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5 Best Things to Do with Your Amazon Echo

by Editor
Two different colors of Echo device

Amazon’s Echo range of devices has started a new trend among the consumers. Nowadays everyone wants an AI assistant that can perform various tasks by just their voice command and with the Internet of Things (IoT) technology being updated almost every day, there is a lot that Alexa can do which might give you a Déjà vu (If of course, you have seen Iron Man). So here in this article, we are going to see the 5 best things that will take your experience with your Echo Device to a whole new level.

1. Play Games

Wireless gamepad on a wooden platform
Yes, as if consoles and PC’s weren’t enough, we have an option to play games with Alexa. As Alexa is supposed to be a virtual assistant, so it should know how to play games that we usually play with non-virtual humans. So if on some boring afternoon you are alone at home and need someone to talk to, ask Alexa to play the animal game with you and Alexa will try to guess the name of the animal that you are thinking by asking you some questions related to that animal. There are a lot of other in-built games that Alexa can play with you. Some of them are:
  1. Millionaire Quiz Game
  2. Tick Tack Toe
  3. True or False
  4. 20 Questions 
  5. Rock Paper Scissors
  6. Song Quiz
  7. Blackjack
  8. Bingo
  9. Movie Quotes
  10. Deal or no deal

Also Read: 5 Best Wii And GameCube Emulator For Android And PC

2. Voice Profiles

Man speaking into an alexa app depicting voice recognition
The devices like Echo cost in the range of about 50-150$ so one for your home isn’t a big deal but if you want a personalized virtual assistant experience for all the members in your home then buying each Echo device for them isn’t really sensible. Although Amazon would like you to buy as much Echo devices as possible, still they have a feature of adding voice profiles. This works using the simple voice recognition technology, where you would create your voice profile using the Alexa App and every time you deliver any command to Alexa, it will recognize who you are and provide you with personalized results. To add your own voice profile, either you can say “Alexa, learn my voice” and follow the instructions that Alexa gives you or you can follow the instructions that we are giving you:
  • Open the Alexa App and reach Settings under Menu
  • Go to Accounts
  • Select Your Voice option and tap on Begin
  • You will be given a couple of phrases to speak out aloud into your Echo’s Microphone.
  • For going to the next phrase, tap on Next or select ‘try again’ if you want to speak the same phrase again.
  • Select ‘Complete‘ when you are done and if everything went smoothly Alexa will give you a confirmation message.
  • You can confirm that Alexa has recognized your voice by asking her “Who am I?”

3. Play Some Music

Musical notes in colourful backgrounds
It makes sense that you will use these devices to play some music as, after all, they are smart speakers. You can ask Alexa to play a specific song by calling out song’s name or some distinguishable lyrics. Alexa can play you a song from a specific genre or even set up a song as your alarm tone. Spotify and many other streaming services are also supported by Alexa. You can try some of these commands :
“Alexa, wake me up at 5 to Despacito” (because why not)
“Alexa, play some country music”

4. Make your Home a Smart One

Components of a smarthome
The work of a Smart speaker is that you would never have to look for the remote to change the channels or you would never have to stand up and switch off the lights when you can do all that with your voice command. There are a lot of smart home devices that are compatible with Alexa and those who are not can be connected using third party skills. You can add Routines that let you control many smart devices at the same time using a single command. For example, you can set up a routine in which whenever you say “Alexa, Good Morning” Alexa will start your coffee machine, turn on the geyser and read you the morning headlines.

Also Read: Best Alexa Supported Smart Devices For Amazon Echo

5. Have some fun

A Dozen of easter eggs lying on the ground
Although there are many other things that you can do. But all those things are mostly known like asking for mathematical conversions, calling for cabs, setting up a calendar or asking for help in the kitchen, but what a lot of people don’t know is that Amazon has filled Alexa with Easter Eggs. You can ask Alexa some of these questions and get amazed by its funny and witty answers:
  • Alexa, Winter is coming
  • Alexa, I’ll be back
  • Alexa, is there a Santa?
  • Alexa, what is the first rule of fight club?
  • Alexa, Use the force
  • Alexa, Beam me up
  • Alexa, Tell me the laws of robotics
  • Alexa, I am your father
Amazon has been in this business for long enough to make sure that Alexa can be a good virtual assistant although other companies like Google are entering the market and can even bring out something better than what Amazon is currently offering, but till then enjoy these features and do tell us some others that you find interesting in the comment section, we would love to hear from you.

Also Read: Google Home Vs Amazon Echo: Which one to buy?

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