20 Things You Can Do with Amazon Echo, the Cool Digital Assistant and Music Player

The Amazon Echo is an amazing personal assistant and music player. Simply plug the slim black cylinder into a wall socket, and it runs on your wireless Internet.

The things it can do are mind-boggling! I’ve had one for about five months and love it.

Think of the Echo as a super-Siri (the built-in personal assistant for i-Phone users) that you can place in the center of your home and access from anywhere without pressing buttons and draining the battery.

All you do is say “Alexa” to turn it on (“Alexa” is the default  wake word). And say “Alexa, stop,” to turn it off. It’s totally voice-activated.

Here are 20 things you can do with Amazon Echo:

1. Get the weather forecast for your area or any area
2. Create lists (shopping, to do, etc.) and add items to them — then access the lists on the Echo smartphone app and check items off when they’re completed
3. Get sports scores
4. Get traffic information
5. Get the latest news
6. Play music from Amazon Music, Prime Music, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and more
7. Play a specific song
8. Play music by a specific artist
9. Listen to audio books
10. Get virtually any type of information — anything that’s in Wikipedia
11. Set an alarm for a specific time
12. Check your Google calendar
13. Add items to or remove items from your Google calendar
14. Set a timer
15. Adjust volume
16. Ask a math question (“What is 7 multiplied by 278?”)
17. Hear a joke
18. Control lights and other household devices via related apps
19. Play bingo and other games (activate them on the smartphone app)
20. Learn the meaning of a new word every day (also on the smartphone app)

And new features are being added all the time!

If you’re looking for a treat for yourself or your family — or a gift for someone from 9 to 99 — check out the Echo.

*This post contains affiliate links to Amazon.com, which means that if you click on a product link and buy a product, I may receive some compensation — at no extra cost to you. Thoughts, Tips and Tales is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. *