Mastering Amazon Alexa

Book excerpt: What is Amazon Alexa all about? Well, in essence, this is a small tool developed by Amazon, which can act as a personal assistant through voice interaction and music playback. You can also stream podcasts, make a to-do list, use its home automation function to control smart devices around the house as well as performing other duties. In most cases, you can always activate the device using a wake-word, or push a button to activate the device’s listening mode, and Amazon is always working on making Alexa better. The device is worth considering and can be handy as well, but first, check out what is in it for you. You can get a companion app for this device from Google Play, Apple Apps or Amazon App Store. You can then use control music view shopping lists or install skills on the devices that you have synchronized with your Amazon Alexa. And if you want to set up several compatible devices such as Amazon Dot, Amazon Echo, or such, a web interface comes will be beneficial. Besides, you can recognize text on your app screen, as well as send feedback to Amazon regarding the cognition. Amazon Alexa is capable of carrying out numerous functions around the house and beyond. One of the ways, you can use it is home automation, since it can be set to interact with several devices in the house to carry out several tasks. This feature was launched in 2015 and has been a game changer for many users of this device. Another thing you will love about this smart device is placing orders. If you want take-out food, then Alexa is one of the ways you can use to place the order. This is all thanks to support by Grubhub, Domino’s Pizza, Wingstop, Seamless, and other companies. You can also order meals with Amazon Prime using Alexa in as many as 20 major cities in the US. What’s more, an addition in November 2017 including Alexa Cloud Cam is proving effective in helping Amazon couriers unlock front doors to customer houses when delivering packages so that they can put them safely inside the house. Table of Contents Introduction Setting up Amazon Alexa Echo Alexa App Make Alexa Your Fun Time Google Home or Amazon Echo Alexa Skills How Amazon’s Echo can Help Control Your Home How You Can Control Your Privacy on Google Home and Amazon Echo Things to Do with Your Amazon Echo Amazon’s Echo Second Generation How to Set Up Your Alexa Calling on Amazon Echo Messages and Voice Calls on Your Amazon Echo How to Use Alexa to Control Your Amazon’s Fire TV Alexa Fire TV Setup Amazon Echo Anywhere in Your House IFTTT Alexa New Skills Amazon Alexa and Smartphones Stream Music and Read Books on Amazon Echo Control your Home Appliances using Amazon Echo Use Alexa Skills to AUTOMATE your errands And Much More The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information within this book was correct at time of publication. The author does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from accident, negligence, or any other cause.