echo Auto Review – zapeljite se z Amazonovo Alexa

Price
Teža 49,99 USD
Velikost 1,6 oz
3,3 x 1,9 x 0,5 in

Naš Amazon echo auto pregled prikazuje, kako je Alexa stopila iz doma v vaš avto.

Ali deluje? In kaj morate vedeti, preden ga kupite?

Odličen poskus prve generacije Amazon

Če bi o tem rekli samo eno stvar, bi bilo to ...

Če ste uporabnik Alexa s starejšim avtomobilom, zakaj pa ne ? Za dostopno ceno lahko imate vse prednosti Alexa v svojem avtomobilu.

Možno je, da je na poti nova druga generacija modela, pri čemer Amazon zniža trenutni model do 80 % za člane Prime.

Amazon Alexa auto…za vaš avto?

Tako preprosto, a tako briljantno. Obstaja dobesedno na stotine tisoč avtomobilov, ki imajo morda 3,5-milimetrski priključek ali celo star vgrajen Bluetooth (ne z zunanjim ključkom Bluetooth, ki ste ga dodali pozneje), a tu se zabava konča.

Veliko ljudi s sodobnimi avtomobili in odlično integracijo Bluetooth (vendar brez Carplay, Alexa ali Android Auto) se nekoliko spopada s potrebo po echo auto.

Že pravite:"Ja, vendar obstaja veliko načinov za dodajanje Bluetooth in glasbe staremu avtu", in imeli bi prav – vendar vam vse te rešitve ne nudijo tako širokega nabora priložnosti, kot je echo auto naredi. Morda ne naredi veliko več, toda Alexa v enoti je pomembna.

Zanimiva stvar pri echo auto je, da je jasno, da je Amazon moral upoštevati in vgraditi veliko dodatkov glede varnosti avtomobila. Alexa bo precej pogosto rekla, "ko je to varno", in imajo vgrajeno funkcijo, kot jo imajo druge aplikacije, kjer se morate dotakniti "Jaz sem potnik", če se avto premika, saj vas Amazon ne želi igranje s telefonom med vožnjo.

To je dobra stvar. Zadnja stvar, ki jo potrebujemo, je več ljudi, ki vozijo moteno. Ubija ljudi, zato tega ne počnite.

Galerija

To so slike za razpakiranje in nekaj slik od blizu. Videti je malo zaprašeno, a to mora biti moj pulover. Več v avtu spodaj.

odmev videa s samodejnim razpakiranjem

Naš videoposnetek o razpakiranju prikazuje, kako preprosta je ta naprava, kako majhna je in kako enostavno jo je namestiti. Sledi video s samodejnim pregledom celotnega odmeva.

Tehnične specifikacije Alexa echo auto

Funkcije
Teža	1,6 oz ali 45 gramov. Kar je približno teža žogice za golf ali enaka teži 2 x AA baterij.
Procesor	Mediatek MT7697, Intel Dual DSP z mehanizmom za sklepanje
Velikost	3,3” x 1,9” x 0,5” ali 85 mm x 47 mm x 13,28 mm za tiste, ki razmišljajo metrično. To je približno 2/3 velikosti iPhona 5. Precej majhno in se lepo prilega priloženemu držalu na zračnikih.
Avdio	Niz osmih mikrofonov. Podpira pomožni zvočni izhod.
Bluetooth	Podpora HFP za telefonske klice. A2DP za pretakanje zvoka. AVRCP za glasovno upravljanje. Oglejte si več o Bluetoothu v nadaljevanju objave, ne morete ga zgrešiti.
Podpora za OS telefon	Android 6.0 / iOS 12 ali novejši
Garancija	1-letna omejena garancija

Samodejna nastavitev odmeva

Prva ura nastavitve echo auto in njegove povezave s telefonom in avtomobilom je bila nočna mora. Mislim, da sem zamočil in zgodaj zvijačil pri nastavitvi, zato sem nekajkrat ponastavil in ponovno naredil, preden je zares delovalo. Zanimivo, mislim, da je bil moj telefon težaven, ne samodejni odmev, ampak kdo ve. Resnično sem mislil, da grem na oceno z 2 zvezdicama.

Po tem prvem kolcanju je bilo trdno in lahkotno. Popolnoma na ključ. (Razumete? Obrnite ključ .... boom boom).

Kaj potrebujem v svojem avtomobilu, da bo echo auto deloval?

Potrebujete 2 od teh 3 stvari.

1:Cigaretni vžigalnik/12v avtomobilska napajalna reža za napajanje echo auto

IN

2:3,5 mm jack vtičnica (AUX vhod) za priključitev enote v avtoradio/zvočnike.

ALI

3:Povezava Bluetooth je na voljo v avtu. Več o tem spodaj, vendar je avtomobilski adapter Bluetooth popoln spremljevalec.

Če nimate 3,5-milimetrskega vtiča ali kakšne različice Bluetootha ... bojim se, da ste malo napolnjeni. Raje vzemite Boom in ga zataknite v armaturno ploščo.

Morda boste tudi želeli preveriti seznam na dnu objave za avtomobile in telefone, ki niso združljivi.

Ali bom potreboval svoj telefon, da bo echo auto deloval?

Da, na svojem mobilnem telefonu boste morali imeti aplikacijo Alexa, saj to uporablja echo auto za podatkovno povezljivost in je "pametno".

Če se povezujete z avtomobilom Bluetooth in ne uporabljate vhoda Aux, boste za povezavo z avtomobilom Bluetooth uporabili tudi telefon in ne samo Alexa auto. Ponavljam, vaš telefon se poveže z vašim avtomobilom prek Bluetootha, ne Alexa.

To bo uporabilo vaš podatkovni paket in zahtevalo, da je aplikacija aktivna.

Za tiste, ki pravite, ampak če potrebujem svoj telefon, kaj je potem smisel? Ne pobereš tega, kar sem dal sem.

Kakšen smisel ima Alexa auto, če že imam telefon v avtu in deluje brezhibno?

Dobro vprašanje, morda mislite, da je vaš Android ali iPhone v redu kot vaš avtomobilski pomočnik. Torej, tukaj so moje misli in občutki glede tega vprašanja.

1:Mobilni telefoni, zlasti iPhoni, imajo precej povprečne mikrofone za daljno polje. Če v avtu rečem 'Hej Siri', ko imam telefon nameščen neposredno pred menoj, Siri zbudi, da me dejansko posluša, vendar je včasih zadetek. Samodejni odmev ima na sebi 8 mikrofonov za daljno polje, tako da je zelo boljši pri sprejemanju glasovnih ukazov.

2:Moj avto je starejši. To je 10 let star BMW, ki mi je bolj všeč kot moj tretji Latte ob 11. uri, vendar je star in ne tako pameten. Ima HFP Bluetooth in imam nastavljen zvok in mikrofon tretje osebe Bluetooth, ki delujeta precej dobro, vendar ni prijetna izkušnja, ko uporabljam Siri ali Hey, Google prek njega, in moti moje telefonske klice v avtomobilu v primerjavi s poslušanjem na poddaje in glasbo.

3:Moj iPhone ni dovolj pameten, da bi se povezal z vsemi domačimi napravami. Google Home, Amazon Alexa in Apple Homekit so vsi povezani, vendar Apple Home ni integriran z dovolj napravami, da bi ga želel uporabljati. Tako lahko nadzorujem svoj pametni dom od koder koli. To vključuje nastavitev alarma, če ga potrebujem, nadzor grelnikov, garažnih vrat, luči, stikal itd.

4:Samo telefon vam ne omogoča predvajanja glasbe prek avtomobila in uporabe pametnega pomočnika prek telefona. Telefoni morajo biti all-in na enem od teh. Telefon je povezan z avtoradio/zvočniki ali pa ni. Ne morete se pogovarjati in poslušati Siri prek svojega telefona, vendar imate pretakati glasbo iz telefona prek avtoradio zvočnikov.

Tako imate svojega pametnega pomočnika in glasbo, ki predvaja in uporablja avtoradio.

5:Telefoni nimajo izvorno vgrajene Alexe – saj ne morete kar reči »Alexa, bla bla bla«. To lahko storite s Pomočnikom Google in Apple Siri, vendar ne z Alexo.

6:Da povem bistvo (razumete besedno zvezo?), vsi starejši avtomobili nimajo vsega, kar potrebujejo za povezavo, ne da bi bili priključeni na avdio sistem avtomobila.

Ampak je večji, kot bi si želel …in malo grd?

Ne skrbi. To je cenovno ugodna enota, ki naredi vaš avto pametnejši. Primerjajte ga s spodnjimi enotami in začelo bo izgledati kot prava vrednost.

In osebno se mi zdi super!

Ali takšne stvari že ne obstajajo?

Da, v mnogih oblikah. Nekateri imajo celo že vgrajeno Alexo, med njimi so:

• Garmin Speak with Alexa
• Rova Viva z Alexa – to je najpogostejša blagovna znamka.

Nekatere podobne najbolje prodajane enote vključujejo naslednje, le da niso zelo pametne. Imajo Bluetooth in aux, ne pa pametnega pomočnika, kar je bistvo tukaj:

• SoundBot SB360 Bluetooth 4.0 komplet za avto - prostoročno
• Kinivo BTC450 Bluetooth avtomobilski komplet
• Nulaxy Bluetooth avtomobilski FM oddajnik avdio adapter sprejemnik brezžični komplet za prostoročno telefoniranje

…in ko smo že tukaj, je nekaj ljudi, ki v svojih avtomobilih uporabljajo običajno odmevno piko – uporablja polnilec USB in priključek 3,5 mm, torej … zakaj pa ne?

Kakorkoli že – berite naprej, saj je s temi odlična kombinacija.

Toda kot pravim, te naprave Bluetooth, ki niso Alexa, so neumne če ne morete doseči, da bi google pomočnik, Siri ali Alexa dobro delovali iz vašega telefona. Kar mi še ni uspelo, zato je to super.

Za zaključek tega razdelka, morda ne vidite smisla samodejnega odmeva, ker ima vaš avto novejši Bluetooth, ki se poveže v sistem, tako da lahko vaš telefon posluša prek avtomobilskih mikrofonov (ali telefonskega mikrofona), neposredno pretaka glasbo prek avtoradio sistema in se na splošno povezati in biti super brez potrebe po napravi drugega proizvajalca? Brez presoje, samo poudarjanje, da lahko pomeni, da ne potrebujete samodejnega odmeva, razen če nimate Apple CarPlay ali Android Auto.

Ali lahko skupaj uporabljam adapter Bluetooth drugega proizvajalca IN Alexa?

Da! Tako ga trenutno uporabljam v svojem avtu. Na svoj 3,5 mm aux vhod imam priključen adapter Bluetooth. Torej:

1. Alexa se poveže z mojim telefonom
2. Moj telefon se poveže z mojim avtomobilom prek adapterja Bluetooth
3. Deluje neverjetno dobro!

Pri tej nastavitvi ni zamikov ali zamud. Pravzaprav manj, kot sem imel s telefonom samo za Bluetooth. To je nekaj razlogov, zakaj sem se odločil za samodejni pregled echo. Sem velik oboževalec.

Usedem se v avto in ga prižgem. Alexa se vklopi in poveže z mojim iPhoneom. Moj adapter Bluetooth se vklopi in moj telefon se nato poveže z njim. V 10 sekundah po vklopu avtomobila sem pripravljen na pot.

Če imate starejši avto z 12 V in 2,5 mm avdio vtičem, lahko uporabite nekaj podobnega tej enoti, ki sem jo uporabil najprej. Bluetooth avtomobilski komplet Kinivo BTC450

ali

Za starejše BMW in Mini, kot je model e90, lahko dobite posebno enoto Bluetooth negovalnega kompleta, ki je zasnovana za nastavitev naslona za roke in popravke na zaslonu vašega računalnika iDrive. To je Bovee Bluetooth Car Kit WMA3000B.

Zakaj za vraga potrebujem Amazon Alexa v mojem avtu? What would it do for me?

Here are some examples which in my humble opinion provide plenty of reasons…

Alexa , how is my commute this morning

Alexa , open my garage door (or close my garage door) as I arrive or leave home via my Tailwind Smart Garage Door (and any smart garage door you might have).

Alexa , turn on the lounge heater (via my Abode Security System and Aetoec Smart Switch 6)

Alexa , reminder me to put the bins out tonight at 8 pm

Alexa , call Dad

Alexa , what movies are playing near me

Alexa , what is the weather forecast this weekend?

Alexa , play my audiobook

Alexa , play my favourite podcast

Alexa , play Mumford and Sons playlist.

I know…I’m being a little obvious here but the point is, when you are sitting in your car in traffic or driving somewhere it’s the perfect time to use Alexa .

Some of them are extra smart, like opening my garage door, and some not so smart like playing a playlist in the car.

NB:You don’t need an abode security system as your hub for the smart bits. You could have any smart home automation system that also works with Alexa.

Is it slow to startup?

No. Something that has really impressed me with is how fast the Amazon engineers have managed to get Alexa to power up. Within seconds she is booted up and ready to listen. There is a small audio ‘ding’ which confirms Alexa is powered up.

The default vocal accent of Alexa isn’t my favourite so I’ll look at how to change that next.

How good is echo auto at listening?

Really good. Admittedly I have a fairly quiet car but the 8 microphones are awesome. I’ve opened the window a bit and still, she manages it. I’ve had chatty kids in the backseat and she gets me.

What are some of the best things about have Amazon Alexa in the car?

She is way more useful than I expected. Yes, she can do everything with my smart home hub but there are little things I didn’t expect to work so well.

1:Navigation works great – she looks up the address, sends it to my phone and I click the notification to open the Apple apps map and off I go. See more on maps next.

2:TuneIn radio opens up unending radio station opportunities. My FM stereo tuner has become unnecessary for me. I now have access to radio stations all over the world.

3:Music quality it better streamed from Spotify and TuneIn radio compared with listening to normal FM radio in the car.

4:Messaging works better. Saying ‘Alexa, message XXXXXX and say I’m on my way home’ or a fun thing is announcements. ‘Alexa, announce I’m on my way home’ – this then passes that on to all my Alexa units at home – might be weird for some people but not at our house’.

5:It impresses people. Driving my father home from the airport this weekend we were discussing the weather. I casually asked Alexa for the weather, which she provided, and this was an impressive touch to the commute. It’s the little things sometimes.

6:I don’t do much with the car buttons anymore. I get in, turn on the engine and from then on I have nothing I need to control manually except diving the car itself of course.

Here is what I can now do hands-free with Alexa in the car:

1. Control the volume of the music – ‘Alexa , turn the music up, down’.
2. Choose what music to listen to – FM, Spotify – what tracks to play etc
3. Get directions
4. Message people (she listens better than Siri does)

Will echo auto work with maps? Like, google maps?

ja! echo auto can work with google maps, waze and apple maps so if you’re thinking, like I did, ‘Can I ask Alexa echo auto to open my maps and get directions…and it will open my favourite map app and get me there’, will it? The answer is YES….in capital letters. Boom.

You can indeed start directions using Alexa echo in the car.

This IMO is also one of those key things to make it really worth using in the car. I don’t want to have to play with my phone if I have echo auto-installed.

But, with maps there are limitations

If you own an android you are able to select your default maps application, whether it be Waze or Google for example. With an iPhone, it defaults to Apple Maps.

This is how it works:

• Alexa, get directions to Hot Dim Sum restaurant.
• Alexa looks up directions and says something like this (can’t remember exactly) “Sure, just tap the notification on your phone when it is safe to do so.”

What kind of Bluetooth do you need to make the Alexa echo auto work without connecting via a jack plug?

A lot of older cars (~10 years) have HFP Bluetooth (or OPP / PBAP) which means you can make and manage calls from the car but you can’t stream music or control music from the stereo or steering wheel controls.

If you have a newer car then you will most likely have A2DP and AVRDP which gives you full control.

For clarification – here are the Bluetooth protocols in more detail:

Named	Bluetooth Abbreviation	What it does
Advanced Audio Distribution Protocol	A2DP	Capable of streaming Audio
Audio/Video Remote Control Protocol	AVRCP	Allows you to control music playback directly from the stereo (or steering wheel if you have controls)
Hands-free Profile	HFP	Hands-free calling through the stereo but not much more. Mute, call, end call.
Object Push Profile	OPP	Allows you to upload your contact info to the stereo. Always a laugh in rental cars after people have uploaded these address lists. 🙂
Phone Book Access Profile	PBAP	You can access your contact list from the stereo but not stored.

The echo auto, as mentioned earlier, includes HFP Support for phone calls, A2DP for audio streaming and AVRCP for voice control. This is via the connection to your phone though, and not the car. It connects to Android phones via Serial Port Profile and to iPhone via iPod Accessory Protocol.

This means, assuming you have a newer phone, that the echo auto can connect to your phone with all the protocols it needs. It can handle calls, stream music and manage voice commands. If your car Bluetooth is only HFP (like mine) you might be better off connecting to an AUX input on the car to make the car connection flawless and increase response speeds dramatically.

My point with all this Bluetooth talk is that the echo still brings intelligence to older cars still using HFP Bluetooth protocol via your Phone, although a cable connection is faster.

Bottom line: You can now talk to your car, listen to music and give commands to Alexa.

If you have no compatible Bluetooth you will still be able to use the 3.5mm plug to connect straight in.

To be extra clear – you don’t connect the echo auto to your car Bluetooth – you connect your phone to your car Bluetooth (if you don’t connect the 3.5mm aux cable instead) and the echo connects to your phone. BUT, as I mentioned earlier, I use a Bluetooth adaptor for my phone which is connected to my 3.5mm aux-in and this allows me to stream music, handle voice controls. I just need to try calls.

If you have a car with HFP Bluetooth then you might, like me, have issues with the delay of the phone connecting and passing audio to the car stereo. I’ll cover more of that in the demo video.

Where do you mount or place the echo auto in the car?

A few options here, and it really depends on your car.

1: The auto ships with a vent mount bracket which creates a small table for your auto to sit on nicely. This might be your prefered option. Personally I am reluctant to use vent mounts as I’ve seen too many vents get broken.

2: If your car has a decent sized, relatively flat dashboard you could put it directly on the dashboard. You could also secure it better with one of those non-slip dashboard mats.

If you have a shelf in the car, as my 335i has, or any old BMW with an iDrive in the dashboard, you could rest it there too. This is where I rest mine. I have the cable plugged into the small section behind the gear stick. My Bluetooth adaptor is in my armrest which is where my 3.5 aux is also. I think my wife’s Honda CRV is the same (aux and 12v in armrest) so I’ll do the same with her car too.

I tried the vent mount but the angle was weird and it restricted how the vent angle slider thing could control the direction of air. So, I have it just sitting in the iDrive shelf for now. It’s not secured but it’s actually perfect and the audio probably bounces into that slot quite well I expect.

3: I last resort as you’ll have cables sticking out and looking a bit silly, is a cup holder, ideally an open type cup holder. The echo auto will set nicely inside it and with 8 microphones you’ve still got a chance of being heard.

echo Auto Photos – In the Car

Here are some photos of the echo auto in my car.

Will the echo auto listen to all my car conversations?

The car is the ultimate privacy cabin, isn’t it? The place you can sing like a pop star, curse out your workmates and complain about what your family did on the weekend. If you’re worried about echo listening to you then don’t.

echo auto will listen for its wake work, just like it does at home. But like your home Alexa echo or echo plus, the echo auto has a mute option. Like its home counterparts, the LED light strip on the echo will change to red which means the microphones have been disabled.

echo auto Compatibility

If you are concerned about your car compatibility these cars are NOT compatible with echo auto

Will try to keep this list up to date over time but you can also check Amazon’s echo auto car compatibility list.

• Alcatel One Touch
• Alcatel Pixi 4
• Google Nexus 4
• Google Nexus 6
• HTC Desire 610
• HTC M8
• HTC M9
• Huawei Honor 4C
• Huawei Mate SE
• LeEco LePro 3
• LG Tribute HD
• Samsung Galaxy J2
• Samsung Galaxy J3
• ZTE Blade A510

and these phones are not compatible with echo auto

Will try to keep this list up to date over time.

• Acura MDX (2016)
• Acura RDX (2017)
• Chevrolet Equinox (2016, 2017)
• Chevrolet Malibu (2015, 2016, 2017)
• Chevrolet Silverado (2014, 2015, 2017)
• Chevrolet Volt (2015)
• Dodge Caravan (2018)
• Dodge Ram (2018)
• GMC Sierra (2015, 2016, 2017)
• Honda Accord (2013, 2015)
• Honda Accord Touring (2013)
• Honda Civic (2013)
• Honda Odyssey (2016)
• Honda Pilot (2013)
• Toyota Camry (2015)
• Toyota Corolla (2017)

Your Amazon welcome email

After your echo auto is about to arrive you will get an email from them with some basic instructions. In short:

echo auto Installation instructions:

1. korak: Plugin the echo auto and connect the holder unit (currently included) to your air vent. The idea being the unit actually sits up above the airflow of the vent. I think a lot of work went into this but as I mentioned, I have a fear of broken vents so prefer to find other ways to mount it, like on the dash shelf. I figure with 8 speakers she can hear me from anywhere.

2. korak: Download the latest version of the Alexa App. This is straight forward but it also then walks you through connecting the auto to your phone. You connect it via the app like you would any Alexa device.

3. korak: Talk to it like a normal echo in your house. Say, ‘Alexa’ and then whatever else. An important note here from Amazon is to ensure you have the stereo and phone on the same channel when you drive. Just in case you set it to FM or muted the volume last time you used the car. Don’t fuss with the echo auto when driving! Pullover and sort it out for safety’s sake.

Conclusion

The Alexa echo auto brings the convenience of your home Amazon echo experience to your mobile life. It’s not perfect, and it’s probably not needed if you’re already deep into your phone assistant or your car has fantastic integration with your phone or Alexa or Carplay or android auto.

The best things about the echo auto is having your home and car connected to the same services and helpful Alexa skills.

The other really powerful benefit is to older cars which are harder to make smart.

The echo brings some real smarts to your old car. It might not be able to give you a large touch screen display that pops up like a new Mercedes, but it’s feature-packed.

The echo Auto is now available in the US, Canada and now the UK.

Vprašanja? Ask below and I’ll do my best.