Echo Auto - First Impressions

[jwlv]

Interesting to hear that yours did not come with the flat rubbery mount. Mine came with it. But I heard some people got a vent mount. Mine did not come with a vent mount.

[kenf]

Interesting to hear that yours did not come with the flat rubbery mount. Mine came with it. But I heard some people got a vent mount. Mine did not come with a vent mount.

The one I ordered under my name came with both (the vent mount is a separate box)

the one my wife ordered came with 2 boxes, but there wasn't a flat mount

When we ordered, Amazon listed it as 2 items in the cart for half the $25 price, so they added up right.

That's a strange inconsistency between orders.

[JCDinPGH]

I agree that the Echo auto does not provide anything radically new. I have a skill installed called "My Media For Alexa" which gives me full access to my MP3/FLAC collection on any Echo device. Having voice access to my music library in my car is amazing. It was the main reason I opted in for the early access for the Echo auto. Also having the ability to turn on lights as I come up the driveway is also a bonus although most are already on a schedule. I also purchased an ISY994i module for opening/closing the garage so I will now be able to open the garage via voice or via geofencing as I get closer to home.

[kenf]

I agree that the Echo auto does not provide anything radically new. I have a skill installed called "My Media For Alexa" which gives me full access to my MP3/FLAC collection on any Echo device. Having voice access to my music library in my car is amazing. It was the main reason I opted in for the early access for the Echo auto. Also having the ability to turn on lights as I come up the driveway is also a bonus although most are already on a schedule. I also purchased an ISY994i module for opening/closing the garage so I will now be able to open the garage via voice or via geofencing as I get closer to home.

yeah, similar thoughts.  I've got SmartThings, so it already knows if it is "night" and turns on the lights when I arrive home because of geofencing and my phone.  ST does more of the heavy lifting for me of automating. 

I see Alexa for voice commands when I need hands free.  Even the wife isn't sure what she'll do with it, but since she listens to podcasts, she should be able to launch one while driving. or be frustrated that it didn't continue or launch the right one.  Who knows.

my truck is dumber than her car, so I got a bluetooth car speaker phone for $25   She's already got a BT stereo with microphone.  I kept her wired just to avoid conflict with that existing setup to her phone.

I've used it once when I set it up. I work from home and I keep the Echo put away when I get out of the truck.  So for short trips to the store, I'm not even gonna dig it out. Thereby losing value there for spontaneous commands. Thieves (and the risk thereof) ruin everything.1

I think these kind of usability/security issues are a larger impact for adoption than what it can actually do. Ideally, I want it always ready for the moment I do need it, not because I use it all the time. And I can't do that in my neighborhood.

[M.p.rohde@att.net]

I am really frustrated when playing music from Amazon Music. It cuts out ALL OF THE TIME. Sometimes, it will speed up for a second or two, as if it is trying to catch up to where it should be.

Also, some days it just keeps saying it can’t connect to my phone.

It seems worse in the city than it does on the highway, as if every tree and light pole is blocking the WiFi.

[kenf]

It's been a week or so.  The Echo Auto has been plugged in twice.  Otherwise, spends a lot of time in the glove compartment.

I don't have a daily commute, so a trip to the corner store and back isn't worth pulling it out.  And leaving it setup is a security risk. Sweeps by door checkers are a weekly occurrence in my part of town. And in other cases, crooks just bash a window in if they think something's in there.

I tried to place a call, but you definitely have to enable Alexa to access your contacts or something for that to work. Haven't received a call yet (again, not hooked up enough to happen).

If you're wearing a bluetooth headset, that or the Echo will vie for dominance for where the phone audio goes. It's a little weird.

[scottrods]

I've been running mine daily for about a week too... I always play music from my phone (not data on the Alexa, but downloaded music Ive had for a while mostly). No problem exists in that unless you ask Alexa "how is my commute?" before the audio tracks start up, then it sits with no sound until you start up Apple Music manually... Cool part is, Alexa controls the tracks by voice no problem. Just call out "Alexa, Next song." or another navigation command and she's on it. Perfect. (well... perfect for me). No huge issue with data usage as long as I use my own music, however Alexa causes several things to check with other services for location and such to have info available that relates to you and your current location... not a bunch of data used up with that.

The audio is just what it is... through my radio, it sounds fine. Nothing audiophile happening inside any actual cars any way, no matter how much you pay for the car... there will be noises you cannot completely squash... (OK maybe a little hyperbolic, but there would be very few cars in the world if ANY that could claim audiophile quite ambience... but still)

All in all I'm very satisfied with the whole thing. It's funny though... if you already have SIRI and a compatible radio... it's pretty much the same... just make the command it it happens...

[VKSheridan]

I haven’t used mine much but I’ve already found some differences between the auto and the Dot/Show devices I have.  I can open and close my MyIQ garage door with my home devices but I get “that feature is not available at this time” response from my Echo Auto.  Seems silly so I asked for the status of the door, same response.  Ditto with my front door locks.  One could argue it’s a good security thing but using a passcode like my home devices use could address that.  Hard to unlock the house and open the garage as I approach using my voice instead of an app.  Still digging for other nuances but those are a couple that I’ve seen.  Good news is I think I can turn on my porch light from the car.  Will update more as I learn more.