Introduction
We now live in an era where technology is ruling many aspects of us, our lives, and the entire world. Have you ever imagined what your voice can do for you? Our voices have the immense power to aid us in performing a variety of tasks without us moving even a single muscle in our body. One such technological advancement which has taken the world by storm is Alexa.
What is Alexa?
Alexa is an echo speaker which has been developed by Amazon. As we all know, Amazon is an American multinational technology company which focuses on digital streaming, e-commerce, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. Alexa refers to a cloud-based voice service which is made available on more than 100 million devices from Amazon and other third-party manufacturers. It allows customers to build natural voice experiences intuitively to interact at ease with technologies which they use daily.
Alexa can be connected to devices and integrated into your products. It is a voice-control which lets you speak your wishes to an Echo smart speaker and fulfill them. These can include tasks such as playing your favorite music tracks, dimming lights, getting weather updates, searching the web, creating shopping lists, and controlling smart-home products.
The Ten Most Demanded Alexa Skills:
As mentioned by Amazon, more than 70,000 skills are available in the Alexa Skills store. Out of these, in this article, we will be providing you insights into the top ten Alexa skills which will make you more productive, healthier, and smarter.
1. AnyPod
Command: “Alexa, ask AnyPod to subscribe to Big Bang Theory.”
More than 1000s of podcasts are available. This is the most reliable podcast skill for Echo devices. This gives you full playback control as you will be able to skip, go back, go to the next track, play specific episodes, and manage your subscriptions. It is easy to use and numerous podcasts are added every day. This lets you play a wide range of podcasts such as music, tech, news, comedy, and education programs.
2. Fitbit
Command: “Alexa, ask Fitbit about my health today.”
The results of Fitbit’s integration with Alexa and the Echo is promising as it is a massive win for both the products. You can get information on vital stats such as weight, sleep tracking, exercise goals, and the number of steps taken.
3. Find My Phone
Command: “Alexa, find my phone.”
This is a handy skill for anyone who has misplaced their phone or even for anyone who tends to. You can enjoy this feature of Alexa by linking your account and adding your number. Alexa now has the details of your phone. Alexa also allows you to add or delete extra numbers which you can ask Alexa to call. Keep in mind that it supports only mobile numbers. If you are forgetful by nature, this skill saves you of the stress of wondering where you last left your device.
4. Sleep and relaxation sounds
Command: “Alexa, open ocean sounds.”
Alexa offers the best collection of ambient noises such as rain, thunderstorms, ocean sounds, airplanes, and fireplaces. One loop can play more than 50 sounds. New sounds are also introduced weekly or monthly. This makes for an excellent sound machine replacement as you can set up a timer for when you want a particular sound to stop playing. Help calm your racing mind as not getting the needed sleep will short circuit your creativity and productivity.
5. SmartThings
Command: “Alexa, dim the living room lights.”
This allows integrating smart home products with Alexa. It is used for controlling a multitude of devices such as switches, lights, security systems, and thermostats. It also allows you to create scenes or routines to control multiple devices at the same time through Alexa groups.
6. Capital One
Command: “Alexa, ask Capital One for my account balance.”
This highly rated skill brings a whole new level of innovation to the Echo. It offers benefits such as making credit card payments, checking transactions and balances, and paying home and auto loans via voice. There is always a security risk attached to this, but you can create a personal key for extra security. Other available banking skills are the American Express accounts, U.S. Bank, and PayPal skills.
7. Campbell’s Kitchen
Command: “Alexa, ask Campbell’s Kitchen about the dinner menu.”
This is a recipe-based skill from a reputable source. You are provided with a wide range of food recipes and it emails the full recipe to you. If you have an Echo Show or Spot Device, you can get more food recipes and visuals from other skills such as Food Network and Allrecipes.
8. 1-800-Flowers
Command: “Alexa, ask 1-800 to order flowers today for my brother’s birthday.”
This feature allows you to order flowers for your loved ones giving you the floral options which would suit you best and options of the day on which the flower should be delivered. There is always a security risk attached to ordering online through your 1-800-Flowers account. However, this skill enhances Alexa’s usefulness and simplifies the concept of multitasking.
9. Domino’s Pizza
Command: “Alexa, open Domino’s and order a pizza.”
This skill has enhanced what Echo has become. This feature allows you to order Pizza using Echo products. This skill will enable you to build an order from scratch, place your order, and track the status of your order. To use this, you will need a Domino’s account and Domino’s pizza profiles to help re-order your favorites. Once you set this up, you can use your voice to order from your favorite pizza chains.
10. The Magic Door
Command: “Alexa, open the magic door.”
This feature unlocks the potential of your child and explores their creativity as you are required to make choices based on which the story will progress. Real sound effects and the decisions you make will help create a story. Though the number of story options is limited, they are enjoyable. It is one of the best ways to tell bedtime stories to your children.
Conclusion
Once you start using Alexa, you will never feel the need to reach for your phone, as Alexa fulfills everything in an instant for you. To experience this device’s capabilities at its best, make sure that everything is set up correctly and that you are using the right command. Using Alexa will provide you with the natural and responsive feeling than speaking to a phone-based voice assistant. The natural-language processing system on which Alexa is built and the sensitive microphones which give it the ability to respond quickly make it a sought-after device.
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