I ordered a Sonos One that’s being delivered tomorrow. My daughter has two and said I’d enjoy it. I’m also interested in everyone’s experiences.

Linelle, why does your daughter have two? One at home and another at work, or just in different parts of her home?

I have had an echo for over a year and still like it. I love the shopping list feature and I use separate lists for separate stores. I will say add paper towels to my Walmart list, add steak tips to my meat house list etc. I also use hue light bulbs in the kitchen with my Alexa. I also call my parents and siblings with her.

Lynn, she was given two (she works in tech) and she has one in her living room and the other in her office.

Roarah, I like the idea of lists. Is it a feature of Alexa (the technology that Sonos uses), or something you create. Does it print? IOW, how do you take it from your Echo into the store?

My question, too, Linelle!

We have the echo dot. We dont use it a lot but it is a fun gadget. It’s funny when she chimes in to something said on the tv. One time i was watching a movie that had an Alexa in it and i was cracking up the entire time...she yapped through the whole movie. Im not crazy about it for music as the sound isn't very good. I could probably use it more than I do but i forget it’s there.

No Alexa/Echo, but I LOVE my Ring! Only negative is that it allows DD and I to track each other's comings and goings........

What nannygoat said

Don’t have either, but we saw my brother’s in action at his house on Christmas Day. He had Alexa turn on the lights to the Christmas tree, Christmas village and do a couple of other things he was demo’ing for us. I called it the new age version of the Clapper. Just kidding. It’s useful and I’ve been thinking of getting one but wasn’t totally sold yet.

Lynn, he played the SNL skit for us too. As a ‘senior’, it cracked me up.

I use my Dot as a bedside alarm clock. I use the full size Echo for music and timers when cooking. I use both for queries about weather, sports and trivia. I know I could use it more, but I’ve been lazy about learning new applications or skills for Alexa.

We were talking about wanting a Jitterbug-style computer for my elderly Dad, and then DS sent me the Amazon Echo Silver video. So funny, especially the "uh-huh" feature!

I use it mostly for an alarm clock, a timer, the time (I will shout from the bathroom while I'm getting ready), weather, shopping lists and reminders. She flashes yellow if a package is delivered.

My DH loves to use the "simon says" feature, like when I am running late, and go "Alexa, Simon says, move your hiney", and she then repeats everything after 'Simon says'." Easily amused. Or he has her tell the dog to sit.

I have ordered things on Amazon from her.

My DS asked her for the news, a joke of the day, and where Santa is.

My DD likes to use her while doing homework. You can use Alexa instead of a calculator, and also to look up words in the dictionary and translate English to French. (hey,maybe this is a good reason to send one off with college students!)

We have asked her random stuff, like once when we were trying to remember the ABC lineup from the mid 70s on Friday night. She knew the answer!

I have 5 in my House. 4 dots and one echo. I use it as a voice control component of my smart home automation system, meaning I can tell it what lights to turn off or dim, for instance, and control the thermostat. I have lights that turn on and off at set times (dusk, for instance). Phone calls, messaging, shopping lists. The drop in feature is like an intercom so that I can yell at my kids without having to walk to their rooms;-) Music and radio are almost always playing. I turn my TV on and off and change channels. Kitchen timer. It gets a lot of use in our house.

I have a google home and she does everything listed above. Dh and I just could not decide whether to spend money on a new front door. We decided to let our google home “flip a coin” and I won. We now have a new front door!

Don't watch SNL but am guessing the skits contents are why I am not seeing the interest. A co-worker had a great time telling our students how she has hers make fart noises and they have the most fun giggling at it. I have no idea what these things cost but I think I would rather read. The list capabilities sound FABULOUS, now how do I get it to remind me and hubby to LOOK AT THE LIST.

We have 3 echos and one dot. The sound is not as good with the dot. I use it for Pandora, Amazon music, audible, shopping lists, weather, multiple timers (be sure to name them). My kids use it to time me, like when I say I will make dinner in 5 minutes. They also use it for facts and math and love the game accinator ( not sure of spelling) that was a hit this Christmas with guests.

What is really interesting to me is that when my kids build Lego houses they put an Alexa in them !!!!

I assume that the devices and lights that Alexa can turn off and on (like at OutsidePlaying's brother's house) have some form of smart technology.

Wow, thank you for all the ideas on how I can use my Echo/Alexa! As our home is 24 years old (with thick, real adobe walls inside and out), we don’t have smart home capabilities installed, but our big screen tv is on it’s last legs and DH tells me our next one will be able to be accessed by Alexa. For the moment, I’m especially interested in having Alexa keep to-do and shopping lists for me. Playing music, making phone calls as I work in the kitchen, as well. I wonder if it can access online recipes?

I have the allrecipe skill on my Alexa but have only used it a handful of time. I just forget about it a lot.

For or those with dots who do not like the speaker it is blue tooth capable I always listen to my music through my own speakers.

We don't have one, but are thinking about getting one, so I'm interested in everyone's experiences with them. There are so many models. I have no idea how to choose one.

Roarah, I use Allrecipes a lot! How do I go about accessing it with mine?

On your tablet or phone open your Alexa app, go to menu, then go to skills in the search box type allrecipes and download it.

Thanks!

This year I got my son and husband "smart" plugs for a couple of outlets. They can turn on/off lights or anything plugged into the outlet via their phones or Alexa. We also have Nest thermostats that can be operated via Alexa or phone app.

jmck, that's what I was hoping to find. It would be especially nice turning a light on or off when not at home.

Yay, Sonos One just arrived. Will report back, hopefully in a good mood.

I love mine!

I have an original Echo, a Show, a Tap (recent update enables hands free through the app), 4 Dots, Alexa remote, and a Dash Wand.

I turn lights off and on, set up routines for different times of day or vacation (Alexa, goodnight) using Hue lights and TP-Link smart outlets (Christmas tree and other things that don't use Hue light bulbs). Emergency? Scary noises? Set up an 'All Lights' Group in Smart Home in the Alexa app.

We love the 'Drop In' feature which is just like an intercom. You can also 'Drop In' on contacts with Alexa if they enable it and allow you to drop in on them.

If you have a Show, it works like a video call. You can also Drop In from your app - this has worked great when I've been at the store and have a question and don't want to wonder whether my husband will answer the phone or text. I've even used it to scold the cats when they've decided to beat each other up - lol.

Timers, alarm clock, lists, reminders, calendar (add to or hear), listen to music from Amazon or SiriusXM, NPR, guided meditations (great for insomnia) from my Amazon Music.

It works with our newer model Sony TV - off, on, change channels, volume

The Tap is completely portable (recharges on a dock) and has a great sounding speaker - I love taking out to the yard and pool.

The Dash Wand doesn't do a good job of scanning bar codes but, if you want to have a little taste of Alexa, you can buy it for $20 and you'll get a $20 credit on your next order so, basically, free.

There are some fun games in the Skills and a lot of silly stuff too like Box of Cats to mess around with those guys.

The Alexa App is integral if you want to access all of the capabilities of your device(s).

My Sonos One is currently in residence on my kitchen peninsula. It was very easy to set up. I was disappointed to find out that Alexa can't play my iTunes, but that's really due to my lack of understanding how it all works together.

I was experimenting with some Dylan music when a friend called on my landline. I went into the living room to talk and finally called out, "Alexa, stop!"

I can't make a phone call (need Amazon device for that, e.g., Echo). And for some reason Sonos doesn't do reminders. So the Sonos has a couple of limitations that I've discovered thus far, but none that really matter very much.

The sound is very big for a small device.

I like the alarm/timer feature.

I'm so used to looking things up all the time at home on one of my devices, e.g., what's the capital of Montenegro, that it will take some practice to get used to just calling out to Alexa.

I'm polite. I always say please and thank you when I'm dealing with humans. I want to say please and thank you to Alexa.

I gave dots to my grandkids. Eight year old grandson asked it to play a lullaby at bedtime the other night, so cute. He has been asking Alexa to play his favorite song over and over. His mother was thinking if Alexa plays that song one more time... when Alexa told grandson that she didn't know that one. um?

A question about asking Alexa to play something from Amazon Music.

I asked for Pachelbel's Canon in D and got a children's lullaby version. Nice, but not what I wanted, which was more along the lines of string quartet.

Do I say "skip"? IOW, how to I keep the same search criteria but listen to a different version?

You can ask Alexa to cheer you up, tell you a joke, etc. there are lots of funny things to do with her.

Linelle, you can ask Alexa to play a particular version, even "Play Pachelbel's Canon for String Quartet" or something like that. On Christmas morning my brother asked for Jingle Bell Rock, didn't like the version, asked for Jingle Bell Rock by Brenda Lee, didn't like the version, asked for Jingle Bell Rock by Brenda Lee live, and got what he wanted. He just interrupted what was playing to ask again.

Alexa plays jeopardy, complete with Alex Trebek's voice. Just say "Alexa, play jeopardy."

She also plays "the state capitals game", "music trivia" and "geography trivia"

OMG, I am loving all these great suggestions! I had no idea I could do all of this with my Echo. Linelle, I hope your works out for you. JePense: ok, I'm blown away by all you're accomplishing with yours!

And, I'm off to ask Alexa to explain just what a Dot is (LOL)!

I have learned that despite thousands of pieces available, Amazon Music is limited. Today I asked for Beethoven’s 6th (Pastorale) and it’s only available through the subscription version. Pout. Alexa did tell me how much it would cost and did I want her to sign me up with my first month free? I thanked her, but declined.

i did ask for some Händel, cranked up the volume, and it was very nice. Sonos has a big sound.

you ban also sign up for a free pandora account and play that through alexa

Yes, I have a free Pandora account. You can play one of its stations many stations, which I think are better than Amazon’s, but I don’t believe you can specify a song like you can with Amazon.

We have the Echo and use pandora for music and we use if for timers.

That SNL skit makes me laugh until I cry!

If anyone wants to laugh really hard watch it. This is a safe link for youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvT_gqs5ETk

Last night a commercial played on the living room tv a couple of times that must have said "Alexa" because my Sonos boomped in the kitchen. The guy didn't even say it very clearly.

I think I kinda have it figured out. Yesterday I briefly considered returning the Sonos for an Echo at nearly 1/3 the price because of a few things it can't do. But I decided those things are more never-hads than losses. Plus the Sonos is rather darkly handsome and has a very lush sound.

Boston Baroque station playing on Pandora.

I really like listening to Pandora on my dot (I have it hooked up to my UE Boom for better sound), and my three-year-old grandson likes being able to ask Alexa to play his favorite songs. I use my dot as a timer when I do washer/dryer loads. I like getting my local weather on demand, and it's so easy to get the weather for anywhere in the country. I love that by using the any.do app I always have my shopping list on my phone. TuneIn radio is handy to get radio stations from across the country, and my local AM channels sound better on TuneIn than on my radio.

kellysar, is TuneIn free or subscribe?

I use the free Pandora app and there has been only one short commercial in the past 3.5 hours. Now listening to Thomas Tallis station. Divine.

Hi Linelle - TuneIn is free, but there's also a premium version which I find I don't need. A website link is https://tunein.com/radio/home/.  News, talk radio, TED talks, etc. One of the things I use it for is that I visit my grandchildren frequently in NYC, and if the weather is iffy, I can listen to NY news to help decide whether I should go. (Sometimes it takes a few seconds before a station starts up).

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