Welcome to 2017. We are in the age of everything “at our fingertips”. There are so many new, affordable technology devices made in order to make not just our phones and televisions, but our entire homes “smart”.
What if all the devices in your life could connect to the Internet? Not just computers and smartphones, but everything: clocks, speakers, lights, doors, door bells, cameras, windows, window blinds, hot water heaters, appliances, cooking utensils, you name it. And what if those devices could all communicate, send you information, and take your commands? It’s not science fiction; it’s the Internet of Things (IoT), and it’s a key component of home automation and smart homes.
-PCmag.com
Research and reviews show the best “smart home” devices and give good information about how these products may provide you the best technology has to offer in today’s market. Here are two current articles on the subject. Click the link to read the article.
The best smart home devices for your home in 2017
In my own personal opinion, the most impressive device outlined is the Amazon Echo. I have had this device in my home for almost a year and am continually impressed with its list of never-ending abilities.
Click the picture above to see the Amazon Echo website.
Some of our family’s favorite features are: the ability to play a HUGE variety of music to suit our mood and then change to another song when our mood changes. This happens every ninety seconds in our house. We also like the quick news, traffic, weather, the ability to set alarms, look up quick facts and of course ask random, strange questions.
I also love being able to get a “time check” while I’m running around the house by just asking Alexa.
#1 Reason we love our Echo- It’s great for everyday dance parties
If you need to answer a phone call, and want to turn down your “Dance party”, you just ask Alexa to “turn volume down” from wherever you are. One thing we’ve found is that if the music is too loud during the “dance party”, Alexa has a hard time hearing your voice. Also if you have multiple people yelling things at Alexa, she will not listen. (Nice teaching tool) Those of you with children may be thinking “Oh my, that sounds awful”. Don’t worry, the novelty wears off and things will calm down.
We have been slowly replacing our existing outlets and lightbulbs with Alexa compatible outlet plugs and lightbulbs. I absolutely loved saying “Alexa, turn off the Christmas Tree” before going to bed during the holiday season this year!
The difference between the Echo, Dot and Tap:
The Amazon Echo and Amazon Echo Dot are stationary devices (they need to be plugged in). The difference between them is that the Amazon Echo has a much better speaker built in, while the Dot is intended for use with an external speaker via line out/Bluetooth. The Dot is much smaller and cheaper so if you want Alexa in multiple locations, it’s the best option.
The Amazon Tap is a battery-powered Bluetooth speaker that you can take with you to the park to play music. It can play music for up to 9 hours on battery, and if you pair it to a phone or connect it to a Wifi hotspot, you can also use it to talk to Alexa by pressing the mic button on its side. It’s unclear to me if the Tap also supports the “Alexa” keyword like the Dot and Echo, but it might not.
Andreas Blixt, Co-Founder of Roger, former Technology Lead at Spotify
Be sure to peruse some of these ideas and keep searching for new ideas and ways to use your device. I learn something new every time I read these.
7 best things you can do with an amazon echo
27 cool things to do with an amazon echo
“Smart” devices can satisfy our need to save time and be more in control of our environment, but what if they could help individuals with disabilities be more independent as well?
I’ve been working to allow my daughter ( who has a physical disability) to use our Amazon Echo independently. I have tried unsuccessfully to use the voice training which can be found in the settings of the Alexa app on your smartphone. The Amazon Echo will not work if your voice is difficult to understand due to speech and/or articulation difficulties. I am hoping that trying the voice training again every so often will help the device to recognize her voice, we are not giving up. It would be wonderful if she could independently use this device.
More interesting articles to read:
Alexa for those with disabilities
Amazon Echo, a solution looking for a problem
How Echo can help care for aging or disabled family members
I absolutely love this story from the above article:
I realized by accident that because my Mom’s echo is on my Amazon account, she is able to control my lights and devices too! With my Mom being an early riser, my kids have asked her to turn on our kitchen lights in the morning. When my Mom wakes up she says ‘Alexa, turn on the kitchen lights’ and my kitchen lights come on. When our family wakes up a little while later, we see the lights on and I know my Mom is OK and my kids know their Grandma is thinking about them. ?
The Amazon Dot, Echo and Tap are really neat devices and pack a lot of punch for their price. I highly recommend your family try this “Smart Home” trend.
