New Echo Show

[MartinB999]

Hi All
Thinking about adding an new echo show to my set up and reading about it there seems to be very divided opinion about how well it functions as a tool for video calling and the quality of sound.
I would welcome anyone who has one telling about their own experiences with it.

[AlanH]

Couple of reviews here to get started.

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/amazon/amazon-echo-show

https://www.digitaltrends.com/smart-home-reviews/amazon-echo-show-review/

[MartinB999]

Thanks Alan.

[MartinB999]

Well, we've had the shows now for two weeks (we bought three for various rooms).
Irritatingly when you ask her to search google for something she very often gets it wrong, and it's not a simple process of saying "Alexa, ask google to show me ....x......", you have to ask her to open google, then ask her to search then ask her to open etc.....
The sound is reasonable but I did expect it to be richer for the price. There are some minor irritations with the screen in that you cannot turn off the "try asking Alexa to ......" at the bottom of the screen it seems.
Overall, an expensive piece of kit but now that we have them, we'll keep them. Hopefully the software will evolve quickly.......... fingers crossed.

[jwlv]

Umm, why are you asking Alexa to search Google for something? Amazon and Google hate each other. That's why there's no Youtube on Echo Show and no Google products on Amazon (except by 3rd party sellers).
If you want to ask any type of question just ask Alexa directly. You should not say search Google for...

Do say: Alexa, how old is Tom Cruise?  Alexa, show me a picture of a T-rex.
Don't say: Alexa, search Google for Tom Cruise's age. Alexa, search Google for a picture of a T-rex.

[MartinB999]

Hi jwlv
I'm using google to search on the show as I'm not getting good results using the simple commands. I know it's a long way around but at least I get a good result in the end from searching google........ the built in search engine is pretty rubbish.
Just an observation..........

[jwlv]

Ok I know what you mean.

Just think of it this way. Alexa uses Wikipedia for most of its answers. So if the question you asked is on Wikipedia then Alexa should be able to answer it.

For example, what is the population of Norway? How big is Mars? When was the Independence of Mexico?

So if it's something that you might be able to find in an encyclopedia then Alexa should find it too.