Echo (2nd Generation) - Smart speaker with Alexa and Dolby processing - Sandstone Fabric

Sorry if this is a bit lengthy, but I think Alexa deserves the time.First, a little background to give some perspective.I am 86 years old. My residence is in a 50 + community, in an extremely private location surrounded by trees with a pond on one side. No one can see whether or not my car is present. Secondly, I know no one in the community since I am new, and in addition, no one knows that I have even moved in, this was my first night here, so as far as anyone here knows, my residence is till empty.I have a sunroom adjoining the family room, separated by sliding glass doors. I had set up an enclosed section of the family room for my cats with a General, steel, cat cage in one end, next to the sliding doors so my cats could come in and out of the sunroom at their leisure. It was a very cold night, 32 degrees, and the sunroom was not heated.A little after midnight, I decided to go into the sunroom to get something, and I opened the sliders just a little to enter so that the cold would not come into the family room. While I was out there, I closed the slider leaving only about 8 inches or so open to keep the cold out. After completing my task, I decided to re-enter the family room and grasped the slider to open it wider only to find that it would not open any farther than it already was. I began to push as hard as I could, again and again, thinking it was just a little stuck, but to no avail. It simply would not budge even a tiny bit, the 8 or so inches was all I was going to be able to get it open! Well, I was getting quite cold without even a sweater in the 32 degree temps. It was well after midnight, and I estimated that it was well over a mile 1/2 back to the main gatehouse in the freezing temp, without even a sweater, even if I could muster up the energy for the walk after a tiring day of moving.The house was locked up tight as a drum, and no one else had a key, NOR DID I have my own house key, nor car key, since they were inside on the kitchen counter in my purse with my cell phone, If I had left the sunroom, I couldn't have gotten into the rest of the house, NOR even into the car. I would still be out in the cold without shelter.My son told me later that the gatekeeper had told him no one had pass keys, and there was no security person on duty at night, so no one making rounds to check on things who might have found me, even if I had yelled, and certainly no one else would be roaming around at that hour in the cold, and my immediate neighbors did not reside there any longer. So no, yelling would not be any help. If I had been in my previous neighborhood, I could have withstood the cold and knocked on a nearby neighbor's door, even at that hour in an emergency, but here I knew no one at all. Failing any other solution, and having no cell phone with me, I decided that I simply MUST squeeze my body through the small opening; I am rather slender and I believed I surely could do it. So with confidence, I began squeezing. After about a half hour, trying all sorts of positions and pushing with all my might, I managed to get the lower portion of my body through the small opening into the family room. I had decided that I should lie down on the floor and that in that position, I might relax my body enough to better squeeze through, so there I was, lying on the floor with my lower half in the family room, the metal track under my waist, which was quite painful, and my upper half 1/2 step lower down on the hard floor of the 32 degree sunroom. But I was confident and I felt I was halfway successful already!So then I began the attempt to squeeze my rib cage through the opening. Well, after several attempts, it simply would not fit at all. I twisted and turned into every conceivable position I could think of, but NO, it would not squeeze through the small opening, and my ribs were getting quite sore from all the pressing and pushing against the hard metal of the slider door.By this time it was well after 2:30 a.m., approaching 3 a.m. and I was tired, and cold, and sore, so I decided, OK, I would remove my bottom half from the family room, go out in the cold, knock on doors even at that hour, and try to find some help or shelter, or at least a phone, from total strangers, (if I could wake someone) or try to walk the mile 1/2 back to the gatehouse in the freezing cold. So reluctantly, I began pulling my bottom end out, (you would think that what went in, would surely come back out) but NO, it would not come out. Again, I tried and tried, but I could not remove my bottom half from the family room. So there I was, half way in and half way out and I was getting colder and colder and sorer and sorer.At this point I began to realize the seriousness of the situation. No one knew I was going to move in at this time, no one was expecting me anywhere, my son would probably not try to contact me till the following weekend and if he called and I didn't answer he would simply think I was off busy doing something, and he would think nothing of it. I am a hospital volunteer, but not an employee, so if I did not show up, I assumed that they would think I was merely inconsiderate to not call out when I had something else I needed to do that day. I doubted that anyone would come looking for me. Why would they! And they also did not know I had moved into the new residence.So actually, I could simply lie there for the next week or even longer, on the floor, half in and half out with no food or water or help of any kind. How long could I last like that at my age. Slowly the seriousness of my situation became evident to me. This was actually life threatening! I could simply starve! and at some time in the future someone would just find my body! I would have panicked, but the situation was so bizarre, I couldn't really grasp the reality of it all. So there I lay for a little while numbly accepting the predicament I was in, tho still partially unwilling to believe that there was no solution. BUT WHAT! It was well after 3 a.m.Suddenly, as I looked longlingly into the family room, and about 25 feet or so down at the other end of the room on the kitchen counter, I noticed something gray and cylindrical standing on the counter, next to my purse. OMG!, it was my Amazon Echo, (named Alexa) I had brought it with me and plugged it in without trying to re-program it for the new residence. Did it remember its programming from the other home after having been disconnected from a power source?? Not at all sure about that, but it was worth a try, so I yelled at the top of my lungs, ALEXA, CALL CHRISTOPHER!!Suddenly, unbelieveably, I heard her say, CALLING CHRISTOPHER! ding a ling, ding a ling, ding a ling!! And then he answered, awake at 3 a.m. in the morning watching tv! Mother are you ok, its after 3 a.m.?? NO, I replied, I 'm on the floor half in and half out of the family room and sunroom, trapped!!. He replied that he was putting on his shoes.Well, the gateman didn't want to let him in, but finally he did, My son also did not have a key, and he came and had to break into the sunroom smashing in the door and breaking the lock. He is a very large fellow, and once in he threw his weight against the slider and was able to open it about 3 or 4 more inches, just enough to let me squeeze the rest of myself inside.The General cat cage door, had wedged itself in between the two sliding doors preventing them from opening any farther, so each time I had tried to force it further open, it had just wedged the cage door in even more. Once inside, I was able to pull out the cage door releasing the sliding doors again. By that time it was approaching 4:30 a.m.Yes, I now have extra keys, even a lock box, and the cage has been removed, and I now have a medic alert pendant to wear around my neck.Sooooo, Amazon and Alexa saved me, I really believe she saved my life. So glad I noticed that little gray cylinder sitting on the counter so far away, 25 feet, at the other end of the room!!! AND thankful that after being moved to a new home, it remembered its previous program settings!! Thank you Amazon and Alexa!! Thank you, all of you who created and maintain dear Alexa.

Let me preface this review by revealing a few facts about myself. I am male, aged 75 years old, and more tech savvy than most people my age, but if you can use a modern computer, and own one, you should have not problem using this device. IT IS SO FAR, MIRACULOUS, and intriguing! I bought mine about a week ago, and waited till a couple days ago to jump in with "both feet" and set it up. Even though I once did computer tech support for Dell computers, It was a long time ago now, and a lot of tech has evolved since then, and i have the same fear of new things as most people my age, though admittedly higher skills. I also own an Iphone 6s plus, of which I have mixed emotions. The Iphone is made by apple, and Apple's idea of "intuitive" and mine are very different. Microsoft is much better at designing "intuitive" into an operating system than Apple. Aniyway, You will need some type of connected WIFI device to use this product. (read that Cell Phone with it's own WIFI abilities, and Bluetooth built in) You will need to download the "Alexa App. " on that device to set up the Alexa products.From that point on, simply plug in the Echo device into a regular 110V. wall outlet, it comes with a plug in adapter. There are no batteries in this device, although some have them. A NOTE HERE" YES, YOU CAN UNPLUG IT WITHOUT IT LOSING ITS BRAINS AND REQUIRING REPEAT SET UP. So though not specified anywhere I read it evidently has some on board nonvolatile memory built in that will allow this. ( i spent several research sessions attempting to find this out, and finally had to bite the bullet and just try it. ) I moved it from one room location to another and within a few seconds it greeted me and said it was operational. NOW I AM ONLY AN OLD GUY WITH PRETTY GOOD HEARING ABILITIES YET, (NOT EXACTLY AN AUDIOPHILE ) BUT WITH DOLBY DIGITAL SOUND, THIS IS ONE NICE SOUNDING SPEAKER SYSTEM,FULLY AS GOOD AS MY 7 SPEAKER ALTECH LANSING ON MY PC. IT MAY EVEN BE BETTER.IF YOU HAVE A NORMAL EAR, YOU WILL BE AMAZED AT THE SOUND QUALITY!Now I am still learning about this product. Every new thing I try I am pleasantly surprised. I plan to get at least a smart home door lock and thermostat to use with it in the future, and several light switches. I am no great fan of the "RING DOORBELL" (due to frequently needed battery recharging) at this point, but I understand Amazon has purchased that company and will soon have an interface app available to use with the "Ring System" If you want to keep up with the march of technology, this device is probably your best doorway to that end, since Amazon is committed to pursuing it. Others may drop out along the way. (NEW) I made a hands free phone call to my son this moring as a test of the phone capabilities. Sound on my end was like he was in the room. The Alexa app and it's capabilities are evolving technologies. Features will be added. (Mine did an update download while playing music) Don't be disappointed. It is attractively packed, and very capable, but the "instructions" are not detailed and are sketchy. Lean about it online as I did before you purchase it. Read as many reviews as your eyes and attention span will allow, and take the plunge! An education awaits you!

The second-generation Echo takes everything people loved about the original and levels it up with impressive upgrades in both sound and style.🔊 Improved Sound, Powered by DolbyRight out of the box, the sound quality is noticeably better. Thanks to Dolby processing, the Echo delivers richer, fuller audio with deeper bass and clearer highs. Whether you're listening to music, podcasts, or just asking Alexa for the weather, the audio feels room-filling and well-balanced—especially for a speaker this size.🧵 Sleek New DesignThe Charcoal Fabric finish gives it a warm, modern look that blends effortlessly into just about any room. It feels less like a gadget and more like a piece of home decor, which is a big plus if you're style-conscious.🧠 Alexa, But SmarterAs always, Alexa continues to improve. From smart home control to managing your day, the Echo responds quickly and accurately. Voice recognition is solid, even from across the room with background noise.✅ What’s Great:Seriously upgraded sound qualityDolby-powered audio brings out more depthAttractive, modern design with fabric coverSeamless integration with smart home devicesFar-field voice recognition is spot on❌ What Could Be Better:Still requires a power cord (no portable option)Audio isn’t quite “audiophile” level—but excellent for most listenersFinal Verdict:If you’re looking to upgrade your smart speaker setup or just getting started, the 2nd Gen Echo is a no-brainer. It looks great, sounds even better, and keeps Alexa right at your service. The Charcoal Fabric version in particular gives it a premium, cozy vibe that fits in anywhere.