Amazon Echo No Longer Needs an Invite; Now Available to Anyone for $180 and Ships July 14

[dgstorm]

Purchasing an Amazon Echo will no longer require Prime users to wait for an invite from the company. It is now available for regular Amazon retail customers for a new price of $179.99. The device will start shipping on July 14th for folks ordering now. Here's what Amazon had to say about the great success for the amazing device,

"The customer response to Amazon Echo has been incredibly positive, and we've been working hard to build more as quickly as possible. We are grateful to our early customers for their incredible engagement and for providing us with invaluable feedback to help shape Echo as it evolves—with their help, we've been able to add features like Audible, Pandora, home automation, sports scores, calendar, and more. We're excited to get Echo into the hands of even more customers and continue to invent new features and experiences." ~ said Greg Hart, Vice President, Amazon Echo.

Here at HQ we are huge fans of the Echo. Some of our staff and admins have the Echo and use it regularly, including @dgstorm and even @danDroid.

We have several handy links for you guys:
Here's the link to purchase it from Amazon: Amazon Echo Always Ready Connected and Fast.
Here's a link to our video preview of the Echo (which was the first to hit the web when the Echo released in November of last year: Amazon Echo Unboxing and Hands-On Preview Demo Android Forum at DroidForums.net
Here's our dedicated section for further discussions and reviews: Amazon Echo Android Forum at DroidForums.net

 

[Jonny Kansas]

So, you folks that showed initial love of the device, still loving it? Is it really worth $180 to have a fancy speaker in one room of the house to answer your questions and play music on command?

How has the experience changed since launch?

Fill us in!

 

[Beardface]

Echo has a ton of potential, but its still vastly untapped. Right now, the search capabilities are very limited. It is a good start, and if Amazon keeps devoting time and effort into bringing it into its own, it'll be well worth the $180, but I don't think that time is now. Until that potential is realized, it isn't really much more than a novelty toy, rather than a useful device.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Echo has a ton of potential, but its still vastly untapped. Right now, the search capabilities are very limited. It is a good start, and if Amazon keeps devoting time and effort into bringing it into its own, it'll be well worth the $180, but I don't think that time is now. Until that potential is realized, it isn't really much more than a novelty toy, rather than a useful device.

That's what some of the more recent reviews I'm seeing say.

I mentioned this when the device was first announced/launched, but I don't see it being something I HAVE to have until it can exist in more rooms of the house. I still like my idea in another thread of having the main base unit and then other smaller mic/speaker units in other rooms. On top of what you've mentioned, I think having to walk into the other room or shout across the house to get Alexa to answer a question that I can just ask the phone in my pocket doesn't appeal to me.

If it could play music in certain rooms, based on those add-on speakers I'd like to see, then we're talking and it's something I might be willing to pay more for.

Here's hoping they continue improving it!

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

Someone please explain why I need this. I can voice order on Amazon using my Moto 360. I have several bluetooth speakers. I don't see the value in this device.

 

[dgstorm]

It's tough to really convey that value completely without trying the device. All I can say is that nearly every person I know who has one, (including myself), enjoys it more than they expected. I agree that there is still a great deal of untapped potential, but Amazon keeps updating it.

Perhaps it isn't worth the new $180 price-tag if you already have a bluetooth speaker in your home, but I know that myself and @danDroid are happy we purchased ours. We and our families use them every day. It just depends on what you find useful.

I can say for my household:

• We use it for handy and customizable background music for relaxing or when we have friends over (it's quicker and easier than fiddling with the stereo).
• We use it to set alarms and timers while cooking, doing laundry or scheduling events.
• We use it to find out the weather forecast (which is handy since we cut the cord on TV long ago).
• We use it to update the grocery list.

It was well worth the $100 we spent. I think I would still be almost as happy if it was $180, although I think a $150 price point is probably ideal.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Cooking, doing laundry, scheduling events. Do you cook and do laundry in the same room, or return to the living room and set the timer after tossing in the casserole or a load of whites?

Not that I'm in the market for one even if it strikes me as something I need, but I still don't quite get the idea of having this useful thing stationary in one room. It has to be plugged in to power, right? No battery? Or did I miss something?

I'm not saying I can't see how it could be useful, just not useful enough for me to justify the price. As you said, I'm sure it's hard to really get a feel for it without trying one out, but I'd like to live vicariously through you instead.

 

[dgstorm]

It's definitely not for everyone, although I think most folks will be pleasantly surprised by it. I suppose that only the individual can determine if it's a product that will be useful to them.

The way it helps with laundry is that we get to doing something else while doing laundry and then forget to take the clothes out when finished. Sometimes we get caught up in schoolwork, playing games or watching anime and completely forget about the laundry. Setting a timer or alarm helps us remember to go check the laundry.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

So, why not just tell your watch to remind you...?

 

[leeshor]

This is what it's all coning to.

Anything to make life easier, right?

 

[dgstorm]

So, why not just tell your watch to remind you...?

I don't have a watch.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Now I just feel sorry for you. Haha!

 

[dgstorm]

This is what it's all coning to.

Anything to make life easier, right?

View attachment 75098

I'm not sure this example is about making laundry easier. This allows me to multi-task so I don't forget that I am doing it. Laundry isn't exactly the most exciting, nor active thing you can do...

 

[Jonny Kansas]

I'm not sure this example is about making laundry easier. This allows me to multi-task so I don't forget that I am doing it. Laundry isn't exactly the most exciting, nor active thing you can do...

Then you're doing your laundry all wrong...

 

[Beardface]

That's what some of the more recent reviews I'm seeing say.

I mentioned this when the device was first announced/launched, but I don't see it being something I HAVE to have until it can exist in more rooms of the house. I still like my idea in another thread of having the main base unit and then other smaller mic/speaker units in other rooms. On top of what you've mentioned, I think having to walk into the other room or shout across the house to get Alexa to answer a question that I can just ask the phone in my pocket doesn't appeal to me.

If it could play music in certain rooms, based on those add-on speakers I'd like to see, then we're talking and it's something I might be willing to pay more for.

Here's hoping they continue improving it!

Well, and then you bring up some of the other issues. Yes, it allows you to listen to music, but the selection for it I have found to be limited. And even more annoyingly, more than once when I have asked to listen to a specific song, or a specific artist, instead of playing what I request, it plays a poor cover version of it. And, for example, if you ask Alexa to play a classical playlist, it'll generally play the same grouping of songs each time. Annoying.

And while yes, you can ask it about the weather or traffic, it can only tell you based on what you pre-select in settings. Which means it'll only ever tell you the traffic for one destination and weather for one location, which you have to log into the Echo app to update. When I am out of town, or looking for weather when packing to go on a trip, or looking to see how long it will take to get me somewhere other than work, the Echo is worthless.

As I said before, it has a lot of potential. But for right now, it lags fairly significantly behind apps such as Google Now. For a pricetag of $180, I am not sure that's a good thing.