the past the TRV's in her room would simply turn the radiators fully on to try and combat the heat loss, and literally throw money out of those open windows.

It also controls my outside lighting on dawn/dusk timers.

Just ordered a couple of "Dots" as a little treat for myself

Mike

 

[Nictrix]

Thanks both but it unfortunately doesnt answer the question.
Is everything in the house that is controlled by this effectively sitting on standby therefor using electricity 24 hours a day?
If it is surely it is fairly expensive to run constantly. Do they not say that a tv on standby uses the same amount of electricity during the day as it does in the evening while you are watching it?
And if you have your heating running on this does the savings on your gas not get eaten up by your electricity usage?
Just use your heating timer to control the time when the heating comes on and off.

Oh, I am obviously Scottish and dont see the point in spending money needlessly

 

[Ducklakeview]

Thanks both but it unfortunately doesnt answer the question.
Is everything in the house that is controlled by this effectively sitting on standby therefor using electricity 24 hours a day?
If it is surely it is fairly expensive to run constantly. Do they not say that a tv on standby uses the same amount of electricity during the day as it does in the evening while you are watching it?
And if you have your heating running on this does the savings on your gas not get eaten up by your electricity usage?
Just use your heating timer to control the time when the heating comes on and off.

Oh, I am obviously Scottish and dont see the point in spending money needlessly

As I said...

"There is a small hub connected to my router that controls everything, which uses about 3 watts continuously, the sockets less than 0.2w each according to the specs."

ANY remote switching device will use some electricity, at the end of the day. That's the price you pay for convenience, however I will save much more than these will ever use.

Any fairly modern TV will use fractions of a watt in standby, and hundreds of times more when actually on.

Mike

 

[Nictrix]

Thanks both but it unfortunately doesnt answer the question.
Is everything in the house that is controlled by this effectively sitting on standby therefor using electricity 24 hours a day?
If it is surely it is fairly expensive to run constantly. Do they not say that a tv on standby uses the same amount of electricity during the day as it does in the evening while you are watching it?
And if you have your heating running on this does the savings on your gas not get eaten up by your electricity usage?
Just use your heating timer to control the time when the heating comes on and off.

Oh, I am obviously Scottish and dont see the point in spending money needlessly

As I said...

"There is a small hub connected to my router that controls everything, which uses about 3 watts continuously, the sockets less than 0.2w each according to the specs."

ANY remote switching device will use some electricity, at the end of the day. That's the price you pay for convenience, however I will save much more than these will ever use.

Any fairly modern TV will use fractions of a watt in standby, and hundreds of times more when actually on.

Mike

I read the 3 watts and 0.2 watts bit but that means nothing to me really. How much money does that cost.
I wonder if these systems can be hacked and people can turn on all your lights and heating while you are out. :lol:

 

[Ducklakeview]

I read the 3 watts and 0.2 watts bit but that means nothing to me really. How much money does that cost.
I wonder if these systems can be hacked and people can turn on all your lights and heating while you are out. :lol:

Based on an average KWH unit price of £0.14, the hub would use approx £3.67 worth of electricity per year, and each device about £0.24 over the same time.

Security wise, probably as safe as anything else you do online, someone would need your IP address, need to know which ports in your router to access, also the MAC address of the hub as well as your user name and password.

Mike

 

[Darkangelv2]

I read the 3 watts and 0.2 watts bit but that means nothing to me really. How much money does that cost.
I wonder if these systems can be hacked and people can turn on all your lights and heating while you are out. :lol:

Based on an average KWH unit price of £0.14, the hub would use approx £3.67 worth of electricity per year, and each device about £0.24 over the same time.

Mike

Dammit - your maths was quicker than me!

'Naff all' was my other response

 

[pvr]

I read the 3 watts and 0.2 watts bit but that means nothing to me really. How much money does that cost.
I wonder if these systems can be hacked and people can turn on all your lights and heating while you are out. :lol:

Based on an average KWH unit price of £0.14, the hub would use approx £3.67 worth of electricity per year, and each device about £0.24 over the same time.

Security wise, probably as safe as anything else you do online, someone would need your IP address, need to know which ports in your router to access, also the MAC address of the hub as well as your user name and password.

Mike

Small correction - you don't need to know your IP address as most systems use a third party server where your home system communicates with. If I really wanted to, I could reverse tunnel via that route into your home without being bothered about any firewall what so ever.

All I would see is your CCTV system trained at the bathroom window of your neighbour though :lol:

 

[Ducklakeview]

Small correction - you don't need to know your IP address as most systems use a third party server where your home system communicates with. If I really wanted to, I could reverse tunnel via that route into your home without being bothered about any firewall what so ever.

All I would see is your CCTV system trained at the bathroom window of your neighbour though :lol:

Another small correction - It's the bedroom window, the bathroom has frosted glass

Mike

 

[pvr]

Argh, thought it was my eyesight or your cr*p camera :lol:

 

[TrickyTris]

As others have said..

Think they are utterly pointless and yet another tech trend/gimmick. Its effectively just Siri, slapped on an object that is 1/10th as useful as your phone, tablet or PC. Much like Siri, the UK version is also missing a lot of features that our friends in the US have.

Sorry, but think you've either got to be somewhat gullible or not clued up on your tech to end up buying one of these! This is not new technology. Its old-tech stuck in a shiny new case - much like apple Macbooks etc. "You can Polish a turd..."

/Rant over

 

[ranski]

We have 2 echo's and 1 dot, we also have https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/dmusic/promotions/AmazonMusicUnlimited which works well with the voice recognition and the output of the Echo is excellent

Amazon have been leading the cloud space for some years, with these new devices bringing some of their cloud apps to the home. We also use https://www.amazon.co.uk/clouddrive which allows you to stream your pictures and videos to your TV via FireStick / FireTV

Watch this space, as these devices are only going to get more features and functions piped down to them

PS Check out the Hive 3 integration with Echo integration