DawnM Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 Interesting. Well, I might be interested to try it for $99, but I don't think we need 4 of them......but hey, maybe we do! :lol: I doubt they moved it. I am sure Amazon would like us to have more than one. One upstairs, one downstairs, one in each kid's room so each one can listen to their own music, lol. And I am guessing there are apps that work on a number of platforms and it puts 'to do' things on an app that you have on your phone. And it is the idea that you don't need a phone in your hand. That is the part that I find intriguing. I hate that I am always having to pick up my phone to look something up, to put something on my shopping list, to put on some music, look something else up, change the music etc. I bet you will be able to use it to send texts. I could just say "send text to son, tell him to bring home milk on the way home" and I wouldn't have to stop what I am doing. And I doubt that anyone who requests and 'invitation' won't be 'allowed' to buy one. I mean, do you really think Amazon won't try to sell one to everyone? I think they are just gauging preliminary interest and creating an aura of exclusivity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 It's not clear though when it stops listening since it's also "always on" and can listen from across the room. (Amazon reps could not be reached for clarification on that point.) Yup, this says it all. Excerpted from this link: http://mashable.com/2014/11/06/amazon-echo-commoditizing/ provided by Redsquirrel and Monica in Switzerland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 What is the invite offer? Does anyone know? I see that it is $99 for prime members. I appreciate any info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 As far as I can see, you click on "I would like to be considered for an invitation" or some such verbiage and then they decide if you are worth of being "invited" to purchase it for $99. I have clicked and will report back if I am worthy or not. What is the invite offer? Does anyone know? I see that it is $99 for prime members. I appreciate any info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 And I doubt that anyone who requests and 'invitation' won't be 'allowed' to buy one. I mean, do you really think Amazon won't try to sell one to everyone? I think they are just gauging preliminary interest and creating an aura of exclusivity. :iagree: I've seen a lot of speculation online that the "invitation" thing is a way to gauge interest and avoid a repeat of the Fire Phone disaster, where they ended up with a lot of unsold inventory. It also encourages people who might be on the fence about it to request an invite, since only "invited" Prime Members get the $99 deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 Didn't Google Glass do the same "invitation" thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Did anyone else get an invitation from Amazon this morning? My kids have been so excited for the Echo to come out, they talked me into paying the $3.99 to get it here tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 NO! I did not. :toetap05: :toetap05: :toetap05: Did anyone else get an invitation from Amazon this morning? My kids have been so excited for the Echo to come out, they talked me into paying the $3.99 to get it here tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Did anyone else get an invitation from Amazon this morning? My kids have been so excited for the Echo to come out, they talked me into paying the $3.99 to get it here tomorrow. *gasp* I didn't! I'll have to watch my email like a hawk. Maybe they just missed my awesomeness... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I am SURE that is it! *gasp* I didn't! I'll have to watch my email like a hawk. Maybe they just missed my awesomeness... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Did anyone else get an invitation from Amazon this morning? My kids have been so excited for the Echo to come out, they talked me into paying the $3.99 to get it here tomorrow. Sooooo.....? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Sooooo.....? :bigear: We really like it! I think with updates, over time we will use Echo a lot, but right now it is fairly limited. This is what I wrote on another forum the night the Echo came: The Echo is packaged very nice and has a nice feel to it--you can tell it is made well. It was not hard to set up at all. Once you plug Echo in, you pull up the app on your tablet or phone (I used my Kindle HDX) and it pretty much does it all on it's own. It comes with a card suggesting things you can do/ask. We asked all kind of things...most it knew, but there was still quite a bit it did not. The things it did not know were things like "who are the members of the Justice League." I would say it is pretty limited on what it can do...what you see in the commercial sums it up pretty well. The speaker has a very nice sound to it, I see us playing music through it quite a bit. While it is limited in what it can do right now, I am excited to see what it can do in the future. I can see a lot of potential! Things I would like to see in the near future: Ability to look up phone numbers Ability to look up recipes and read them to you Ability to look up movie times at the local theater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 We really like it! I think with updates, over time we will use Echo a lot, but right now it is fairly limited. This is what I wrote on another forum the night the Echo came: The Echo is packaged very nice and has a nice feel to it--you can tell it is made well. It was not hard to set up at all. Once you plug Echo in, you pull up the app on your tablet or phone (I used my Kindle HDX) and it pretty much does it all on it's own. It comes with a card suggesting things you can do/ask. We asked all kind of things...most it knew, but there was still quite a bit it did not. The things it did not know were things like "who are the members of the Justice League." I would say it is pretty limited on what it can do...what you see in the commercial sums it up pretty well. The speaker has a very nice sound to it, I see us playing music through it quite a bit. While it is limited in what it can do right now, I am excited to see what it can do in the future. I can see a lot of potential! Things I would like to see in the near future: Ability to look up phone numbers Ability to look up recipes and read them to you Ability to look up movie times at the local theater The history books will say "the unsuspecting housewives thought The Echo World Ender was a great way to play music and look for recipes". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 The history books will say "the unsuspecting housewives thought The Echo World Ender was a great way to play music and look for recipes". LOL...the day it came, I told my husband that if the Cylons nuke the planet in 50 years...It may be my fault :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Did you get to name it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I'd call mine Big Brother... lol. Just htink of the marketing data they *could* be collecting through the technology... But seriously, I've been reading a book about how as a society we are externalizing our memory- because everything is now at our fingertips, we no longer bother to learn by heart dates, names, poems, quotes... and how it affects us as people/learners, whether or not we can "know" something if what we actually know is just how to access it, etc. Sure it would be great for homework help, but if we assume this technology will soon become ubilquitous, will things like memorizing math facts become a thing of the past? Spelling rules? Looking up a quote for a paper will become "Find a quote about democracy" and voila. How does this change the landscape of "knowing"/ the definition of "educated"? More and more studies show that not having content knowledge in one's BRAIN is a huge hindrance. We cannot learn analysis, synthesis, and other high level skills without having the content knowledge, but devices like this give the false sense that content knowledge is not necessary. Curoius how this will all play out long term... I read that book not too long ago. So does this Echo thing actually produce meals? That's what I'm waiting for. I want the food maker thingie on Star Trek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Ours is Safehold. Ours is Barad-dur but our guest network is Imladris. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Did you get to name it? Right now, there are only two options "Alexa" and "Amazon." They are supposed to add more at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Right now, there are only two options "Alexa" and "Amazon." They are supposed to add more at some point. Well right there, that kills it for us. I have a family member named Alex and no way in hell am I going to talk to "amazon" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Well right there, that kills it for us. I have a family member named Alex and no way in hell am I going to talk to "amazon" I am pretty sure they will have more names soon...it seems like that is one of the things everyone wants to be able to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I am pretty sure they will have more names soon...it seems like that is one of the things everyone wants to be able to do. Ooh, I hope so! Alexa and Amazon are common words in our house. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 We got our invitation today. And ordered it. I picked no rush shipping for the $1 credit. It'll be here next Wednesday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajfries Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Any more updates on this? We got an invitation this morning & I'm curious what others think. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Any more updates on this? We got an invitation this morning & I'm curious what others think. :) Yep, we just got an invitation too. I'd love to see comments from those of you who have already had one awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Any more updates on this? We got an invitation this morning & I'm curious what others think. :) We still love our Echo! We use it primarily for music, but on a daily basis we use it for weather, quick news updates, and the shopping list feature. Periodically, we will have her spell out a word, but I think this would get more use if my kids were younger. I think she is still limited in the information department. Things we asked today to see if she knew "Who are the members of the Justice League" and "Who are the members of One Direction"...she still does not know. As much as we like her...I would not recommend buying for the $199 price, there is a lot of room for expansion before I would say the Echo is worth that kind of money. However, if you are a Prime member and can get it for the $99, I do recommend it...if only for the fact that I think the future potential is worth the $99 price tag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I'm sure there are some updates coming down the line as it is so new. The speaker quality really is quite exceptional. We've had ours for a week. My husband gets a better response than I do. Often I have to repeat or rephrase what I've said. I make sure I am enunciating, but it still doesn't grab it. And I've never been one to be accused of garbled speech. I wonder if it is geared more towards lower voices. My 3yo can elicit a response with his speech issues whereas my clearer 8yo has just about the same response even though her speech is MUCH clearer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I also got an invitation today. We are prime so it would be 99$, but I am feeling pretty meh about it. I have a blue tooth speaker I use quite a lot and if I want talking tech, I have Siri. I am just not seeing the need, but maybe I just lack imagination. I saw the purpose of Kindle, it was to sell more books. That was clear to me. I am not seeing the purpose of Echo, what need it is hoping to fill, or create or problem to solve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Finally got my invitation... only to be given a 4-6 month delivery estimate. :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 we passed on ours. I just couldn't get excited about it, and if I am going to spend 100$ and allow Amazon to have ears in my house I need to at least feel excited about whatever the payoff will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chava_Raizel Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 We got our invitation a few days ago, and while I was hesitant to spend that much on something like this, my family thought otherwise and I was vetoed. :001_rolleyes: It will be here in 4 - 6 months. I just hope that we aren't disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 I'm creeped out as it is by the little video of us sitting on the couch that pops up in the corner of our TV screen every time we use XBox Live. I don't want to see myself in my pajamas. No! I'm not seeing myself buying one of these. Yes!! I swear that beastie is watching me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Finally got my invitation... only to be given a 4-6 month delivery estimate. :-( Same here. We are getting it mainly for playing music. We don't have smart phones, so when I'm sitting on the couch reading and want to listen to some classical music, I have to get up and go across the room and put it on the computer. Hoping this will allow me to just say what I want to hear. I assume you have to make playlists or something on your computer. Guess we will figure that out when we get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 I got my offer yesterday. I have 6 more days to decide. I can see how this would be great with an Android or Kindle, but we use iProducts. They aren't all that compatible. I suppose it would help with homework. Another forum said it keeps giving them erroneous information. It said that David Lee Roth died years ago and even gave the date of his death and the age he was when he died. Someone with one see if your does this. It says he died April 5th, 2007. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 I decided to order mine today through the Prime offer. I was wanting to get an updated stereo system because I don't like the sound from my speakers. We love having music on in the background throughout the day, but our stereo and radio and computers seem to have poor sound. So, that was one of the main reasons I got it, but also, I'm curious to see if this could be helpful in some way with my husband's recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 If I didn't already own a jamjar, I would have found it very tempting for the music playing part. But, I got one for my birthday and I am super happy with it. Now, I can't tell it to start playing, I have to connect my phone and turn on the speaker, but that isn't a deal breaker for me. I can get off the couch. But, I am interested in seeing if this grows to be something more than a bluetooth speaker combined with Siri. I don't use Siri all that much either. I am guessing it will be able to do stuff like connect to a 'nest-like' home heating/ac system and turn your heat on and off...but there are other things that already do that from your smart phone... Amazon so rarely innovates on its own. It just looks around, sees what has a market share and figures out how to move in on it. The Kindle was a bit of an innovation, but then it morphed into a sort of a tablet and it becomes an ipad-light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Another forum said it keeps giving them erroneous information. It said that David Lee Roth died years ago and even gave the date of his death and the age he was when he died. Someone with one see if your does this. It says he died April 5th, 2007. She's never been wrong for us. She just told me that David Lee Roth is very much alive. We use her quite a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Same here. We are getting it mainly for playing music. We don't have smart phones, so when I'm sitting on the couch reading and want to listen to some classical music, I have to get up and go across the room and put it on the computer. Hoping this will allow me to just say what I want to hear. I assume you have to make playlists or something on your computer. Guess we will figure that out when we get it. It will depend on where you are getting your music. If you have bought it (the song) from Amazon, or it is in Amazon Prime Music, then it will be easy to just say the name of the song you want. If it is a station you listen to in TuneIn Radio or I Heart, then you should just be able to ask for the station (we have not used either of these often.) If you have music on your computer (ripped CD's or Itunes) then you will need to upload it to Amazon's cloud (250 songs free, or for $25 a year-200,000 songs.) Once it is in Amazon's cloud, then you can just tell Alexa the name of the song you want, and she will play it...some things she does require some training on though. For example, the first few times we played "Blank Space" she did not understand, so we had to find it in the app and play it. Then, if we said "Play Blank Space, by Taylor Swift" she could find it. Now, we can just say "Play Blank Space" and she has no problems. Once you have your music in Amazon's cloud, you can make playlists and she will play those. Again, sometimes with new lists, she has to be be trained, but once she gets it...she gets it :) ETA: I forgot about Bluetooth...you can connect your phone/computer to Alexa via bluetooth and play music that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 I got my offer yesterday. I have 6 more days to decide. I can see how this would be great with an Android or Kindle, but we use iProducts. They aren't all that compatible. I suppose it would help with homework. Another forum said it keeps giving them erroneous information. It said that David Lee Roth died years ago and even gave the date of his death and the age he was when he died. Someone with one see if your does this. It says he died April 5th, 2007. I asked who David Lee Roth was, and she told me, but did not mention if he died, so then I asked if he was alive...and she told me he died in New York City on April 5, 2007. That is strange...I have never had her be wrong before :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 I got my offer yesterday. I have 6 more days to decide. I can see how this would be great with an Android or Kindle, but we use iProducts. They aren't all that compatible. I suppose it would help with homework. Another forum said it keeps giving them erroneous information. It said that David Lee Roth died years ago and even gave the date of his death and the age he was when he died. Someone with one see if your does this. It says he died April 5th, 2007. I will say that it does not matter if you use iproducts. Other than the music it does not matter what kind of system you use. With the music, if you buy your music through iTunes (or rip CD's) then you upload it from your computer to Amazon's cloud (if you want Alexa to play it.) There are Echo apps for Kindle, Android, and iTunes...but we very rarely use them. For us, the Echo is, for the most part, a stand alone product. ETA: I forgot about Bluetooth...you can connect your phone/computer to Alexa via bluetooth and play music that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Poor David Lee Roth.... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 After thinking on this some more, and reading comments on it, I decided to cancel my order. However, all morning, I keep trying and getting the message that there was a problem canceling it. Guess I'm going to have to do a live chat after I get home from the orthodontist later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Kind of weird, but back when the Amazon Echo thing started, I requested an invitation from Amazon as a Prime member. I have been reading this thread with interest, but have never received my invitation to purchase the Echo at the $99 reduced rate. I just went onto Amazon, put the Echo in my cart, and then went to check out. It automatically gave me the $99 reduced rate. Hmmm...what was the invitation thing all about then? Marketing scheme, I'm sure. But still curious to know why I never received an invitation (although it looks like it doesn't matter). So now to decide if I want to buy this or not... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Kind of weird, but back when the Amazon Echo thing started, I requested an invitation from Amazon as a Prime member. I have been reading this thread with interest, but have never received my invitation to purchase the Echo at the $99 reduced rate. I just went onto Amazon, put the Echo in my cart, and then went to check out. It automatically gave me the $99 reduced rate. Hmmm...what was the invitation thing all about then? Marketing scheme, I'm sure. But still curious to know why I never received an invitation (although it looks like it doesn't matter). So now to decide if I want to buy this or not... On another board I follow, they have found that if you are able to put it in your cart, it means you were about to get an invite. Your invite will probably show up later today or tomorrow. There have been a few people who tried to put it in their cart every day. When they were finally able to do it, their invite showed up a few hours later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I have tried asking the Echo every way I possibly can when David Lee Roth died and she insists he has not died and I am making no sense...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Kind of weird, but back when the Amazon Echo thing started, I requested an invitation from Amazon as a Prime member. I have been reading this thread with interest, but have never received my invitation to purchase the Echo at the $99 reduced rate. I just went onto Amazon, put the Echo in my cart, and then went to check out. It automatically gave me the $99 reduced rate. Hmmm...what was the invitation thing all about then? Marketing scheme, I'm sure. But still curious to know why I never received an invitation (although it looks like it doesn't matter). So now to decide if I want to buy this or not... That's what I just did and it gave the same reduced rate because I am a prime member. It's not in stock until 4-6 months from now. Frump. Never even got an invitation after I requested it back then. Coughmarketinghypecough. But like a good amazon customer, I'm buying it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 ...Am I the only one who finds this....well...creepy? :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Kind of weird, but back when the Amazon Echo thing started, I requested an invitation from Amazon as a Prime member. I have been reading this thread with interest, but have never received my invitation to purchase the Echo at the $99 reduced rate. I just went onto Amazon, put the Echo in my cart, and then went to check out. It automatically gave me the $99 reduced rate. Hmmm...what was the invitation thing all about then? Marketing scheme, I'm sure. But still curious to know why I never received an invitation (although it looks like it doesn't matter). So now to decide if I want to buy this or not... Same here. Still no invite, but it's sitting in the cart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Mertz Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Ours is due to be delivered in April. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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