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Comment by jbob2000 | Hacker News Reader

jbob2000

Somewhat related, but if I don't subscribe to any of the services listed, this is a pretty useless product for me. I don't listen to internet radio, I don't stream music, I don't order delivery, I don't use uber, there's already 10 million ways to check the weather, and my life isn't busy enough to need a voice-activated calendar.

Is this the future of tech? Like do I need to have some kind of urban-go-getter lifestyle to find use in any of this? When can I get something useful, rather than "thing I already do, but in a new package"?

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What would you find useful? You seem upset that a product was designed for a user that is not you, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a use. Subscribing to music streaming services, ordering delivery, using Uber; these aren't incredibly uncommon things just because you don't use them. It is rare for new and exciting technology to just pop out of nowhere. Almost all new products are reiterations of previous products in new and interesting packages, it's just up to you to decide if it's worth moving to.

Totally fair point! But would you buy an Echo Dot if you only used Uber and didn't use any of the other services? Or if you used 1 or 2 of the services? How many of these services do you need to use before the functionality of Echo becomes apparent?

I want to be a fly-on-the-wall when someone sets one of these up in their home. I can't picture it fitting in with my lifestyle, so I'm curious to see how others would actually use it. Or would it just gather dust and become a conversation piece?

we've had an echo for about a year now and we love it.

by 'we', mean my busy family of four. it acts as everything from shopping lists to homework timers to streaming pandora/spotify to telling jokes -- and more. we easily talk to her (she is basically part of the family) a dozen times a day.

i can totally see how someone who doesn't have all this commotion and such would think it useless. for us tho, it's not useless. it's both fun and functional.

I find it fantastically useful for social gatherings in my small apartment. While cooking we listen to music from the Echo, and have equal control over the music selection (vs "Who has the iPhone? Can you turn it up? Oh, it needs unlocked") and timers for cooking. It could be far more powerful with playlist creation.

After that, it's Uber, schedule, and weather on my way out the door. As I leave I ask it to turn off the lights.

So I use at least 5 of its features (and stream Pandora/NPR on it, so 7?), and find it useful. I don't think I would miss it, but I do find myself wishing for it a bit when I'm at a friend's house that doesn't have one.

Personally, I won one of these in a hackathon, never thought I would use it at all. But I set it up anyways and I found it actually very handy. Give me a news report while im cooking breakfast, timers for things, playing music. I never have used the OK Google / Siri on my phone because if I get my phone out and unlock it I might as well just open the timer app or google the question at that point, but with the echo while im doing something I can just talk and gain information about different things.

Yes you can check the weather a million ways, but those usually require some kind of dedicated screen time, watching tv, loading up a website, checking an app on your phone. Whereas with the echo you just ask it while you are doing something else and it gives you the report.

Sometimes cool new technology just isn't for you.

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