10 Amazon Echo Skills You Need to Know.
Amazon Echo smart assistants are powerful devices with a huge array of predefined capabilities, but with the right Alexa skill, they become even more useful. Alexa Skills are third-party apps that allow Amazon Echo to connect to other devices and perform tasks beyond its usual scope.
The best part of Alexa Skills is the Skills Blueprint, a system that anyone can use to create their own skills – no programming experience or knowledge required. Here are the best Amazon Echo skills you need to know.
Find My Phone
Find My Phone is exactly what it sounds like. You ask Alex to dial your number and your phone starts ringing – perfect for when you get lost between the couch cushions or just can’t remember where you put it.
Find My Phone can contain multiple numbers, so the whole family can use it. The downside is that it cannot turn up the volume, so if your phone is in silent mode the skill loses some of its use.
Chef
Do you like to cook? If so, the My Chef Amazon Echo skill will be a huge help in the kitchen. It combines with the Chefling app to track recipes, add shopping lists and even product expiration dates.
It’s a great app for adding items to your shopping list as they run out, but My Chef can even remind you of essential items when you’re in the grocery store.
Waiter
Whether you only drink occasionally or consider yourself an amateur mixologist, knowing specific cocktail recipes is critical between enjoying yourself and going down the drain.
The bartender skill gives you access to over 12,000 cocktails. It’s a great way to experiment with brewing a drink you’ve never tried before, but if you only have a few ingredients, you can tell the bartender what you have and he’ll tell you what you can make.
7-minute workout
Making time for effective training can be challenging. You need more than just a few push-ups to get the job done. Fortunately, the 7 Minute Workout Skill will guide you through each of these workouts step by step.
The exercises included in the Amazon Echo Skill are tested for metabolic improvement, fat burning, and more. While not the same as going to the gym, these workouts are some of the best home exercises you can do.
Sleep and Relax Sounds
In today’s busy world, it can be difficult to relax for the evening, but otherwise the quality of sleep will be poor. Alexa knows how to do it.
The Sleep and Relaxation Sounds skill can reproduce everything from thunderstorms to gentle currents, helping to lull your mind into optimal sleep conditions.
Mayo Clinic
While all serious medical situations must be handled by professionals, basic first aid questions can be answered with the Mayo Clinic Alexa skill. He can tell you how to deal with scratches all the way to CPR, but keep in mind that this skill is for educational purposes only.
If a serious situation arises, call 911, but as a last resort, the Mayo Clinic can guide you through life-saving procedures that can help the injured person before the paramedics arrive.
Ask my friend
Like the Mayo Clinic skill, Ask My Buddy does not replace 911 service, but it can be useful in an emergency. The Amazon Echo Skill will send a notification to the pre-selected contact and let them know you need help. This notification can be a text or phone call.
If you fall and can’t reach your phone, the Ask My Friend skill will help someone send help.
Hourly NPR News Summary
If the idea of ​​constantly following the 24/7 news cycle just tires you, but you still want to know what’s going on, NPR’s hourly roundup is the way to go. This is a five-minute daily news briefing that is updated hourly to stay current.
This will give you a rundown of the most important events of the day. If you want to dive deeper into any particular story, the NPR Hourly Newsletter skill will give you a place to start.
Translator
This Alexa skill can help translate phrases from English into 37 other languages ​​(and vice versa). If you are learning a new language or need to figure out how to say something on the go, Translation will help even more. obscure languages ​​such as Basque and Welsh.
If Alexa is saying a phrase too quickly for you to understand it, you can ask her to repeat it more slowly, as many times as you need, until you fully understand it. The Translator skill is a great addition to any linguist’s toolbox.
Guided Meditation
When life seems too hectic, taking just a few minutes throughout the day to focus and focus can help you regain a sense of control. Even if you don’t have time to meditate for a long time, guided meditation skills can still help.
Sessions are three to eight minutes long, and there are over 60 sessions to choose from. The next time you feel overwhelmed by the events of the day, take a few minutes to sit down, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing.
There are tens of thousands of Amazon Echo Skills to choose from, but these are some of the best options to start with. If none of these are exactly what you’re looking for, take the time to browse through the available skills until you find the ones that interest you.
What’s your favorite Alexa skill? Let us know in the comments below.
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