4.5] "Alexa" - Review by all - BabyTech gets more fun!

Review Items	average mark
design	4.7
operability	4.3
continuity	5.0
Child Care Utilization	4.3
interest	4.3
average	4.5

Key points of this article

Amazon's Alexa cloud voice service allows users to check news and weather forecasts and control home appliances.
It is very convenient to be able to record and get information from childcare apps while dealing with children you can't keep your hands off.
Because it can be operated and communicated with only voice, small children can enjoy it together!

Participating parents with children aged 0-6 years old, as well as pre-parents and pre-moms who are expecting a baby and want to actively use technology such as gadgets, apps, and home appliances in their child-rearing.BabyTech Communityholds a monthly "Review with Everyone - Making Baby Tech More Fun".

This project aims to help community members share their experiences with various baby tech services with the goal of finding enjoyment in using baby tech in their child-rearing lives. Each time, members who have actually used one baby tech service will post a review of the service on a special website. Afterwards, they will share their impressions and usage of the service in an online roundtable discussion, which will be published as a review article on BabyTech.jp.

In this seventh installment of the series, we review Alexa, Amazon's cloud voice service. By simply speaking into a smart speaker or other device, you can listen to weather forecasts and news, and control home appliances.

In this article, community members who have actually used Alexa reviewed its design, operability, and child-rearing utilization (numerical rating on a 5-point scale from lowest 1 to highest 5). In addition, Tetsuya Nagata, CEO of PapaSmile, and community members participated in an online roundtable discussion (hereinafter referred to as "cross review talk") to discuss the review results and Alexa's appeal!

Cross-Review Talk Participants

Thanks a lot, Mr. Marriott.
Sachi.
Yoshie

Papa Smile Co.,Ltd
Representative Director Tetsuya Nagata

Design】The newer models are smaller in size and have evolved a design that fits more comfortably into the home atmosphere!

reviewer	Review score	Comment
Thanks a lot, Mr. Marriott.	5	I like the simplicity of the color and shape and that it doesn't interfere with the interior design. It is also a substitute for a clock.
Sachi.	5	It is round, round, and cute. It fits in with the interior even if it is left on the table.
Yoshie	4	Slightly too large (due to the early model purchased)

Nagata:Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us today. I would like to begin our cross review talk right away. First, I would like to rate the "design" of the Amazon Echo series of Alexa-enabled smart speakers. Ogamari-san gave it a perfect score of 5, which means that the sphere-shapedEcho dot 4th generationis it?

Mr. Ogamari:Yes, I am using a digital clock. I use the type that displays the clock digitally.

Nagata:Sachi, you also have a rating of 5. I guess it is the same Echo dot as Ogamari's, since it is round and colossal.

Sachi:Yes, it is.

Nagata:Yoshie rated it 4 because it is "a little too big". ......

Yoshie:The one in my house is an early model in the Amazon Echo series and is a fairly large cylinder. It is well designed with an interior appearance that is not obtrusive, but it takes up a lot of space, so I gave it a score of 4.

Nagata:When you see it in person, it is about the size of a wine bottle. ......

Yoshie:I think it's great that these are still in regular use, but I also think that the more recent ones with screens would be useful as well, as they show the time and weather.

Nagata:Some families with small children say that it is better to have a type without a screen because they will start watching YouTube on their own if they have a type with a screen. Also, for news, the type without a screen will play NHK radio news, while the type with a screen will display NHK TV news on the screen. Since you have to watch the screen to understand the TV news, if you want to check the news while doing something else, you may prefer the type without a screen.

Yoshie:My child is 2 years old, and recently she has been trying to watch Anpanman videos right away, so I think the screen-less type would be better for the time being!

Operability: Some errors in voice recognition during operation, but generally acceptable.

reviewer	Review score	Comment
Thanks a lot, Mr. Marriott.	4	Sometimes it doesn't hear me, but basically it works fine. I like the fact that when I whisper to them, they whisper back!
Sachi.	4	Sometimes I get funny perceptions, but that's fun too.
Yoshie	5

Nagata:Next, Alexa is controlled by voice, and I would like to talk about its operability. Mr. Ogamari likes the fact that when he speaks in a whisper, Alexa responds in a whisper. Do other people use this "whisper mode"?

Sachi:I didn't know such a function existed!

Nagata:When you speak to Alexa in a whisper, it first asks, "Would you like to turn on whisper mode?" and it will ask you "Do you want to turn on whisper mode? After that, Alexa will also respond with a whisper. If you are using an app linked to Alexa to record your baby's care, it would be nice to be able to record in a whisper, for example, "I gave him milk" when in this mode. By the way, Sachi, you say that Alexa sometimes gives you strange recognition.

Sachi:When the children were shouting, Alexa would suddenly start asking them to say a pun, or "Alexa, don't ignore me! and when the children were saying that, it suddenly started talking about something unrelated. It's a ridiculous exchange, but it makes us laugh every single day.

Nagata:Sometimes children have trouble telling Alexa what to do and behave strangely. My daughter has also seen a situation where she tried to get Alexa to play music, but it played a song she didn't want, and when she said, "No! she says, "No!" and it plays a different song, causing her to throw a tantrum (laughs).

Once they experience the convenience of being able to operate the system with just their voice, some say they can't let go of it!

reviewer	Review score	Comment
Thanks a lot, Mr. Marriott.	5	I can't live without Alexa. I will continue to use it!
Sachi.	5	It is easy to operate because all you have to do is talk to them. I enjoy the conversation, so someone is talking to me about something every day. I ask Alexa every morning about the weather and temperature.
Yoshie	5	It's been very useful for me to work with my appliances and so on.

Nagata:Regarding the continuity of Alexa, Ogamari-san highly praises Alexa, saying that he cannot live without it.　I understand that someone in Sachi's household checks the weather and news with Alexa every day, so is that the most frequent use?

Sachi:For weather and news, it is easier to ask Alexa than to look at my phone.

Nagata:At my house, my children ask Alexa what the weather is going to be like that day and choose what to wear. The interesting part is that when I ask Alexa, "What should I wear when the high temperature is ◯C?" Alexa will tell them what they should wear.

Sachi:That is interesting!　I'll ask him next time (laughs).

Nagata:In your review, Yoshie, you say that the linkage between Alexa and home appliances is very useful.

Yoshie:In my house, I have Alexa connected to a SwitchBot (an IoT device that turns switches on and off), and I control home appliances via the SwitchBot. The connected appliances include TV, DVD player, bath, lights, and air conditioner, which can be turned on and off by Alexa. When my daughter was small and I couldn't keep my hands off her, I turned everything on and off with my voice.

Nagata:That's convenient!

Mr. Ogamari:In my house, when I say "Alexa good night," I make sure all the lights are off.

Child-rearing situations are often full of hands, and it is very convenient to be able to operate the system with your voice!

reviewer	Review score	Comment
Thanks a lot, Mr. Marriott.	5	It was rather dusty before the birth... (I didn't know how to utilize it) I use it mainly for childcare.
Sachi.	3	It is useful in our daily lives, but when it comes to specializing in "child-rearing," we have yet to fully utilize it, so we would like to know how you use it.
Yoshie	5	We have skills that children can also enjoy.

Nagata:Regarding Alexa's parenting utilization, Ogamari says that before she gave birth, she didn't know how to utilize Alexa and it was gathering dust .......

Mr. Ogamari:I only used it to check the time and the weather, so I thought my smartphone was sufficient (laughs).

Nagata:What made you decide to utilize Alexa?

Mr. Ogamari:I was researching ...... to see which app I could use to keep track of feedings and diaper changes,PiyoLog."I learned that a childcare record application called "Alexa" can work with Alexa. I thought it would be useful, so I pulled out Alexa, which I had put away.

Nagata:Did the results of using PiyoLog and Alexa meet your expectations?

Mr. Ogamari:Yes, I do. During diaper changes and breastfeeding, your hands are occupied and you can't use your phone. But if I record it after I am done, I tend to forget about it. When I was working, I thought, "Alexa, record 100 (ml) of milk in the PiyoLog!" when I was working, I thought it would be very easy to just say "Alexa, record 100(ml) of milk with PiYoLog!

Nagata:Sachi, on the other hand, has not utilized it for child-rearing, so you want to know how everyone utilizes it. Indeed, if there is no need to keep childcare-related records like Ogamari's, it may be a little difficult to utilize the system. However, Alexa has a function that can give you kanji quizzes, music quizzes, etc. for slightly older children.

Sachi:My children are in 2nd grade and kindergarten, so it is difficult for me to utilize the recording aspect. ...... But I would like to utilize the learning aspect.

Nagata:In your review, Yoshie, you mention that there are skills that children can also enjoy.

Yoshie:My child is into Pokemon, so I have added a skill (an Alexa extension) that makes all Alexa replies Pikachu. When I add this skill, all Alexa replies are "Pika!" Pikka!" and so on. With this mode, I can ask Alexa to play with my child for a while.

Nagata:Can Alexa talk to me in Pikachu mode?

Yoshie:No, you need to call out to it from here. A baby's "ahhhh" or "ooohh" can be used, and the child seems to be quite happy with the many variations in Pikachu's voice that responds to it. Then the child dances to the music played by Alexa.

Nagata:In my house, I set "time to go to school," "time to do homework," etc., and have Alexa announce it as "It's 5:00. Let's do your homework" and so on. This is because parents don't want to nag, "Look, Alexa is saying, let's do homework! and so on, making Alexa the bad guy.

Yoshie:I have heard the same thing from a mom with an earliest child. She uses it as if to say, "Mommy wants to show you a video, but Alexa is telling me to go to daycare.

Nagata:The "Alexa as a common enemy between parents and children" strategy seems to work quite well for children. We might be able to come up with a catchphrase, "Alexa for the earliest years!" could be a catchphrase (laughs).

Interestingness] Alexa's musical humor is worth experiencing once!

reviewer	Review score	Comment
Thanks a lot, Mr. Marriott.	5	I like Alexa's original song. I think she has a great sense of humor. She also answers to most of my questions, such as raps, riddles, and old stories, so it helps me to pass the time.
Sachi.	5	It is funny. There is always a laugh a day because you may get an outlandish response.
Yoshie	3

Nagata:Now, you ask about the fun factor of Alexa. Ogamari-san likes the music feature of Alexa, and for more information, please refer to the following article in BabyTech.jp.With Ogamari's Baby Tech."article, Sachi's family also has a laugh a day thanks to Alexa.

Sachi:The person who gave Alexa to our house sent us "Alexa whistling sound files" so she whistles a variety of different sounds. This comes in handy when I want to giggle.

Nagata:Alexa's original song is quite interesting.

Mr. Ogamari:Sing me a rap song! They will also answer your request, "Sing a rap song! Please listen to them (laughs).

Alexa can help families raising children in a flurry of activity, such as checking the weather forecast just before going out.

Q: What have you noticed using Alexa?

reviewer	Comment
Thanks a lot, Mr. Marriott.	I didn't realize how easy it is to request various actions by voice when your hands are full. I realized that there are so many times when my hands are full when raising a child...
Sachi.	I have learned to keep track of the weather forecast. Before that, it was a hassle and I made the mistake of not checking it properly, but thanks to Alexa, which is easy to use and tells me what to do, I have come to know it continuously.
Yoshie	Search is not my strong suit.

Nagata:I have received various comments, but Yoshie, when you say that you are not very good at searching, do you mean that the results Alexa gives you for searching the internet are not good enough?

Yoshie:It is difficult to get Alexa to play the music you are looking for, but sometimes it is difficult to get it to search for what you are looking for.

Nagata:Some of my acquaintances said that English is more accurate in conveying instructions to Alexa. Ogamari-san's comment that Alexa helps her because she spends a lot of time with her hands free when she is raising her children. Sometimes I can't even go to the bathroom.

Yoshie:I also used Alexa much more frequently after giving birth. Since my hands were full, I could only use my voice anymore.

Nagata:Sachi, you say that you use the weather forecast very frequently.

Sachi:I am finally able to continue with my routine. I used to get caught in the rain on the way out and have more umbrellas at home, but now, thanks to Alexa, I take my umbrella with me on days when rain is forecast. It's nice to be able to listen to it when I'm scrambling to get ready to go out.

Nagata:As you said, I have to go out with my children while taking care of them. It is nice to be able to listen while doing that kind of work.

We look forward to working with more diverse apps and online services, such as cab dispatch apps!

Q: What are your expectations for Alexa in the future?

reviewer	Comment
Thanks a lot, Mr. Marriott.
Sachi.	I would like to see a larger repertoire of "talk to me as ~." I would like to know more examples of interesting conversations.
Yoshie	Additional skills that can be linked to appliances, apps, etc.

long rice field: Regarding Sachi's comment about expanding the repertoire of "~ and talk to me", is this something that appears on the screen?

Sachi.: Our Alexa will say, "Try talking to 'say a pun'" or something like that.

Nagata:I sometimes get that kind of suggestion-type message on Alexa in my house. However, if I answer it, the topic of conversation goes there and I can't listen to the morning routine news, so I just forget about the suggestion. ...... I'd like to see you say a little more about it at a better time. Then Yoshie would like to see more skills added that can be linked to appliances and apps. It is true that when Alexa was first released, a large number of skills were announced, but I have the impression that there has not been much increase since then.

Yoshie:I also use the skill that works with PiyoLog conveniently, and I think the integration between Amazon-based services and Alexa is progressing, but there is no skill that works with the app to call a cab. It used to be possible to link with the "Japan Taxi app" and just say "call a cab" to Alexa to call a cab to my house, which was very convenient. I would like to see more skills like that that work with various apps.

Nagata:Indeed, it is very convenient to be able to call a cab with just your voice when your hands are full with luggage or when you are fussing with your child!　By the way, the one skill I had trouble with was the "Yahoo Weather" integration. That was more accurate than Alexa's stock weather forecast, and it was good at notifying me of things like "It looks like it's going to rain. ...... I was rushing around taking in laundry when I got a notification that it was going to rain (lol).

Yoshie:I never used Yahoo weather, but that sounds useful. I would like to see it come back because some of the good skills I've found have disappeared.

Nagata:I would still like to see Alexa develop a little more integration with apps and Internet services. From a diversity perspective, there is a strong need for voice-activated devices, such as for those who are raising children or are blind or visually impaired, so I would like to see this happen.