Showing posts with label Voice Control. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Voice Control. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Alexa in my Car: Roav VIVA

Now I can get Alexa in my car... the Roav VIVA is an Alexa-enabled device that plugs into the 12 volt accesssory socket in your car. It has two USB charging ports. It connects to your phone via Bluetooth to get internet access to enable Alexa.


Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Creating More Work

I enjoy my smart home things and keep adding to the list. I'm not sure they save me time, but I love the convenience of them - especially the voice control for muting the TV while my hands are wet from washing dishes or telling the HVAC unit to turn the air on while I'm in the middle of working out.

The only downside is I keep coming up with new problems to solve - some of which didn't exist prior to buying all these smart devices. For example, I don't have a good place for my Eufy Genie (Amazon Echo Dot clone) in my bathroom. I don't have a spot to put it and we don't have enough plugs to power it.

The solution... $40 to get this outlet shelf and an outlet with USB ports.



Friday, February 9, 2018

The House That Spied on Me

The House That Spied on Me:
"Thanks to the Internet of Things, I could live in my very own tech-mediated Downton Abbey. That’s the appeal of smart homes for most people, and why they are supposed to be a $27 billion market by 2021. But that wasn’t my primary motivation. The reason I smartened up my house was to find out whether it would betray me."
And, oh, Certified Refurbished Amazon Echo Dots (and devices) are on-sale.

Friday, January 26, 2018

Outdoor Wi-Fi Outlet, Smart Plug

No surprise, I've done it again... I bought another Alexa controllable smart plug. But wait! This one is totally different. It's an outdoor plug - Oittm Outdoor Wi-Fi Outlet, Smart Plug Socket! I've got a string of lights around the porch on the back of my house. They aren't on a switch, so we have to plug them in every time we want to use them. It is fairly common to turn them on to get a little more light when we are grilling. Usually this means having our hands full when we go out there, so the voice control will be great. (I know first world problem - but first world solutions, too!)


Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Switch Bot

Switch Bot allows you to retro-fit traditional switches for control via voice or an app. It is a little mechanical bot that will flip the switch for you. It is an interesting solution for all the legacy switches that are out there. It's not nearly as elegant as replacing the switch and being able to manipulate the physical world starts my Skynet red flags waving.


Monday, January 22, 2018

Alexa Cannibalism

Interesting chart about what things are now being done with Alexa and her friends... I know we stream a lot of music (vs. doing it from our smart phones), so that fits. We stream WUOT (the local NPR station) on our phones. If WUOT added a skill for streaming, that would also move off our phones to the Echo Dot/Anker Eufy Genie. I'm not seeing that Alexa replaces much time with tablets, the TV, or our computers - other than doing some basic voice commands for lights, thermostat, etc.




See the article at Business Insider.

Monday, January 15, 2018

ZOLO Halo - Amazon Echo Clone

So Anker/Eufy is adding a better speaker to their Alexa device line up - the ZOLO Halo. (And yes, their naming is as bad as some of the Chinese radios.) I like my Eufy Genie - great purchase from a value perspective when I got it for $20. I don't feel the need for a better speaker, but if I did, then I'd definitely consider the ZOLO Halo at $40.



Thursday, January 4, 2018

Eufy Genie (Amazon Echo Dot Clone) - Follow-up

I bought a couple of the Eufy Genie devices - one for $29 and one for $19. They are basically clones of the Amazon Echo Dot. They seemed like a good deal at $29, but then the Dot was reduced to $29. If I had know that was coming, I would have stuck with the official product for the same price.

My decision seemed to be really bad when I got them out of the box and started using them. I felt like I could time the responses from Alexa with a calendar. The good news is that, after some automatic firmware updates, I can say its performance is on par with the Echo Dot. If you can catch one for $19, it's definitely the way to go.




Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Voice Control Security

I love my Echo, but the attack vectors are scary...
Via @Jruys

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Eufy Genie (Amazon Echo Dot Clone)

I've been thinking about getting another Amazon Echo Dot for a while now. I was especially tempted when they were available as refurbs for $40.

So, it should be no surprise, that I bought the Eufy Genie for $29. Eufy is a division of Anker - which has a good reputation for the quality of all their phone accessories.

The Eufy Genie is very similar to the Echo Dot, but is missing a few features like Bluetooth and the ability to complete calls between Alexa devices. I've never used the Bluetooth, so that's a non-issue for me and Eufy says additional features will be added via firmware updates. I read a few reviews and folks were split on saving a few dollars vs. getting the actual Echo Dot. For me, I think I'll be happy with it even if it isn't perfect. We have one Echo Dot today and I wouldn't mind having several more. If this works well then I can save some money, but otherwise it might go in a less used location.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Amazon Echo Dot Pricing

I'm not sure I understand the pricing...

You can get a new Echo Dot for $39.99 (limited time offer).

Or you can get a refurbished Echo Dot for $37.99.

They both have the same warranty, so no real risk to save $2 dollars, but with the prices so close I don't get it.

Monday, May 22, 2017

Refurb Amazon Echo Dot - $38

You can get a refurb Amazon Echo Dot for $38.

But don't do it... it is a slippery slope. I've got voice control of my thermostats. I added two plugs to control a couple of outlets last week. Now, I'm looking for a deal on light switches.


Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Joke of the Year

I know it's early, but as a follow-up to yesterday's post about addressing your Amazon Echo as "Computer," I cracked up reading this fantastic comment:

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Computer

I've been toying with the idea of buying an Amazon Echo.

They've made the wake word configurable, so you can say "computer" and Alexa will respond.

I'm definitely going to order one now.

For those that don't get the reference (the fun starts around the 1 minute mark):


Friday, May 13, 2016

The Other Chirp

Google's alternative to the Amazon Echo is code-named Chirp. I'm pretty excited for competition in this space. Tools like these should drive some innovation in the integration of all my IoT devices. And, yes, I'm sure everything will be designed with security at a priority.



Wednesday, January 6, 2016

$10 Amazon Echo

So not exactly a $180 Amazon Echo, but for about $10 you can get something pretty close:
"For the 3rd instillment of my “Putting Alexa on all the Things” series I’ve got Alexa up and running on a CHIP."