Danielle Kinley - Amazon Echo for Beginners: OK, Alexa, What Can You Do?

Amazon Echo for Beginners

OK, Alexa, What Can You Do?

Technology has grown exponentially the past decade, and development only seems to be picking up more momentum. In this modern world, we can do things that people once thought to be impossible. In some ways, we are exactly where some hoped we would be.

One of the greatest testimonies to how technology has advanced is the Amazon Echo. So much technology placed in such a tiny device, the Echo is everything you will ever need to manage your home.

The Echo not only has the capability of recognizing your voice, but it can also identify your speech patterns and respond to how you talk. It plays music, but not like anything you have ever heard before. It can control various points in your home, ensuring that things are always getting done the way you want them to, all with just a word from you.

Echo is the assistant you have never had but always needed. With it, you will never forget another item at the grocery store, have to turn around and head home to ensure something got shut off before you left, and you will never be late for an appointment again.

Alexa, the brain of Echo, will maintain your schedule better than you ever thought possible. She will remind you of the things you need to be doing, things you told her about weeks ago, and inform you of things that will make your day easier, such as the weather and traffic report.

As soon as you get your own Amazon Echo, your life is going to be changed. Suddenly, you don't have to remember your entire schedule yourself anymore. You have someone else there who is ready to lend a hand any time you need it and can answer virtually any question you have as soon as you ask it.

There seems to be no limit to what Alexa can do to make your life easier.

Even your entertaining is going to be better than ever with the incredible sound quality the Echo produces, as well as the extensive library you have to choose from. Not only can you include all the music from your own library, but with the Echo, you have immediate access to a variety of online radio stations.

Needless to say, all of this is a lot to take in, and it can feel downright overwhelming.

Which is the very reason I put together this user guide. Of course, when you purchase the Echo, you receive a guide along with it, but this is different. I didn't want to focus on the technicalities of the device; I wanted to teach you how to use it. I wanted to show you all the incredible things it can do, and I wanted to share my experience with you.

This book isn't just a user guide to teach you how to use the Echo. It's a guide that is filled with experience. Take the tips and tricks I have learned and use them with your own Echo, and get so much more out of your device than you would have any other way.

So dont wait. You have your Echo, and its time you learned to use it properly. Take it from someone who knows what they are talking about, and program your device to get the maximum use out of it.

Technology may be advancing, but there's no substitute for good old-fashioned experience, and that is what I am going to give you through the pages of this book.

Are you ready? Excellent.

Lets get started.

Before we get into the technical aspect of this device, I want to first introduce you to what the device is.

Many people, when they see the Echo, think its a speaker. And, in a way, they are correct. The Echo is equipped with an incredible sound system that will fill the entire room, no matter where the Echo sits within the room.

Equipped with 7 different microphones within its slender frame, this 9 inches tall device packs a real punch. The sound quality is amazing! If you were to purchase this device merely for the sound, it would be well worth the price. However, there is far more to it than that.

Amazon has equipped the device with cloud capability, meaning it has access to the Amazon cloud and all your history on Amazon. With just a single command, you can tell this device to order something you have previously ordered, and it will use the card you have saved on file with Amazon to place the order once again.

This means you don't even have to lift a finger to have something paid for, shipped, and dropped off right at your door within 48 hours.

Not only is the device linked to the cloud, but it also has Wi-Fi capabilities, and will easily navigate the internet with mere voice commands you say.

For example:

Just last week I was in the middle of cooking dinner, and I had my hands covered in juice from the tomatoes I was slicing. Right at this inconvenient moment, I realized I needed to make a conversion in the recipe that I could not do in my head.

Instinctively, I started for the sink. I knew I had to get my hands clean so I could get on my phone and figure out the solution when I stopped.

Alexa! Was all I had to say before the device awoke and answered me. Though I have my Echo located in the corner of my living room, she could still hear me in the kitchen. So, I simply asked her for the conversion I needed.

Without wasting any time whatsoever, she gave me my answer, and I could continue cooking, without having to stop in the middle of chopping the tomatoes to find the answer.

And thats not all shes done.

Shortly after I received my device, I was curious at just how good her memory really was, so I told her to remind me of an appointment I had set nearly two weeks in advance.

Of course, I had the appointment saved in my phone. I didnt want to put too much faith in a device I had just purchased. But, to my utmost surprise, the very morning of the appointment, Alexa reminded me of what I had to do as I drank my morning coffee.

It's like having a personal assistant who never gets tired of doing anything I asked and is constantly available for what I need.

Though the main title for the Amazon Echo is a "speaker," there are so many things this device can do, I don't think the word even comes close to doing her justice.

But thats just the beginning. As you already know, there are many, many more things the Amazon Echo can do, and I am going to show you how to get yours to do the same.

So enough about me, let's get your Echo taken out of the box and begin setting it up.

Your Echo has finally arrived, and you eagerly tear open the packaging, ready to meet your new little entertainment gone assistant system. With all of the wonderful things you have been hearing, you simply cant wait to get started.

And you pull out a round speaker shaped object and some cords.

I know the initial thought is something along the lines of thats it? but trust me, theres more to your Amazon Echo than meets the eye.

The first thing you obviously need to do is set it up.

Your Amazon Echo is an amazing device, but its not going to know everything about you right out of the box. No, you have to do the dirty work of programming before you can expect the benefits of a perpetually on call assistant.

The first thing you need to do is place your Echo.

The Echo can be placed anywhere in your home, as long as its at least 8 inches away from a wall on all sides. You can put it in your bedroom, in the kitchen, in the living room, or even in the bathroom if you like. Again, just make sure its far enough away from the walls, and you are set.

Before you plug in your device, download the Alexa app and sign in. You will use your Amazon ID, and dont worry, the app is free.

The Echo is infinitely easier to set up using this app, so I suggest you do this as soon as you have your device out of the box. Think of this app as the control panel for your device, where you will be able to set alarms, manage your music list, shopping list, Amazon usage, and much, much more.