introduction to the echo

I’ve referred to the Amazon echo as “Siri in a Pingle Can.” It really is one of the best ways to describe not only the Echo’s functions, but also its appearance. This tall cylinder sits on a counter, desk or dresser and provides quick access, via audio announcements, to news, weather, music and information. It does all of this using simple voice commands.

note:

The Amazon Echo is only available, via waitlist and in limited supplies, to Amazon Prime members.

about this guide

Much of the the content for this guide was originally found in my review of the Amazon Echo. As part of that review, I made a commitment to keep the page updated as new features were added to the Echo. Amazon rolls these features out on a regular basis and a I found that keeping the review up to date was a bit unwieldy and instead of providing additional useful information, the review became cluttered and more unorganized.

This page is my attempt to bring sanity to the review feature content by providing an entire list of commands in alphabetical order. It will be much easier to list a command, its function and any required setup in a table than to integrate this information within the confines of a review. This page will become a nice supplement to my review.

echo hardware

Before we explore the numerous commands available on the Echo, let’s first take a look at the hardware.

INSERT HYPE HARDWARE GRAPHIC

commands

Below are Echo features and commands. Features are listed in alphabetical order by section speed searches. For faster searches, use the browser’s search function. On the Mac, use the keyboard combination: ⌘ + F

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audio controls (general use)

Commands to control the audio functions of the echo when playing online music or using the Echo as a bluetooth speaker.

**pause**

“Alexa, pause.”</kbd>

pauses recently any playing audio.

**play**

“Alexa, play.”</kbd>

plays recently paused music or, if starting from the beginning, selects a recommended playlist from Amazon Prime.

**stop**

“Alexa, stop.”</kbd>

stops any music that is currently playing.

**track, next**

“Alexa, next.”</kbd>

plays the next song in the playlist.

**track, previous**

“Alexa, previous.”</kbd>

plays previous song in the playlist. Will not work with some streaming services such as Pandora or live radio (obviously).

**volume, raise**

“Alexa, volume up.”</kbd>

raises volume 10%.

**volume, lower**

“Alexa, volume down.”</kbd>

lowers volume 10%.

**volume, set**

“Alexa, volume 1…10.”</kbd>

sets volume to indicated level.

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calendar, google

Echo will announce items on your Google Calendar.

setup required:

Link the Echo to your Google Calendar using the iOS app>. Select settings | account | calendar services. If the calendar services option does not appear, log out of the app and then login again.

**calendar entry today**

“Alexa, what’s on my calendar?”</kbd>

announces the first 25 events.

**calendar entry tomorrow**

“Alexa, what’s on my calendar tomorrow?”</kbd>

announces calendar events on tomorrow’s calendar.

**calendar, specific day**

“Alexa, what’s on my calendar on [date].”</kbd>

announces calendar events on specific day.

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