FIVE ALTERNATIVE DEVICES FOR CALLING AND VIDEO CALLING

In a period of quarantine, many are looking for new ways to keep in touch with loved ones through calls and video calls. However, in addition to smartphones, tablets and PCs, smart speakers based on Alexa and Google Assistant can also come to our rescue, which include functions perhaps overlooked by many, but which could be useful in this precise historical moment.

Amazon Echo Show & Echo Dot

Amazon Echo Show, Echo Spot and Echo Dot allow you to communicate remotely through the Drop In feature found in Alexa's settings.

It is clear, however, that on devices such as Echo Show and Echo Spot, which have screens with video cameras, it is also possible to make video calls , while on Echo Dot, Echo and those that are only equipped with a microphone it is not possible to access this function.

But how can Amazon's smart speakers be used to make calls to friends or acquaintances?

First of all, it is necessary to point out that they do not need to be connected under the same WiFi network, so you can contact a friend who owns an Echo and talk remotely, just like with normal phone calls. To do this, however, you need to activate the "Drop In" feature from the device settings , via the Alexa app. Amazon allows you to choose which smart speaker to enable the option on, which is particularly useful for users who have multiple Alexa-based smart speakers in the same home.

To activate Drop In, you need to open the Alexa application from your smartphone or via the web from the alexa.amazon.it website, then select the "Devices" option, move to the "Echo & Alexa" panel and tap "Communications ". From here you will have to choose "Drop In" and enable the permissions to your liking and according to your needs.

However, Amazon also allows you to combine Alexa with a Skype account, through the "Settings" and "Communication" menu. In the official documentation, Jeff Bezos' company also points out that after connecting Skype to Alexa, it will be possible to ask the voice assistant to call a contact in the friends list, but also to use credit or subscription to call a mobile or landline number. In fact, in this way it is possible to transform a smart speaker into a real phone.

Google Nest Mini and Nest Hub

Google Nest Mini or a Nest Hub allow you to make calls. Also in this case everything is played on the presence or absence of the screen. Nest Mini is on par with Amazon's Echo Dot, while Nest Hub has a display and front camera and can be compared to Amazon's Echo Show.

It should also be specified that the functionality we will discuss in this paragraph has only recently landed on the Big G smart speakers, and is based on the Google Duo application .

As with Alexa, the function must be enabled through the "Home" application on the tablet or smartphone used at the time of initial configuration. Once started, just choose from the home screen the device from which you want to allow calls (or video calls) or that will act as a receiver for incoming ones.

Once this is done, click on the settings icon at the top right and then move to the "Calls with Duo" panel. At this point, the application will guide users. If a video call is received, on the smart speaker's display it will be possible to choose whether or not to answer using the touch controls. To initiate a call, after enabling the option,call [contact name] "or" [video call [contact name] ".

Facebook Portal

We close our roundup with Facebook Portal, the smart display of Mark Zuckerberg's company created to connect people in a more personal way (here our review ). Also in this case the use is very simple, and since it is a product made in Facebook, you can use Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp to talk to your contacts.

Once a contact has been selected, simply wait for the answer and Portal will do everything by itself: it will even be able to choose the most suitable shot using the smart camera, which is capable of zooming or tracking shots, like an automated virtual director. For the little ones there is also a wide range of augmented reality filters available, which will make conversations even more fun.

Unfortunately, as we read on the official Portal website, at the moment the "Hey Portal" commands are only available in English , which means that in Italy it will be necessary to rely on touch, or set the English language. Clearly, to use Whatsapp it is necessary to have a paired account, while for Messenger you can use the Facebook profile.

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