Have you ever heard talk about the Amazon Echo, but you didn’t quite understand what it does? Maybe you heard that the Echo can spy on you. But you didn’t know what types of services it provides. What’s the point of investing in one of these little devices anyways?  If you’ve ever found yourself asking these types of questions, keep reading! There are dozens of things that you should know about the Amazon Echo.

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You Can Use it to Make Phone Calls

Once your Amazon Echo has been connected to your phone, you can use voice control to make phone calls with the Echo. To do so, you’ll simply ask it to call a contact in your phone. And then you can use the device to hold your entire conversation. This is a great feature for anyone who prefers to be hands-free while they’re talking to their friends.

 It Can Provide You with Cooking Tips and Recipes

If you’re someone who likes to cook, you know how quickly your hands become messy while you’re in the kitchen. This can make it difficult to scroll through your phone to look for the recipe, or answer your cooking questions. But with the Amazon Echo, you can tackle all of those tasks hands-free. So, once you’ve dirtied your hands, you can simply ask your device for the next step in the recipe, or for general cooking tips.

You Can Use it to Entertain Kids

If you ever find yourself in a position where you need to be able to entertain children, and you can’t do it on your own, don’t fret! The Amazon Echo can be used to play children’s books, podcasts, or music in order to keep them entertained. You could also use your device to provide guidelines for a children’s project if you wanted.

 It Can Be Connected to Other Smart Devices

Did you know that the Amazon Echo can be connected to other smart devices? You can create a network of Echoes throughout your home in order to make one comprehensive system. You can also connect them to smart lighting, alarm systems, coffee pots, and more. So, if you want to be able to control any of these devices with the power of your voice, it could be a great tool.

The Amazon Echo is also commonly used to help with adaptive activities. For example, if someone in your home struggles to turn on light switches, you can rely on the Amazon Echo to turn on the lights through voice-control. This makes it a great tool for any households that need a little bit of versatility.

Finally, the Amazon Echo can even be used like a remote control for your TV. Want to put on Netflix? Turn your smart TV on? Or change the channel? If so, you can use your Amazon Echo to do just that.

You Can Use it to Get Your News Fix

Back in the day, those who were interested in getting the latest news updates would wait for the paper to be thrown onto their driveway in the morning. Then they’d walk outside to fetch it, bring it inside, and drinking it while sipping their morning coffee. While it’s still possible to get news this way, many people rely on the Amazon Echo for the same purpose. You can sit and listen to the news while you sip your coffee, giving you an easy way to stay up-to-date with the latest happenings in the world.

You May Get Healthier with the Amazon Echo

Do you ever struggle to stay on top of your health and fitness goals? Do you forget to track your calories, or to maintain a fitness routine? If so, the Amazon Echo could help. This device can be set up to provide users with nutritional advice in order to keep you motivated and on your game when it comes time to make a meal.

You might also use the Amazon Echo to orchestrate at-home workouts. For example, you could request that the Amazon Echo plays a 15 minute HIIT routine to get you sweating. You could also use it to play a variety of additional workouts in order to keep you feeling strong and fit.

Finally, if you’re someone who regularly relies on an athletic watch like a SUUNTO or a Fitbit, you can use the Amazon Echo to keep track of your stats. So, if you want to know how many calories you burned for the day, or what your average heart rate is, you can simply ask the Echo to give you the juicy details.

Set the Mood or Play Music

If you’re someone who hates the sound of silence, the Amazon Echo might be a good tool for you. You can ask this device to play music from Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, or a variety of additional provides. You might ask it to set the mood with “smooth Jazz,” or to create a medley. And you can easily adjust the volume of your Amazon Echo by simply asking it to increase or decrease it. The Amazon Echo can also be used for other types of entertainment like books and podcasts, so it’s possible to give yourself a little bit of white noise or functional noise at any given time.

Use Alexa for Troubleshooting

Did you know that the Amazon Echo comes with a variety of built-in support services that can be accessed at any time? If you often find yourself struggling to perform a certain task on your computer or your phone, using the Amazon Echo for troubleshooting could be a great strategy for you. You could simply as it to “trouble shoot” a specific technical issues. And, if it happens that the Amazon Echo can’t help you to solve the problem, you can also use it to connect you to a customer service or technical specialist.

As technology becomes more sophisticated, it’s becoming easier to use tools like the Amazon Echo to help you to simplify your daily tasks. These are just a few uses for the Amazon Echo. There are dozens of additional things that you can do to get the most out of your product.

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Resources -- Forbes, CNET