It won’t be long before Amazon or EchoSistant releases recurring reminders but for now, Amazon was faster to release two features that EchoSistant has been testing. We are monitoring this release closely to see how we can improve it.
These two features have been the most requested by everyone…
Outstanding. I just tested both features and they work like champs.
As did I…I found them a little less functional than I would have liked. The key to MOST schedules is not the date of the event, but a reminder leading up to a date. If your birthday is July 1st, and I am wanting to get a card in the mail to you I have to send it a week prior…A reminder on July 1st of your birthday does you no go if the card doesn’t go out. Instead an app need to remind you (flexibly) to the events before they happen. This is not the case in most instance, but most…
Just saying…check the forums tomorrow…
“Alexa, remind me to send DParker a birthday card on May 26th.”
Of every year?!?.. You should see the model we’ve been testing. It’s more flexible than what they announced today, but you cannot beat the convenience to tell Alexa directly, than telling Alexa to tell… Anyhow, we will still release ours too, at least you can tell Alexa you need a card every year or month or day at specific time…and hear the message through the Sonos and get an SMS in case you are not home to hear the RemindR, I mean reminder… lol…
Ok…so your birthday is on May 26th? Or is that when the reminder is set? Or do you live far enough away that I have to put the card in the mail then just to get to you by July 1st.? With someone with multiple members in the family that are remote, I have no desire to have to do mental gymnastics to figure out when cards should be sent, and when I should call them. Computers were at a point 20 -30 years ago that they could handle this task with ease…so should Alexa.
I am excited for where Amazon is going with this, however…Think about it…what was released today is just an indication…think about the day soon where natively Alexa will sync with your calendars AND be able to set reminders PRIOR to the event as I described…Just like Outlook does visually now 15 minutes (or however long I set if for) prior to the event.
You have a calendar program that figures out where your friends/relatives live and then, each year, automatically calculates how early you need to drop a card in the mail so that it will reach them by their birthday?
Yes, but what if you need more than 15 minutes (or any other default) heads-up in order to get a card out in time? Does every person you send cards to live the same distance from you? Or do you need to figure that put on a case-by-case basis?
Even with Outlook that automatic 15 minutes is only good if it’s for something that’s happening less than a few minutes walk from your desk.
No…but when I set up a recurring appointment in my calendar I set up the days prior that I need to be alerted. Most people it is a week.
However, you make a great point…most schedules will not be ‘one size fits all’ and need to be flexible. My assumption is that Alexa will eventually just tie into calendars and it MIGHT give a flexible reminder prior to the event. I am sure if you name it ‘birthday’ as well there is a way to get her to sing! Anyway, anything would be better than the anemic reminder we got today, but it is a step in the right direction for Amazon.
But…
Mental gymnastics?
I’m glad the feature has been added but how does it remind you if you’re not home? I have a single purpose reminder app on my phones and tablets but with Alexa, if I set a reminder for September 1st at 8am and I’m not home does it just keep playing an alarm or chattering until I get home or does the Alexa app tell me as well? Soon all these devices will follow us room to room, location to location, vehicle to vehicle as we travel and be aware of our true presence, not fobs and phones, but actually know that I am indeed"me." The devices will be secondary to the task. It’s all so amazing.