Amazon Echo and Alexa
The Amazon Echo devices came to market in 2015 with there first generation speaker. This device really marks the start of an achievable smart home for all. Although this was not the first smart home device it did pave the way to a modern and mainstream home assistant. Before this device, smart homes were only really within reach of the very wealthy. These systems were extremely expensive and not very well integrated into other systems. Echo devices connect to the voice-controlled intelligent personal assistant service named Alexa, which will respond when you say "Alexa”, “Echo” or “computer", depending on your wake word. The features of the device include: voice interaction, music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, and playing audiobooks, in addition to providing weather, traffic and other real-time information. As well as all this, the devices also allow you to control smart home devices using you voice.
There are other voice assistants and devices on the market such as Google Home and the Apple Home Pod but we have used Alexa devices throughout our smart home.
Amazon Echo Gen 3
All colours of the Echo Dot
Digital clock on Echo Dot
Echo
Echo Show with 8" screen
Echo Show
Echo Tap
Echo Studio
Echo flex
Echo in Grey
Echo Gen 2
Amazon Echo
Amazon has really taken the market by storm when it comes to their voice assistant, Alexa. Although Alexa is not the only voice assistant on the market we have found it to be the most reliable and the “go to” voice assistant for integrations with other devices. Google Home and Home Pod are also available as alternatives but for the best compatibility with other smart home devices, we have found that Alexa is Queen here.
In order to use Alexa, Amazon has a range of devices in their Echo range. The main devices are covered on this page but there are others from Amazon that are Alexa enabled.
When installing echo devices it is a good idea to put one in each room of you smart home or at the very least in the rooms that have other smart devices. This will allow you to be heard by Alexa anywhere you want to use a voice command.
Echo - The standard Echo is a good all round stand alone device and can be seen on the right. If you want an Alexa enabled device without needing to plug it in to speakers, the Echo is the one for you. It has a decent speaker with a good sound range too. If you want to play music on these devices then the Echo will pleasantly surprise you with its sound quality.
Echo Dot - This device is the baby brother of the Echo. it has all the same features of the standard echo but it is much smaller and the latest generation even has a digital clock that can be seen under the fabric coating. This device also has a auxiliary out port so that it can be plugged into a set of speakers or a hifi system. Due to the size of these devices the speaker driver is significantly smaller than its bigger brother but the output is perfectly good if you just want to hear responses from Alexa
Echo Flex - The Echo Flex is a great gap filler and is the perfect device to use between rooms, in hallways or on landings. These are essentially Alexa devices built into a plug. The speaker quality is rather low but they have an output jack for connecting to speakers. The Flex also has a usb port that can charge your smartphone or can be used to attach a motion sensor for triggering a device or routine. Alternatively a night light can be attached to the usb port if required.
Echo Studio - The Echo Studio has been created with the music lover in mind. The device houses an array of speakers and a subwoofer to produce the highest quality sounds of all the Echo devices. Due to this it does come with a higher price tag than most other Echo devices.
As with all Echo devices, these can be paired together to work as a group to produce an even better sound experience.
The Amazon Music HD streaming service has been specifically set up to work with the Studio. This service provides the highest quality music tracks to get the most out of the Studio.
Echo Show - The Echo Show has one main difference to the other echo devices, it has a screen. The screen can help when Alexa is answering your questions. such as if you ask “what’s the weather this week?” Alexa can display this for you on the screen as well as giving you a verbal description. The screen can also be used to control smart home devices without needing to talk to Alexa. However the operating system used on these devices could do with some improvements to the user interface. These devices give a unique feature to a smart home by allowing Alexa compatible cameras to be displayed on the screen just by requesting them by name. Imagine your smart doorbell being rung and immediately your echo show displays the camera on the screen so you can see who is at the door before you open it. The Echo show is available in a range of screen sizes.
Features
The main feature of every Echo device is Alexa, however, there are a number of other features that these devices have. The features described here are available on all Echo devices.
Smart Device Control - Echo devices can discover your smart home enabled devices and then control them with voice commands.
Playing Music - Echo devices can all play music with a single voice command. you are also able to group Echo devices together so that music can be played on all or a selection of devices at the same time. Great for parties!
Hands free Calling - You can make phone calls on echo devices as well. You are able to link your Google contacts into you Alexa account to dial contacts by name. You can even link your Vodafone or EE mobile account to your Alexa account so that you can answer calls on your devices.
Amazon Ordering - With Echo devices you can order items just by asking Alexa. This needs to be enabled in your Alexa app before it can be used.
Task Lists and Shopping Lists - You can ask Alexa to create lists and add items to those lists. These can then be read back to you or you can view them in the Alexa app.
Alarms and Timers - Alexa will allow you to create named timers and alarms with a simple voice command. Alarms can be set to repeat daily weekly or just on work days.
Routines
Alexa routines are automations that can be set up to control multiple smart devices all at the same time. This is handy if you have something that you do regularly and control more than one device. For example you can have a routine for when you go to bed. It would turn off all the smart lights and sets your house alarm. All this can be done with a single voice command or you can use other triggers like time, smart buttons, or when an action is taken with another smart device. Another example of a routine in action would be to have your entrance way light switch on when your smart doorbell is pressed.