Google voice has a bit more utility, in my opinion, and better voice recognition. But I do get a lot of milage out of voice command stuff.

I got one for my mom last Christmas and it's one of her favorite things. She listens to the radio, searches for recipes, listens to the news, and gets answers to basic questions in the same fashion that I would use Google. She's also got a lamp with a smart plug so she can ask Alexa if the lamp is on or off, and change that if desired. (She's not the only one in the house)

Alexa is pretty competent. No huge complaints there. If they use Google services then you would be better off getting a Google home. It has access to more free streaming services and has slightly better voice recognition and voice synthesis.

Are use my Echo Dot all the time, I have two of them, one in my living room, and one in my bedroom. I could hook a set of speakers into the one in the living room. I use my Echo Dot for just about everything I want to go. I also have a fire stick hooked up to my TV that is Alexa enabled are use my fire stick for tasks like listening to audio and watching prime movies so that is helpful my echo at all the pets other accessories help me on a daily basis I think your relative would like it there or even thermostats that work with the echo there are lights there are plugs that you can plug all kinds of things into there are even the new microwave from Amazon a plethora liked overjoyed that was sent items and I believe the echo was the first smart speaker on the market oh and now the echo has Apple Music

[deleted]

It does more than just the radio. It can tell you the news (typically plays the opening bit of The Daily Show, CNN, and NPR news for me), make calls if you have it connected to your phone, plays any music on Amazon Music, and can add stuff to your cart.

I mainly use it for music while I’m cleaning, tell dad jokes (“Alexa tell me a joke”), and trivia as the Alexa marketplace has a fun daily trivia game you can play.

absolutely.

​

Right now, my daughter (the visually impaired person in our house) uses the echo dot to set her alarms, ask about the weather, listen to her jams (I mean it's not the best speaker but she is 11 so not very picky), turn her lights on and off, etc. We've been thinking about getting her a spot or a show next year, because she'll be coming home on her own and I want to be able to check in on her and see her face. I can also see this being useful with an elderly relative.

​

(it doesn't just immediately show the room when you drop in on it, it makes a loud chiming noise so you can decline the call, and fades in from being fuzzy after a few seconds)

I’m VIP and I find it helpful. Weather, news, streams radio, my kindle books, etc.

Yes!!! My mom uses hers every day. I would recommend it but be mindful you have to download the app first (on a smartphone or tablet) to get it all setup. After that it’s a breeze. She even orders stuff herself through amazon.

Yes, my wife and her friend, both totally blind, use Alexa frequently. We do have some Echo Dots, one on the kitchen and one in our bedroom. The bedroom one she uses for alarms, and also to find out the weather to help decide what clothes to wear. The kitchen one she uses for both music whilst cooking, and also multiple named alarms to help her when cooking/baking. We also have an Echo (not dot) in the living room. I would say that the Echo is much better at hearing her, the speaker is massively better, and when using as a phone, (both my wife and her friend talk to each other through it), the Echo has a clear advantage with the microphone. That said, the Dot is good enough to start with - does all the same things.

There’s supposedly a sousvide that’s controlled entirely by Alexa. I’ve never used a sous vide but that might be a big deal.