Why the amazon echo is in danger of becoming the next apple watch!

[Magnus33]

The apple watch is actually great tech and work surprisingly well but had some major drawbacks the biggest of which was battery life.
The tech was ahead of battery tech and suffered from embarrassingly low battery life which couldn't make a full 24 hours unless you turned everything off which killed the reason for the watch in the first place.

A product ahead of its time and though quite cool has become something of a cool but not nearly as successful a product for apple .

Amazon is in danger of becoming a hey remember that product like the watch but for very different reasons.

In the last year there have been no major feature updates . (check email, improved connectivity extra)

The dot was released which on its surface seems great but also issues a slap in the face to echo owners.
It was cheaper had a speaker plug and could Bluetooth connect to speakers. (ironically a limited release product now sold out)
This last feature turned out to be a slap in the face to echo owners since you never add a feature to a new product when the one still being sold is fully capable of doing the same (same WiFi/Bluetooth chip-sets).

Last being that they are presently the only dog in the show but show no signs of capitalizing on this lead with competing products like google home coming out later this year.
At this point amazon should be doing everything in its power to keep its lead buy adding features,expanding it users base to more countries providing expanded existing options.

Amazon on the other hand has done none of this at the same time slapping the echo buyers in the face by adding bluetooth connectivity to the dot when it could have been easily added to the echo.

If amazon doesn't get its act together soon the echo is likely to become a niche product when the likes of home show up with far better connectivity and features right out of the box.

Its not to late but time is rapidly running out and amazon does have a habit of doing shockingly stupid things when it comes to hardware they put out.

Here to hoping they get it together soon or this may end up being the next boxee box.
A great idea killed by poor support, betraying of its user base in favor of a newer product and a major lack of product development.

I much rather see the echo life on but the future isn't looking so bright with amazon present actions.

[Yoda_One]

I do not agree. You must hate dogs😆.
We have been fortunate up to this point to have a great forum population that helps, solve problems and give advice. You are because spoiler to this great group. Please change you attitude and become an active helpful member or just go away.

[mike27oct]

I don't agree with the OP's premise either. but he can think what he wants.  I think to compare the Echo product with an Apple watch is pretty weak.  In fact, the world needed an Apple watch like a hole in the head -- we all carry an atomic clock in our pockets today, and it has to be a lot easier to use a cell phone for other features than a tiny over-priced watch.

I also don't have a problem with the Dot and Echo having different features.  The Dot is plugged into my stereo, so the fact that it also has a (crummy) speaker is not relevant for me.  A Tap is also useful.  BTW, the Dot will return this fall as a big-deal Xmas present.  Just wait a few more weeks when all kinds new products emerge for Xmas time sales.

And, so what if Google comes out with an Echo knockoff.  Most people who want something like this already have an Echo.  I think Amazon has been pretty successful with their products other than their phone, so they seem to be doing more things right than wrong.

[Magnus33]

I do not agree. You must hate dogs😆.
We have been fortunate up to this point to have a great forum population that helps, solve problems and give advice. You are because spoiler to this great group. Please change you attitude and become an active helpful member or just go away.

Crap i lost the bet .

Some of us were wondering how long it would take for someone to respond as you did which was faster then expected.

As you mentioned a forum is for advice and help but there also for debate which apparently you don't seem to understand.

As long as some one is not using vulgar language or attacking others then they are perfectly within the rules of the forum.

Simply because you don't agree with someone doesn't mean you get to respond the way you do.

You are fully within your rights to disagree But unlike mike who certainly didn't agree with me but politely debated it you came off with a attitude and a snide comment.
One last thing we had two dogs for the last 12 years and recently lost one to cancer which the family is still grieving over since they were family so i politely suggest you don't go there again.

You don't agree then don't post  or if you feel the need keep it to polite debate that's how forums are suppose to work.

[renegade600]

The apple watch is actually great tech and work surprisingly well but had some major drawbacks the biggest of which was battery life.
The tech was ahead of battery tech and suffered from embarrassingly low battery life which couldn't make a full 24 hours unless you turned everything off which killed the reason for the watch in the first place. 

never had a problem with my iphone lasting more than 24 hours - before I kicked the apple habit and joined the android generation.

A product ahead of its time and though quite cool has become something of a cool but not nearly as successful a product for apple .

Amazon is in danger of becoming a hey remember that product like the watch but for very different reasons.

In the last year there have been no major feature updates . (check email, improved connectivity extra)

The dot was released which on its surface seems great but also issues a slap in the face to echo owners.
It was cheaper had a speaker plug and could Bluetooth connect to speakers. (ironically a limited release product now sold out)
This last feature turned out to be a slap in the face to echo owners since you never add a feature to a new product when the one still being sold is fully capable of doing the same (same WiFi/Bluetooth chip-sets).

the dot was not a slap in the face to echo users.  You must remember the echo was completely new technology with nothing like it on the market.  I am guessing they thought users would want to stream their phones and other portable devices through the echo. Just like many other bluetooth speakers on the market.  It had the added feature of voice control.   Amazon did not know if the echo was going to be accepted since their disaster with the fire phone.   They did a lot of guessing at first with what features were needed and wanted - again because this was new technology and there was nothing similar on the market they could compare it to. They were surprised.  They also listened to what their customers wanted and the dot and tab was later released. 

Last being that they are presently the only dog in the show but show no signs of capitalizing on this lead with competing products like google home coming out later this year.
At this point amazon should be doing everything in its power to keep its lead buy adding features,expanding it users base to more countries providing expanded existing options.

That dog and pony show was not for you, it was not for me, it was not for any other consumer.  It was for developers and others within the tech industry to show what can be done and hope there is interest in it.   Hope other companies could build apps, accessories and other products.

Amazon on the other hand has done none of this at the same time slapping the echo buyers in the face by adding bluetooth connectivity to the dot when it could have been easily added to the echo.

If amazon doesn't get its act together soon the echo is likely to become a niche product when the likes of home show up with far better connectivity and features right out of the box.

Its not to late but time is rapidly running out and amazon does have a habit of doing shockingly stupid things when it comes to hardware they put out.

Here to hoping they get it together soon or this may end up being the next boxee box.
A great idea killed by poor support, betraying of its user base in favor of a newer product and a major lack of product development.

I much rather see the echo life on but the future isn't looking so bright with amazon present actions.

So far I see absolutely nothing wrong with what amazon is doing.  Yea someone could eventually release an echo killer but I do not see one at this time.   I have both an echo and the dot.  Both are working fine and I plan to use them for years to come. 

[TheFallenAngel]

Sorry OP - not quite the case. Every week there is "what's new with Alexa" newsletter  that showcase at least few new features.. Echo Firmware has been updated dozens of times with improvements, new functionality, etc.

The Dot was not slap at anything - it's a different product with different purpose and i am glad they came up with it. Now I have 1 Echo and 2 Doys and they perfectly dp their jobs in allowing me to control everything my home with voice, play music everywhere and give me information when and where I nees it.

Also Alexa got popular and being built in numerous devices already (I've read about 4 but i am sure they are more). I personally own one of those AWESOME devices - the CoWatch.. Now I can do everything I can at home - from anywhere I want..

Hyundai, Ford, Toyota and BMW already announced they will integrate Amazon Echo in their cars! The adoption is happaning and so far Google Home is only a promise.. nothing else. And knowing people's waranted concerns about Google's data mining, and privacy issues, they might habe harder time with adoption. In any case competition is always good.

So Amazon Echo infrastructure is alive and well (not only integrated in Amazon TV, tablets and devices but in many other 3rd party products.)

Cheers,
Alex

[Maff]

And, so what if Google comes out with an Echo knockoff.  Most people who want something like this already have an Echo.

... In America, the only country this has been released. In all other countries, unless Amazon get in quick this niche will very quickly be taken up by Google and probably Apple. In all honesty, it will probably be an apple advertising campaign which makes everyone know about it and want one at this point.

I do think Amazon have squandered a massive lead. For most people around the world the Echo is a viral bad advert which came out years ago which they haven't thought about since.

Don't get me wrong, I love my echo. But the only reason I have one is because I followed it from the start, and bought one from Ebay, tinkered until I got it working in the UK, and only got location services working after almost 2 years, because someone found a loophole. Prime stuff still doesn't work. Audible has stopped working, and we have no support in the UK.

It's a very different story outside of the US, and I personally think Amazon could have done a lot better in this regard.

[vegasguy]

September is when apple usually shows something new. Although nothing spectacular had come out of apple in a couple of years maybe this year apple will show us something different.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TheFallenAngel]

And, so what if Google comes out with an Echo knockoff.  Most people who want something like this already have an Echo.

... In America, the only country this has been released. In all other countries, unless Amazon get in quick this niche will very quickly be taken up by Google and probably Apple. In all honesty, it will probably be an apple advertising campaign which makes everyone know about it and want one at this point.

I do think Amazon have squandered a massive lead. For most people around the world the Echo is a viral bad advert which came out years ago which they haven't thought about since.

Don't get me wrong, I love my echo. But the only reason I have one is because I followed it from the start, and bought one from Ebay, tinkered until I got it working in the UK, and only got location services working after almost 2 years, because someone found a loophole. Prime stuff still doesn't work. Audible has stopped working, and we have no support in the UK.

It's a very different story outside of the US, and I personally think Amazon could have done a lot better in this regard.

They will release it officially soon. That being said There are MANY people like you in UK, also Australia, and I've seen post from many other countries. Personally i am in Canada and there dgazzialian Echo users here too All that cos it's awesome

As for putting your own address there in it and get everything to work locally - tgats easy - i also posted  step by step here somewhere. If you can't find it PM me.. EVERYTHING works for me now.

Sadly the main reason for not being released everywhere is production capacity.. But that's just for this device, the real thing that will keep it afloat is the wide adoption by other manufacturers which has already happened..  Apple will always keep theirbahit closed off system, so they are never gonna compete with this. Google are indeed the most important contender, but so far it's only and idea of what they want to make.. When it comes out - then we can evaluate.

Cheers,
Alex

[TheFallenAngel]

September is when apple usually shows something new. Although nothing spectacular had come out of apple in a couple of years maybe this year apple will show us something different.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not holding my breath.. iPhone 7, some variation on some iPad, an increased battery life of tge iWatch 2 (cos the current one is pathetic)..

Cheers,
Alex

[jwlv]

I'm guessing that Amazon has so many other things going on that releasing the Echo in other countries is just too much to do right now. Things like Prime Now, the orange pickup/dropoff lockers, drone deliveries (if they're still planning to do that), Amazon Fresh, Dash Button, Prime Music/Movies, and a slew of other projects.

Echo support is its own department, separate from all other departments at Amazon. If Echo were to be released in another country, the same would be expected. Bugs and issues that may be a problem in the US might not be the same in another country. A simple example would be the spelling and definition of words (US color vs. UK colour, US fanny is an innocent word vs. UK fanny is a vulgar word). That would mean different versions of the Echo software, each customized to the particular country it serves. Understanding spoken words could be a problem as British accents might be difficult for Alexa to understand. Perhaps Amazon needs to build from nearly scratch for all of these differences and issues, and that's why it's taking so long.

[Maff]

quote author=TheFallenAngel link=topic=759.msg4672#msg4672 date=1472564996]
As for putting your own address there in it and get everything to work locally - tgats easy - i also posted  step by step here somewhere. If you can't find it PM me.. EVERYTHING works for me now.

Sadly the main reason for not being released everywhere is production capacity.. But that's just for this device, the real thing that will keep it afloat is the wide adoption by other manufacturers which has already happened..  Apple will always keep theirbahit closed off system, so they are never gonna compete with this. Google are indeed the most important contender, but so far it's only and idea of what they want to make.. When it comes out - then we can evaluate.

Cheers,
Alex
[/quote]


I too have everything working on the location front thanks to your instructions (thank you very much!) but prime and audible not in my control.

I've been reading posts on forums for well over a year saying that Amazon is about to go global with echo, e.g.  When Triby came out, when they added Alexa to Amazon TV... All the commentators said "surely this update to Alexa services won't just be for the US THIS time. Amazon will take Echo global now." and yet they have ended up only available updates in the states,and Echo has stayed in the states since 2014.

They may well surprise me but I'm not holding my breath.

[TheFallenAngel]

quote author=TheFallenAngel link=topic=759.msg4672#msg4672 date=1472564996]
As for putting your own address there in it and get everything to work locally - tgats easy - i also posted  step by step here somewhere. If you can't find it PM me.. EVERYTHING works for me now.

Sadly the main reason for not being released everywhere is production capacity.. But that's just for this device, the real thing that will keep it afloat is the wide adoption by other manufacturers which has already happened..  Apple will always keep theirbahit closed off system, so they are never gonna compete with this. Google are indeed the most important contender, but so far it's only and idea of what they want to make.. When it comes out - then we can evaluate.

Cheers,
Alex

I too have everything working on the location front thanks to your instructions (thank you very much!) but prime and audible not in my control.

I've been reading posts on forums for well over a year saying that Amazon is about to go global with echo, e.g.  When Triby came out, when they added Alexa to Amazon TV... All the commentators said "surely this update to Alexa services won't just be for the US THIS time. Amazon will take Echo global now." and yet they have ended up only available updates in the states,and Echo has stayed in the states since 2014.

They may well surprise me but I'm not holding my breath.
[/quote]
Well Amazon Canada was hiring couple months ago and from all the description it was clear it is so they get ready for Echo support. So it is coming..

Another exciting news for today - you'll soon be able to control Sonos speakers with the echo line up of devices..

Cheers,
Alex

[Maff]

Looks like I was wrong! Taken at the last hurdle. Echo is tipped for a UK release on September 14th. If you ask Echo what is happening on the 14th September, she cryptically days she promised she wouldn't tell, but visiting London had always been on her bucket list!

[TheFallenAngel]

Looks like I was wrong! Taken at the last hurdle. Echo is tipped for a UK release on September 14th. If you ask Echo what is happening on the 14th September, she cryptically days she promised she wouldn't tell, but visiting London had always been on her bucket list!

https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/02/amazon-alexa-uk/

Cheers,
Alex