Amazon Echo Show: What I Use it For

About a year ago, my wife and I were on a Facetime call with my son and his family who are far away in Tennessee.  Two grandsons crowded to be seen on the iPhone screen while the third grandson sat on his dad's lap. Due to the close quarters, when the little fellow lept up excitedly – the top of his head struck his dad squarely (and painfully) on the chin. I thought there must be a better way to have a virtual visit.

When the Echo Show was discussed by the Longevity Explorers on Tech-enhanced Life, I saw evidence of a superior device for including everyone in the visit. The 10-inch screen and excellent sound quality were much more suitable and inspired me to order one for them to complement the one I fully intended to have at home. First, mine arrived and I set it up quickly using the Alexa app on my iPhone. The Echo Show found our WiFi network right away and was ready for use. A week later, Jeremy and family had received theirs and set theirs up with similar ease. 

Now it is not unusual to have a Sunday afternoon call from them and to enjoy seeing the boys in situ. When we are not using it to visit, I watch YouTube clips, or listen to the news, podcasts, Audible books, weather and traffic – among other things. When it is idle, it scrolls through family photos that we added with the Alexa app.

All in all, it has fulfilled our expectations nicely.