Make the most of Amazon’s powerful voice assistant with our guide to setting up, controlling and customising your Alexa devices. David Ludlow talks you through all the essentials.
From nothing to being in thousands of homes just a few years later, Amazon Alexa has kickstarted a new range of devices that you can control with just the power of your voice. While it’s easy enough to get started with an Echo smart speaker, fine-tuning it to work the way you want – from delivering the information you need and playing the music from the service you want to making your smart homework better – isn’t quite as easy.
In this guide, we’ll take you through everything you need to know about Amazon Alexa, and show you how to improve and tweak it. We’ll also address the privacy concerns that many people have.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ALEXA
Once you’ve got your Echo hooked up to your Amazon account, you can do a lot straight away. Here’s everything you need to know about Alexa
There are plenty of Amazon Alexadevices out there, but the core services are all run in the cloud. As such, the hardware defines the sound quality (or picture quality, in some cases), but the main features are the same across all devices, with a few exceptions for third-party smart speakers (see box, opposite). For that reason, our group test of Echo devices on page 88will help you buy the right hardware, but here, we’ll show you what Alexa is capable of.
A good starting point is with the features that are built into Alexa. These are the commands and options you can start with.
ANSWER ME
At its most basic, Alexa is there to answer any questions you might have.Want to know how to spell a word? Ask Alexa.Want to know the answer to a maths problem? Ask Alexa. Likewise, you can find out which day Christmas or your birthday will fall on. You can ask about IMDB ratings for TV shows and find out who plays certain characters.
Bu hikaye Computer Shopper dergisinin August 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Computer Shopper dergisinin August 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
XIAOMI Mi Mix 3 5G
VERDICT This is the most affordable of the first 5G smartphones, but even with great hardware, the service isn’t yet worth the expense
RHA T20 Wireless
VERDICT They’re not cheap, but these well-designed earphones deliver superb sound quality
Protect And Preserve
Data might be A Valuable Commodity, But It’s Remarkably Easy To Lose Or For Others To Get Their Hands On. Mike Bedford Provides Guidance On How To Preserve, Recover And Destroy Data, And Looks At The Technologies Involved
NZXT H510i
VERDICT Some qualities shine through, but this is an underwhelming case from a maker we know can do better
Kicking Off A New Era Of Football?
With the new football season well and truly under way, David Crookes talks to Jon Hare about reviving the spirit of Sensible Soccer with a new, more sociable offering that he hopes will avoid an own goal
NAIM Mu-so 2
VERDICT A luxurious and fine-sounding slab of metal, but for most homes it won’t be worth the expense
Motorola One Vision
VERDICT The One Vision comes close to being a brilliant mishmash of tech – shame about the camera
JBL Xtreme 2
VERDICT With top-quality sound and a versatile design, this is a great – if expensive – rugged Bluetooth speaker
HUAWEI MateBook 13
VERDICT What the MateBook 13 lacks in flourish, it makes up for in value and performance
GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Master
VERDICT A loaded and forward-thinking motherboard, but not one that fully justifies its high price
