Hi, I picked up an Echo from John Lewis on Thursday (28th)....It's potential is obvious, but right now my impression is that it was poorly prepared for a UK launch!
That impression appears to be at least partially based on some misunderstandings on your part.
Alexa's ability to respond is fragmented
That area has nothing to with the UK version. It's a general weakness (that's improving).
and there's yet more expenditure required to get it to interface with other so called smart kit. Like many others, my motivation to buy was predicated by a wish to voice control the TV, lighting heating system etc....ok, yes it can but this aspect of the market is still fragmented, confusing and expensive.
Again, that has nothing to do with the UK launch. That said...of course there's extra expense involved in using Alexa as a smart home interface. Were you expecting it to be able to control your existing ordinary lights, TV, et al by some sort of magic?
It also requires a degree of technical skill to achieve success.
Not really, unless you're trying to hobble together some custom or extra sophisticated solutions using some of the more challenging features of things like the SmartThings hub.
Ok, its early days, or is it? It's been out in the US for 2 years or more and there are 3000+ skills available! So where are they in the UK version?
The "skills" you refer to are extensions to the Alexa service that are created by 3rd party developers (individuals and businesses), not Amazon. Now that the UK is supported by Echo/Alexa I'm sure that some of your tchnically savvy countrymen will be developing skills geared toward your locale.
I spent some years with computers and networking but I'm not up to speed on this area's control software, something I intend to remedy if I'm to customise the system for my needs.
I don't know exactly what you're referring to as "this area's control software", so I can't comment on that.
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