Home

Tag: Amazon

  • 5 “Smart Home” gadgets every house should have…

    5 “Smart Home” gadgets every house should have…

    It’s 2018 folks, and the future is here. Astronauts are driving Tesla’s through space and the Reese’s company is doing some really innovative stuff with popcorn. With all this technology around us, it’s easy to take it all for granted and we sometimes don’t get all the use we can out of it and take advantage of smart home gadgets.

    And the most important place you can use all this cool tech to your advantage is right in your very own home. Here are some amazing new smart home gadgets to make your life easier…

    1. The iRobot Roomba

    Ever since it’s inception in 2002, the Roomba vacuum has been an integral piece of smart home tech. With the ability to program this round robot to vacuum your home 7 days a week it can be a real time saver. With the latest 980 Model, the Roomba is more advanced that ever. With cutting edge mapping technology and dirt detection programs, this “set it and forget it” vacuum is a must have! For dog or pet owners life myself, I can stress it’s value enough. I have a lot on my plate and one thing I don’t to concern myself with is the daily sweeping thank to “Roger the Roomba”. Yes I named my Roomba, he’s family, folks. Word of advice…there are several competitors is the robot vacuum department, do yourself a favor and stick with the iRobot Roomba. You may a little more, but in this case “you get what you pay for”. This was been probably the best $900.00 I’ve ever spent.

    2. The Nest Thermostat

    Coming in at a price tag of $279.00, the Nest Thermostat is well worth the extra cost. Thanks to it’s smart and adaptive AI, the Nest knows when your home and learns your work schedule to monitor the A/C usage. You can also control the thermostat right form your Nest App on your mobile device to fine tune your A/C needs. For a native Floridan like myself, A/C usage and consumption is a real beast you have to tame. In the summer months, electric bills can soar thanks to primitive thermostats. There is nothing like a thermostat shutting down for the day knowing your at work, and then turn on a half hour before you get home so you don’t walk into a hot and muggy house. It’s just bliss. Once I had installed the Nest, I noticed an immediate 50% drop in my A/C consumption and a large drop in my electric bill respectively. This is a must have in your home.

    3. Brilliant Light Switch

    With the ability to control your homes, light, music, ambiance, and even take pictures with voice commands, the Brilliant light switch is a 2018 must have gadget for your home. Brilliant light switch also connects to several of your home’s smart gadgets such as Nest, Alexa, Sonos Speaker, Ring doorbell system, and more. Starting at $200.00 per panel, Brilliant Switch is a costly addition but this innovative new gadget gives your home a brain.

    4. Amazon Echo and Echo Dot

    This smart home “must” is quickly finding it’s way into every home, world wide. Alexa and Echo Dot, is a voice-controlled system that used to play music, make calls, send and receive messages, read the news, set alarms, and even order and Uber or takeout! With the capability of syncing up to Amazon-Fire, Apple Music, Audible, Pandora, and more, you easily find usage and justification for this piece of smart tech in your home. At a price tag of $150.00, the Amazon Echo has many uses to help in your home and is a fantastic smart home gadget. Word to the wise, Alexa has a built in microphone for consumer purposes that is ALWAYS LISTENING…Use responsibly. 

    5. The Ring II doorbell system

    The Ring Video Doorbell, provides you with the capability to see who is at your door from the safety and comfort of  your bed or couch. It lets you accept or deny visitor calls if you’re not home, and uses motion detection to alert you of activity on your doorstep even when the bell hasn’t been rung. By working off your home’s Wifi and mobile data, the 1080HD  camera will alert your smart phone of any activity at your door step day or night. For an extra $3.00 a month, you can pay for cloud storage and have all moments video recorded for later purposes if desired. The newest model also has a 2 way intercom system, and infrared night vision. For that extra bit of security at a relatively inexpensive cost of $199.00, this doorbell is the must have for any smart home.

    The Conclusion

    With so many smart gadgets available, some better than others, these products can make our homes better, safer, and more convenient. 2018 is going to be a big tech year and the “smart home” business is growing evermore advanced daily. If you can pick-up just one of these items this year, you’ll be headed in the right direction. I’m still anxiously awaiting the release for Rosie the robot maid, but I may have to hold my breath for awhile.


  • Amazon’s College Days Deals Not Just for Students

    Amazon’s College Days Deals Not Just for Students

    Just in time for our recent Grads to head to their freshman dorms, Amazon is blowing out the prices on the gear they will need to tech out those tiny little living spaces. Amazon’s College Days Deals are on and really something we should all be looking at. Let’s take a look at the 5 best Amazon back to college deals.

    1. The Echo Plus and Free Phillips Hue Bulb- $99

    The Echo Plus is a hands-free smart speaker built to serve as a hub for your smart home setup. It looks just like a metal version of the classic Echo, but it has a built-in ZigBee smart home hub for simple and direct setup of compatible lights, locks, plugs, and in-wall switches. You’ll be able to connect a wide variety of devices, from TVs to light bulbs without additional hubs, and control them all using your voice. And, as an extra benefit, this speaker comes with a Philips Hue A19 white bulb, which sells for $15 on its own.

     

    2. Amazon Fire Cube – $89.99

    If you missed out on the Launch day deal or the second offering on Prime day, then you are in luck. Back to the killer price of $89.99 the Fire TV Cube is the first hands-free streaming media player with Alexa, delivering an all-in-one entertainment experience. From across the room just say, “Alexa, play The Office” and Fire TV Cube turns on your TV and starts playing the The NBC hit, allowing you to control your entertainment with voice commands. Watch as thousands of movies and TV episodes come to life with vibrant colors and detailed contrast in 4K Ultra HD and HDR.

    3. Echo Show – $129.99

    The Echo Show is one of the best Alexa devices. I love that convenient screen, intercom functionality, and the added boost it gives Alexa with a visual element. Let it control your smart devices and look Amazon amazing will doing it. Its $100 off right now and kind of hard to pass up.

    4. Echo Spot – Black + Amazon Cloud Cam Security Camera Bundle – $209.98

    I love a bundle and This bundle contains Echo Spot and Amazon Cloud Cam Security Camera. Just ask Alexa to show Cloud Cam’s live view on your Echo Spot for a quick way to see what’s happening in another room. You can also speak or listen through Echo Spot using Cloud Cam’s two-way audio. Super easy way to let your kids know it’s time for dinner. Cloud Cam is built in the same cloud as Alexa so it’s always getting smarter with more advanced alerts, detection, and features. At this price point, load up for a interactive home monitoring solution.

    5. All-New Fire HD 10 Kids Edition Tablet, 10.1″ 1080p Full HD Display, 32 GB, Blue Kid-Proof Case – $159.99

    Starting off my Christmas shopping early and boy are my nephews going to be ecstatic. While it looks friendly this is not a toy. It rocks a full-featured Fire HD 10 tablet with a brilliant 10.1” 1080p Full HD display (1920 x 1200), 32 GB internal storage, and up to 10 hours of mixed-use battery life. Add a microSD card for up to 256 GB of expandable storage. Amazon FreeTime Unlimited is the first-ever all-in-one subscription that brings together all the types of content that kids ages 3-12 want. It gives them over 15,000 books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games. Fire Kids Edition includes a year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited at no additional cost.

    The Final Amazon’s College Days Deals Thought

    We all have a need, want and desire for an Amazon product. Don’t sleep on these Amazon’s College Days Deals. If you don’t have the extra funds amazon offers Prime members easy one click payment plans. Here is the link if you don’t already have it, Amazon.com, tell em Beau sent you. You can thank me later.

  • 5 “Smart Home” gadgets every house should have…

    5 “Smart Home” gadgets every house should have…

    It’s 2018 folks, and the future is here. Astronauts are driving Tesla’s through space and the Reese’s company is doing some really innovative stuff with popcorn. With all this technology around us, it’s easy to take it all for granted and we sometimes don’t get all the use we can out of it and take advantage of smart home gadgets.

    And the most important place you can use all this cool tech to your advantage is right in your very own home. Here are some amazing new smart home gadgets to make your life easier…

    1. The iRobot Roomba

    Ever since it’s inception in 2002, the Roomba vacuum has been an integral piece of smart home tech. With the ability to program this round robot to vacuum your home 7 days a week it can be a real time saver. With the latest 980 Model, the Roomba is more advanced that ever. With cutting edge mapping technology and dirt detection programs, this “set it and forget it” vacuum is a must have! For dog or pet owners life myself, I can stress it’s value enough. I have a lot on my plate and one thing I don’t to concern myself with is the daily sweeping thank to “Roger the Roomba”. Yes I named my Roomba, he’s family, folks. Word of advice…there are several competitors is the robot vacuum department, do yourself a favor and stick with the iRobot Roomba. You may a little more, but in this case “you get what you pay for”. This was been probably the best $900.00 I’ve ever spent.

    2. The Nest Thermostat

    Coming in at a price tag of $279.00, the Nest Thermostat is well worth the extra cost. Thanks to it’s smart and adaptive AI, the Nest knows when your home and learns your work schedule to monitor the A/C usage. You can also control the thermostat right form your Nest App on your mobile device to fine tune your A/C needs. For a native Floridan like myself, A/C usage and consumption is a real beast you have to tame. In the summer months, electric bills can soar thanks to primitive thermostats. There is nothing like a thermostat shutting down for the day knowing your at work, and then turn on a half hour before you get home so you don’t walk into a hot and muggy house. It’s just bliss. Once I had installed the Nest, I noticed an immediate 50% drop in my A/C consumption and a large drop in my electric bill respectively. This is a must have in your home.

    3. Brilliant Light Switch

    With the ability to control your homes, light, music, ambiance, and even take pictures with voice commands, the Brilliant light switch is a 2018 must have gadget for your home. Brilliant light switch also connects to several of your home’s smart gadgets such as Nest, Alexa, Sonos Speaker, Ring doorbell system, and more. Starting at $200.00 per panel, Brilliant Switch is a costly addition but this innovative new gadget gives your home a brain.

    4. Amazon Echo and Echo Dot

    This smart home “must” is quickly finding it’s way into every home, world wide. Alexa and Echo Dot, is a voice-controlled system that used to play music, make calls, send and receive messages, read the news, set alarms, and even order and Uber or takeout! With the capability of syncing up to Amazon-Fire, Apple Music, Audible, Pandora, and more, you easily find usage and justification for this piece of smart tech in your home. At a price tag of $150.00, the Amazon Echo has many uses to help in your home and is a fantastic smart home gadget. Word to the wise, Alexa has a built in microphone for consumer purposes that is ALWAYS LISTENING…Use responsibly. 

    5. The Ring II doorbell system

    The Ring Video Doorbell, provides you with the capability to see who is at your door from the safety and comfort of  your bed or couch. It lets you accept or deny visitor calls if you’re not home, and uses motion detection to alert you of activity on your doorstep even when the bell hasn’t been rung. By working off your home’s Wifi and mobile data, the 1080HD  camera will alert your smart phone of any activity at your door step day or night. For an extra $3.00 a month, you can pay for cloud storage and have all moments video recorded for later purposes if desired. The newest model also has a 2 way intercom system, and infrared night vision. For that extra bit of security at a relatively inexpensive cost of $199.00, this doorbell is the must have for any smart home.

    The Conclusion

    With so many smart gadgets available, some better than others, these products can make our homes better, safer, and more convenient. 2018 is going to be a big tech year and the “smart home” business is growing evermore advanced daily. If you can pick-up just one of these items this year, you’ll be headed in the right direction. I’m still anxiously awaiting the release for Rosie the robot maid, but I may have to hold my breath for awhile.


  • 5 “Smart Home” gadgets every house should have…

    5 “Smart Home” gadgets every house should have…

    It’s 2018 folks, and the future is here. Astronauts are driving Tesla’s through space and the Reese’s company is doing some really innovative stuff with popcorn. With all this technology around us, it’s easy to take it all for granted and we sometimes don’t get all the use we can out of it and take advantage of smart home gadgets.

    And the most important place you can use all this cool tech to your advantage is right in your very own home. Here are some amazing new smart home gadgets to make your life easier…

    1. The iRobot Roomba

    Ever since it’s inception in 2002, the Roomba vacuum has been an integral piece of smart home tech. With the ability to program this round robot to vacuum your home 7 days a week it can be a real time saver. With the latest 980 Model, the Roomba is more advanced that ever. With cutting edge mapping technology and dirt detection programs, this “set it and forget it” vacuum is a must have! For dog or pet owners life myself, I can stress it’s value enough. I have a lot on my plate and one thing I don’t to concern myself with is the daily sweeping thank to “Roger the Roomba”. Yes I named my Roomba, he’s family, folks. Word of advice…there are several competitors is the robot vacuum department, do yourself a favor and stick with the iRobot Roomba. You may a little more, but in this case “you get what you pay for”. This was been probably the best $900.00 I’ve ever spent.

    2. The Nest Thermostat

    Coming in at a price tag of $279.00, the Nest Thermostat is well worth the extra cost. Thanks to it’s smart and adaptive AI, the Nest knows when your home and learns your work schedule to monitor the A/C usage. You can also control the thermostat right form your Nest App on your mobile device to fine tune your A/C needs. For a native Floridan like myself, A/C usage and consumption is a real beast you have to tame. In the summer months, electric bills can soar thanks to primitive thermostats. There is nothing like a thermostat shutting down for the day knowing your at work, and then turn on a half hour before you get home so you don’t walk into a hot and muggy house. It’s just bliss. Once I had installed the Nest, I noticed an immediate 50% drop in my A/C consumption and a large drop in my electric bill respectively. This is a must have in your home.

    3. Brilliant Light Switch

    With the ability to control your homes, light, music, ambiance, and even take pictures with voice commands, the Brilliant light switch is a 2018 must have gadget for your home. Brilliant light switch also connects to several of your home’s smart gadgets such as Nest, Alexa, Sonos Speaker, Ring doorbell system, and more. Starting at $200.00 per panel, Brilliant Switch is a costly addition but this innovative new gadget gives your home a brain.

    4. Amazon Echo and Echo Dot

    This smart home “must” is quickly finding it’s way into every home, world wide. Alexa and Echo Dot, is a voice-controlled system that used to play music, make calls, send and receive messages, read the news, set alarms, and even order and Uber or takeout! With the capability of syncing up to Amazon-Fire, Apple Music, Audible, Pandora, and more, you easily find usage and justification for this piece of smart tech in your home. At a price tag of $150.00, the Amazon Echo has many uses to help in your home and is a fantastic smart home gadget. Word to the wise, Alexa has a built in microphone for consumer purposes that is ALWAYS LISTENING…Use responsibly. 

    5. The Ring II doorbell system

    The Ring Video Doorbell, provides you with the capability to see who is at your door from the safety and comfort of  your bed or couch. It lets you accept or deny visitor calls if you’re not home, and uses motion detection to alert you of activity on your doorstep even when the bell hasn’t been rung. By working off your home’s Wifi and mobile data, the 1080HD  camera will alert your smart phone of any activity at your door step day or night. For an extra $3.00 a month, you can pay for cloud storage and have all moments video recorded for later purposes if desired. The newest model also has a 2 way intercom system, and infrared night vision. For that extra bit of security at a relatively inexpensive cost of $199.00, this doorbell is the must have for any smart home.

    The Conclusion

    With so many smart gadgets available, some better than others, these products can make our homes better, safer, and more convenient. 2018 is going to be a big tech year and the “smart home” business is growing evermore advanced daily. If you can pick-up just one of these items this year, you’ll be headed in the right direction. I’m still anxiously awaiting the release for Rosie the robot maid, but I may have to hold my breath for awhile.


  • Amazon Prime Day and the 5 Best Deals

    Amazon Prime Day and the 5 Best Deals

    Its that time of year again, no Not Rex Manning day, its Amazon Prime Day. This glorious holiday comes July 16th and will bring with it a slew of Amazons best deals. I like to celebrate Amazon Prime Day hardcore, I make raviolis and throw confetti on my bushes. It the time of year to spoil yourself and get killer deals on all the toys you’ve been looking at all year.

    Prime Day starts at 3 p.m. ET (noon PT) on Monday, July 16. It runs through 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday night, July 17.Technically, you must be an Amazon Prime subscriber to take advantage of Prime Day deals… but some vendors may offer discounts to all shoppers. Lets take a look at the 5 best Amazon Prime Day deals.

    1.Amazon Echo Show- $130

    This is the first of the big deals from Amazon pre-advertised to build up the hype. The Echo Show for $130. That’s a full $100 off the regular price and the biggest discount to date for Amazon’s screen-equipped smart-home companion.

    2.Discounted Amazon Prime Day Amazon Media Service

    Yes, for all Prime member you can subscribe to Amazon Music, Audible and discounts on Amazon Movie Rentals.

    Four months of Amazon Music for $1. Another extended trial for newcomers only, Amazon Music rivals Spotify and similar services by offering unlimited access to some 40 million songs. After your first four months, you’ll get billed at the standard $7.99 monthly rate unless you cancel.

    3 months of Audible for $4.95 per month. The standard subscription rate for Amazon’s audiobook service: $14.95 per month. Right now, Prime subscribers can get the first three months for $4.95 each, a total savings of $30. Interestingly, there’s nothing to indicate this is for new subscribers only, so if you’ve tried Audible in the past, you may be able to get this deal.

    $2 movie rentals. Amazon has a slew of newer movies you can rent, via Prime Video, for $1.99 apiece

    3. Amazon Whole Foods

    You can get a Free’ Amazon Voucher – just spend $10 in Whole Foods between July 11-17th and you’ll get a $10 Amazon voucher. Effectively, that’s your money back!

    4.Amazon Cube- $18 a month for 6 months

    This is some inside info you can only get here at goodfind.guru. The new Amazon Cube will go Amazon Prime Day crazy with the same release day deal. For $90 or $18 a month for 6 months get the latest and greatest in the SmartTV devices. Alexa enabled and totally advanced with every streaming option you could want. For all of us kicking our selves for not jumping on it last month on the release day take advantage now.

    5. Cauldryn Fyre Mobile – $90

    This Vacuum Bottle, Temperature Controlled Mug, Boiling Battery Vacuum Bottle that Brews Coffee or Tea as well as Boils Water and Maintains the Perfect Temperature all Day will be a featured at a 40$ off Amazon Prime Day deal. Need

  • Would You Look at That? Amazon Echo Look Feature Roundup

    Would You Look at That? Amazon Echo Look Feature Roundup

    If you’ve been following Amazon lately, you know that they’re really doubling down on Alexa devices. And why shouldn’t they? Their Echo family of products has been selling like hot cakes, and everyone loves the software! Their newest Alexa product is the Amazon Echo Look. This camera-enabled device is meant to help you coordinate your fashion and pick out good-looking clothes! It’s experimental, new, and definitely quite weird. That said, it seems somewhat promising!

    Echo Look Setup

    The device itself is small, tube-shaped, and can be placed on a flat surface or mounted. It gets best results when placed at shoulder-height. You use the Amazon Look app to set it up though a smartphone. You can then pair it with Alexa and get ready to get a confidence boost!

    Impartial View

    One great use of the Look is taking accurate, impartial pictures of you that you can view through the app. You can also just view yourself in live time, so you can turn in profile or turn around and see yourself through your app. This allows you to eliminate the wonky angles and potentially weird lighting that come with taking selfies. All said, this can make for quite a self-esteem boost!

    Fashion Forward

    The main use for the Look, of course, is fashion. If you show the app two pictures of yourself in different outfits, the app will tell you which one you look better in. It uses a combination of machine learning and fashion expert advice to do this. It tells you which colors look good on you, which ones fit your profile better, and so on. What’s more, you can enable “pairing suggestions.” You can opt to share pictures taken with your Look to Amazon, and they’ll suggest clothes from the site that would pair well with your wardrobe.

    After you’ve had the device for a while and had it take a large number of pictures of you, it makes a “look book” for you. This look book shows you what you wore on specific days, helping you hone your style and understand what looks good on you.

    Bottom Line

    This is a really unique device! There’s really nothing else like it, and it feels like a natural extension of the personal assistant role that Alexa fills. The Amazon Echo Look retails for $200 and is available now.

  • Amazon Looking to Head off Drone Hijackers

    Amazon Looking to Head off Drone Hijackers

    Amazon’s drone delivery service hasn’t taken off just yet, but they’re gearing up for it now with a slew of new patents. One such patents is an early attempt at heading off would-be drone hijackers. As fleets of goods-carrying drones head out from Amazon warehouses, the company is wary of crooks who would try to bring them down and steal their cargo.

    Amazon’s Answer to Drone Hijackers

    In a patent recently filed by the company, they stated the following. “As the use of UAVs continues to increase, so does the likelihood of hostility towards UAVs. Such hostility may come in the form of attacks brought for any number of purposes (e.g., steal the UAVs and their payloads, crash the UAVs, and otherwise cause disruption to the operation of the UAVs).”

    Further, “Using these attacks, nefarious individuals and/or systems may be able to obtain control of the UAVs by hacking the communication signals being sent to the UAVs from a controller and/or being sent by the UAV to the controller.” Amazon says that this “could cause the UAVs to operate unsafely and could also result in considerable financial loss for their operators.”

    What solution do they propose? A “heartbeat” signal. The idea is simple: the drone controller would send a baseline ping, called a heartbeat, to verify that the drone is okay. If the heartbeat isn’t echoed by the drone, it would be placed into emergency mode. In such a mode, the drone would attempt to reestablish connection with control. In the event that it couldn’t do so, it would begin to move towards an established safe-zone. Such a safe zone would allow the drone to be safely brought down and have its cargo retrieved. Clever!

    Amazon’s Drone Future

    Drones seem to be an attractive avenue of expansion for Amazon. After all, you have to pay a delivery driver, insure them and gas their truck up. Not to mention, the delivery truck can’t fly. A drone, however, is automated and electric. For them, it’s a simple choice. However, for delivery drivers, the drones may soon work them out of their jobs. Maybe it’s time to learn to perform drone maintenance or control, huh?

  • Got an Amazon Fire Tablet? It’s an Echo Show Now

    Got an Amazon Fire Tablet? It’s an Echo Show Now

    That’s right, with an upcoming software update, your Amazon Fire Tablet becomes an Echo Show. The update, called “Show Mode,” is Amazon’s newest effort to make Alexa an everyday name. If you already have a case with a stand, you can simply set your tablet up in it, swipe down on the screen to activate Show Mode, and ta-da! You have a makeshift Echo Show. You can now use your voice to check the weather, sports score, compose messages and more.  

    Performance 

    The microphone on a Fire Tablet isn’t quite as strong as the one on a true Echo Show, of course. That said, in a relatively quiet space, the tablet should have no trouble picking you up. If you’ve never used Alexa before, prepare to be impressed. If you have, however, you might notice that she’s a little quieter here in her new housing. The tablet doesn’t have terribly strong speakers, either. If you connect your tablet to a Bluetooth speaker you can remedy that, though.  

    Show Mode Charger 

    Amazon is also prepared for the cries of “this isn’t even that useful.” How so, you ask? Why, with the Show Mode charging stand! The charging stands will be available for the HD 8 and HD 10 tablets and will effectively turn your tablet into a full-blown Echo Show. Setting the tablet upright and charging it at the same time, the charging stand lets you just put the tablet in Show Mode and walk away. There are a few downsides, though. The first is the lack of any extra microphones: you’ll be stuck with the tablet’s existing, sub-par mics. The other is the price tag, running at $40 for the HD 8 and $55 for the HD 10. That’s kind of pricey for a glorified metal stand with a charging cable running along it.  

    Bottom Line 

    If you already have a Fire Tablet, congratulations! It’s now an awkward, scaled-down Alexa device. You’re going to get a kick out of this, and it’s a free update. If you don’t own one already, though, this won’t be pushing you to get one. You might as well just get an Echo Show if an Alexa-enabled display is something you want. If the display isn’t a concern, the Echo Spot is a great device, and it only costs around $40. Still, this is cool news for those who already own one of Amazon’s tablets! 

  • Amazon Fire TV Cube Review

    Amazon Fire TV Cube Review

    The Amazon Fire TV Cube is here! Amazon has promised a unique blend of connecting traditional cable TV with Alexa voice control. While the company has dipped its toes in this water with the Fire TV Stick, the TV Cube is a pretty big leap. What is everyone saying about the newest cable box? Is it worth all the hype? Does it really revolutionize the living room? Or is it just a goofy gadget with niche appeal? Well, we’ve got a review roundup for you right here! Let’s talk TV! 

    What the Fire TV Cube Does 

    The Fire TV Cube is an Alexa-powered entertainment device designed to let you use voice commands to control your TV hands-free. Basic functions, like turning the TV and cable receiver on and changing channels is all handled through voice commands. This is actually quite awesome: walking in from a long day and getting your entertainment with just your voice feels really luxurious. While you’ll still have to use a remote control for more advanced functions, this is a huge step in the right direction!  

    Amazon has been leading the pack in smart home technology since they first launched the Amazon Echo. Their Alexa personal assistant has grown more responsive and intelligent with each update. New technology like the TV Cube are natural extensions of the ongoing smart home revolution. The TV Cube has excellent voice recognition, hearing users over speakers even in loud rooms. The Cube then mutes the sound until the command is completed.  

    The best part, though, is that setting the device up is easy and simple. While some smart home technology has quite a learning curve, this one can be set up in a few minutes. Once you’re hooked up, it’s easy to start channel surfing with just your voice. 

    What’s the Catch? 

    The Fire TV Cube isn’t perfect, though. Some devices are simply beyond the technology and can’t be voice controlled. For instance, game consoles and Roku devices aren’t able to be controlled via voice. In order to use those devices, you’ll need their controllers on hand. This means the TV Cube doesn’t live up to its promise of removing all remotes from your coffee table. 

    Another odd design choice, the remote that comes with the TV Cube has no volume or mute buttons. This is underscored by the remote’s inability to control any other devices. It begs the question of what, exactly, the device has a remote for, given that it’s entirely voice controlled on its own.  

    Is it Worth it? 

    For more complicated set-ups, Amazon’s newest device isn’t a replacement for a standard universal remote. However, for simpler home entertainment set-ups, it’s a great alternative. If you’ve already invested in a smart home suite with Alexa, the TV Cube is a no-brainer.  

    If you’re still on the fence about Alexa, the TV Cube might just be what pushes you to check the technology out. Amazon’s new cable box retails for $120, and it’s a solid purchase. If you’re looking to channel surf with voice controls, this is a great buy. However, if voice commands don’t excite you, skip this one. 

  • Alexa to Come to a Hotel Near You

    Alexa to Come to a Hotel Near You

    Amazon has announced that they will be partnering with several hotels to bring an “Alexa for Hospitality” platform to them. This move marks a big push by Amazon to have their Alexa-based Echo services become more mainstream and recognizable. While many will likely find this convenient, some other may be put-off by the presence of an always-on mic in their rooms. 

    Convenience in Hospitality 

    Using Alexa to control smart-home features is already a luxurious feeling. Staying at a hotel with smart features enabled is a pretty natural step. Hotel-specific features like ordering room service are welcome additions, too! Hotels are looking forward to “deepening engagement” with their guests through the service. Hotels have promised unique skills for the virtual assistant through their service, as well. The service promises features like specialized music services and connecting to users’ existing Amazon accounts, too. By connecting their accounts, they could access their music and e-books through the hotel Echo devices. The account would be disconnected after check-out, of course.  

    Strengthened Alexa Privacy Features 

    Many people were less than shocked to hear that an Echo device sent a private conversation as a message accidentally. After all, when you have an always-on mic, the opportunity for such mix-ups are possible even without malicious intent. As such, some users will likely be unsure of having a microphone in their room listening to their every word. Amazon has promised that Hospitality-enabled Echo devices will delete all recorded audio and won’t allow for hotel staff to listen in.  

    However, they have also promised that Alexa for Hospitality will provide advanced analytics for hotels to show guest engagement. As such, it seems likely that data collected by Alexa will be viewable by hotel staff somehow. Amazon went on to clarify, however, that guests staying in hotels with the service can ask to stay in a room without an Echo.  

    How do you feel about Alexa? Do you think the personal assistant is a handy way to control smart-home features? Or are you hesitant to have an always-listening microphone in the room with you? Either way, it’s hard to deny how convenient the service is, and it’s a natural fit for hospitality.