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But thats the problem with the homepod: Apple forced its use case into such a narrow box I’d rather buy any other decent sounding alternative.
Want to use it with bluetooth, sorry. Want to plug in an external sound source that isnt apple music? Not really. Want to temporarily move it to the patio on a pleasant night while youre enjoying cocktails? Sorry, big pain in the ass to set it up again after unplugging it.
Just stick with Sonos and you'll be FINE!
 
I am extremely impressed by how Amazon is able to churn out these products at what seems like a faster rate than Apple, Google, and the others. Apple's offerings now seem extremely boring and repetitive, with nothing new in the pipeline. From a consumer standpoint, it really makes you question "why would I pay more to Apple?". Amazon is casting a broad net here.

But how about reliability and longevity? Six years later and an Apple device continues to work as designed. Will these Amazon devices work, or are they expected to be replaced by newer versions, feeding that "disposable" culture?
 
I ordered the Earbuds and the Microwave.

I am interested in the Echo Studio, but didn't order yet. I know someone who saw it today and said he felt it sounded like the room had a few speakers in the room not just one. I may get one as I listen to music on my Amazon devices now.
 
They boast of the Stick Up Cam being cheaper. that’s a load of 💩.

The elite version is today’s version with a PoE adapter thrown in. Boosts the price.

i bought a 4 port PoE switch to power my stick up cams for the same price as their single use adapter.
I’d rather have the existing camera without the inflated price and the useless PoE adapter.
 
Why ? Its a noddy feature that adds no functionality, yet adds to the cost.
Oddly enough I'm someone who would find this useful. I have an echo dot in both of my kids rooms. I have the rooms set up so that I can turn the lights on/off with my voice, and play music for my youngest that she falls asleep to. Yesterday when I was rocking her to sleep my phone was in another room and I had no way to check the time other than to ask Alexa. Being able to see the time on the Echo Dot rather than ask Alexa would have been nice, but i'm also not going to go replace my devices either just to get that feature.

As far as security goes, my girls are young enough that the only thing they do in their rooms is sleep and read. Maybe when they get older and spend more time in their rooms I'd consider pulling them out. But for now I don't see an issue with it.

I understand why that would be good for you. Not having a clock I can see is far more important because I find them stressful, but of course I don’t have to worry about waking a child.
 
Honestly, if you are that worried about being tracked then probably best to keep off the internet as a whole. Including public forums.
 

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330,000,000 people in America, I am not a criminal and I don't cheat on my wife—-what is the real likelihood someone really cares where I am located while driving. I have been in digital marketing and believe me, everyone considers us a potential customer and nothing more.

China currently has "social scores" for their populace, which is based on places they frequent, websites they go to, things they post, etc. The very stuff you do not mind them tracking and storing data about you. You may not think we could end up with as controlling of a government as that, but it's more possible than you think.
 
330,000,000 people in America, I am not a criminal and I don't cheat on my wife—-what is the real likelihood someone really cares where I am located while driving. I have been in digital marketing and believe me, everyone considers us a potential customer and nothing more.
Well, of the two of us.... only one would be relieved & ok with tracking (physical location and otherwise), as long as it’s “only” used for highly targeted advertising and not to catch one cheating/engaging in criminal activity.
I personally am NOT of the mind that any company is welcome to invade privacy at absolutely any level they desire, for their own profit- because “hey, why not.... after all, I’m not doing anything wrong”.

It seems to me like backwards thinking- after all, prisoners have their locations monitored 24/7. That is for the protection of law abiding citizens & part of their punishment... I would think that me “not doing anything wrong” would more make me feel like I should not be subjected to the same.... as opposed to twisting that into me making an excuse for those that would seek to analyze my every move, in an effort to more effectively separate me from my money.
 
That’s the real innovation. In comparison to this Apple is like a slow dinosaur with its pathetic HomePod.
 
But thats the problem with the homepod: Apple forced its use case into such a narrow box I’d rather buy any other decent sounding alternative.
Want to use it with bluetooth, sorry. Want to plug in an external sound source that isnt apple music? Not really. Want to temporarily move it to the patio on a pleasant night while youre enjoying cocktails? Sorry, big pain in the ass to set it up again after unplugging it.
I am not sure where the difficulty is with bringing your home pod out to the patio. You don’t have to configure a HomePod after it loses power. If you are after smart functions, it works just fine if it knows your WiFi information. If not on WiFi , so long as you are using an iOS device or Mac, it works brilliantly as a remote speaker, even without an internet connection.

Like the echo and google home products, it loses the “smart” capability without internet, however you can output whatever audio you like to it from a supported device after some trivial setup options are enabled when you first buy or setup your HomePod.
 
So what's your point? You're willing to have your data actually sold by certain companies (phone company was just one of many) but you draw the line at having a company using your data (not selling it, but using it) to generate ads... uh, okay. To each his own.

The point is I have to have a phone number, therefore, phone companies have my data. I cannot prevent them from using or selling my data. If a phone company doesn't sell my data, I'll switch to it. If all phone companies sell my data, then I have no choice.

I can live without Alexa products. Why do I give my voice data to Amazon?

Why privacy matters

When I have choice, I choose not to give out my data.
 
Will the Echo work without wifi like the Homepod? the new speaker option is tempting as opposed to my buying a 2nd Homepod to use for work travel. One thing nice about the HomePod is that it doesn't require an active wifi connection in order for you to stream music to it from an iOS or Mac device.

reallly You are pointing out a feature every smart speaker has and had except homepod?
homepod for travel, haha with the huge cable and a tesla powerwall in your backpack?
is this post even real?
 
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I think I trust Apple more than I do Amazon that's for sure.

Ok.... even though Apple doesn’t tell you what it’s doing, like deliberately slowing your phone down, or sending all your recordings to third party contractors, until someone catches them or whistle blows on them and goes to the media with hard evidence about it....

Interesting.. I trust a company who tells me what they are doing from day 1, like Amazon or Google.
 
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Sure, you can make a use case for each one. But how many more years before every household object has an “Alexa inside” version?
Not in my home it won't. All of Amazon is already blocked at my firewall just like Google, Facebook etc.

Back in the day, spies used to have trouble getting listening devices into targets homes. not any more. Just deliver some amazon kit and sit back and enjoy the data.
Using the Amazon and Google devices come at a cost. That cost is your private life being slurped and used by Conglomerates to sell to the highest bidder.
If you REALLY MUST have these things don't you think that the likes of Google and Amazon should at least pay you to have them in your home? Otherwise, they can all take a hike as far as I'm concerned.
 
I love my echo, alexa controls our lights, thermostat and has a number of routines that just work. It's also 10x better than siri for getting accurate information first time. At this point our biggest gripe is if my better half changes profile we can't share device groups between accounts,
i.e.
"Alexa turn on kitchen lights"
"I can't find a device called kitchen lights"
"urgh, Alexa change profile" ..... wait a few seconds "Alexa turn on kitchen lights"
"OK"

It's ring integration with the firestick on our TV is great, "Alexa show baby monitor" displays the baby camera on the show device or TV, having a smart home is pretty damn nice.
 
Echo Buds, at $130, with active noise "reduction". I suppose, as against noise cancellation, that will actively reduce the ambient noises, which is pretty good, considering Bose's own ear buds don't have that, and they are a fair bit more expensive. It remains to be seen how good the reduction is considering the limitations of the form factor.

Personally, I find only the Apple earpods/airpods a comfortable and a good fit. And I prefer hearing the outside sounds when I am listening to an audiobook. But there are situations when I wouldn't mind drowning out ambient sounds.

And... what the heck is echo loop. Seems like a waste of a product. So do those glasses, really. Just because they can....
 
I never said it’s a bad TV speaker. In fact, it’s the best TV speaker with the best sound quality. What I’m complaining about is its buggy software that makes my Apple TV go berserk.

How do you use it as a TV speaker? I really do want to know... buggy software notwithstanding. TV shows playing on Apple TV paired with HomePod, so sound plays through HomePod? Does the homepod play sound of TV which has sources other than Apple TV? (for e.g. a memory stick plugged in to the TV.)
 
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