41–50 of 229 posts
A good toolbox is filled with balanced tools. That there isn't some hyper-addictive time-suck application isn't a bad thing.
However, if it's a case of no one actually using the device, then there might be cause for concern.
Anecdotally a developer friend of mine strongly suspects, most people, are like him and not actually using these home speakers very much. I’ve been working on a an Audio App that reads any articles to you for iOS/Android and planned to bring it to the Echo and he seems to suggest my efforts are totally wasted. Although their market reach seems to be massive, likely related to their cheap price, not surprised by this…
EDIT: Is there a way to buy the app, or do I really have to rent it for $60 a year?
My Echo was an interesting novelty at first. But a couple years in now, it is essentially (in order of usefulness): 1. An alarm clock / kitchen timer 2. A thing that tells me the weather report during morning coffee, so I know what to wear 3. A DJ that my kids yell at to play pop music If it died tomorrow, I'd probably just go back to using my phone for these 3 things rather than buy a new one. I can't imagine gettin…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It can mistrigger on phrases like "take a left on" or "they got a Lexus". My parents have one and get a kick out of the misactivations.
Wow. I was under the mistaken impression that the devices were more robust than that. I'm very anti these devices, now I'm even moreso!
Anecdotally a developer friend of mine strongly suspects, most people, are like him and not actually using these home speakers very much. I’ve been working on a an Audio App that reads any articles to you for iOS/Android and planned to bring it to the Echo and he seems to suggest my efforts are totally wasted. Although their market reach seems to be massive, likely related to their cheap price, not surprised by this…
Anecdotally a developer friend of mine strongly suspects, most people, are like him and not actually using these home speakers very much. I’ve been working on a an Audio App that reads any articles to you for iOS/Android and planned to bring it to the Echo and he seems to suggest my efforts are totally wasted. Although their market reach seems to be massive, likely related to their cheap price, not surprised by this…
The inability of any of these solutions to identify the user in a meaningful way or interact usefully without involving the whole room kneecaps the utility of the products beyond actions that you take in a public space.
Turning on/off lights, wireless speaker and replacing the landline are long term probably the killer apps. Not trivial, but no smartphone either.
Anecdotally a developer friend of mine strongly suspects, most people, are like him and not actually using these home speakers very much. I’ve been working on a an Audio App that reads any articles to you for iOS/Android and planned to bring it to the Echo and he seems to suggest my efforts are totally wasted. Although their market reach seems to be massive, likely related to their cheap price, not surprised by this…
Wife uses the daily news rundown.
Kids ask Alexa questions (what’s the fastest bird), have it make fart sounds, and that’s about it.
I got a pair of buzzers to play the quiz game, it was so horribly janky they’ve been used twice. I scan the the apps list and nothing strikes and as worth even trying.
If we did have a UI model, I imagine we'd be controlling car stereos and driver-mode mobile phones with voice already.
I wonder if any of these 80k apps have the "magic sauce" but just haven't applied it to the right problem.
Anecdotally a developer friend of mine strongly suspects, most people, are like him and not actually using these home speakers very much. I’ve been working on a an Audio App that reads any articles to you for iOS/Android and planned to bring it to the Echo and he seems to suggest my efforts are totally wasted. Although their market reach seems to be massive, likely related to their cheap price, not surprised by this…
I think the problem with your app on Alexa is the interaction model - if your app could push to my Alexa so I can open an article on my phone and then say "Alexa read this article", or use the iOS share menu and share to your app on my Alexa that'd be pretty nice. But I don't see myself saying "Alexa, tell Articulu to read ...." if that's the interaction model it'd force.
1. Spotify
2. TV control (with Harmony) - great for the kids so they don't break the remotes
3. Home monitoring when we are away (drop in on the echo spot).
But for me home security seems to be an unexplored opportunity for Amazon (and Google). Those microphones are very sensitive - and if paired with motion sense on other devices (a Nest or something) start to give you powerful intrusion detection tools and alerting. How hard would it be for them to recognise the sound of breaking glass or the presence of someone in the room at a time they shouldn't be there?
Obviously solving the pet issue is a challenge, but I think it's an interesting use case to explore.