Alexa For Dummies

by Paul McFedries

Upgrade your Echo expertise with this Dummies guide to all things Alexa


Amazon's hugely popular family of Echo devices has made Alexa a household name. She can answer your questions, entertain you, and even help around the house. Alexa for Dummies is the perfect guide for Alexa users who want to get up and running with their Echo devices. From basic setup to making the most of Alexa's powerful smart home capabilities, this is your one-stop resource to all things Alexa.

Whether you'll use Alexa to send text messages, play music, control your thermostat, look up recipes, replenish your pantry, or just search the internet for information, you'll find detailed instructions in this fun and easy-to-understand guide.


Set up and personalize your Alexa device with an Amazon account and custom settings, including your preferred Alexa voice Use Alexa to play music throughout your home, stream videos online, and meet all your entertainment needs Unlock the power of advanced features like Alexa Skills and make your Alexa accessible Turn your ordinary house into a modern smart home with advanced smart home features and Echo accessories The virtual assistant you've dreamed of is now a reality with your favorite Echo device. Let Alexa For Dummies make your wish Alexa's command.

Genres: Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2018

Reviews

[Aprilleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best of the three Alexa/Echo books I've read. It covers setup and other options. It covers troubleshooting and security. It covers the various skills, including extensive information about music (sadly, no option to connect to a home server that doesn't require a subscription fee), and let's not forget the extensive coverage of home automation options. Wow. It's actually a little overwhelming. But the best part, at least from an entertainment point of view, is Chapter 12: Ten (Times Ten) Ridiculously Fun Alexa Tricks. My teen and I had a lot of fun with those. Alexa tells some truly groan-worthy dad jokes. You can even ask her to set the autodestruct.

The biggest reason to skip this book would be its size. The smallest one I looked at could be kept right under the device for easy access, although it doesn't go into anywhere near the detail this one has. It is, however, meant for a quick reference to all that Alexa can do and this one is meant to teach you all those things rather than just remind you that you can. I'd pick up both.

[Geoffrey Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for all Echo Fans

I am pretty tech savvy and thought I knew everything Alexa was capable of, but this book does teach you some things you might never have thought of. It may not all be necessary knowledge, some of it is just for fun, but if you’re like me and like to get everything possible out of your gadgets, then I would highly recommend reading this. It’s a pretty easy read, I knocked it out at a chapter a day over a couple of weeks, and I’ll probably read it again in the near future to make sure I didn’t miss anything!

[John Fraley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little outdated

[Vicki Merkel]

This book gave me the information I needed. As an evolving technology I hope using smart devices becomes easier and therefore easier to explain.

[Migdalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sound reading. Ease to understand.

I don't like the fact they force you to give a written review. It makes it easier to just not give a review at all.