Those Echo Dots you’ve got sprinkled all throughout your house can do so much more than just setting timers and playing music.
Amazon’s got an entire app store of sorts just for Alexa. They’re called Alexa Skills and they’re… well, they’re hit or miss to put it diplomatically. And there are a lot of them. Here are some of the ones that are well worth your time.
Find My Phone
A lifesaver for you phone-forgetters out there, the Find My Phone skill does what it says and does it pretty well.
Simply say, “Alexa, find my phone” and the skill will call your phone so you can find it.
Unfortunately, this isn’t quite as robust as Apple’s and Google’s native device-finding apps—if your ringer is set to silent, you won’t hear it ring, for instance—but it works in a pinch so long as your phone is within earshot.
OurGroceries
The Echo Dot in our kitchen gets a lot of work thanks to the OurGroceries skill.
Whenever we run out of something, my wife or I can tell the skill to add it to our shared grocery list, which is synchronized between our phones with the OurGroceries mobile app.
It sure beats keeping an old-timey handwritten list stuck to the fridge. You know: the list you always realize you forgot while you’re pulling into your parking space at the grocery store.
Start your connected car
If you’ve got a newfangled connected car from one of the big automotive manufacturers, you owe it to yourself to see if there’s an Alexa skill for your brand.
If there is, load it up tout suite so you can leverage Alexa to start your car remotely on those cold winter mornings or hot summer days.
There are skills for vehicles from Ford, Dodge, Lexus, Jeep, Toyota, Acura, Honda, Hyundai and a bunch of other companies.
Zen Sounds
Sometimes after a long day—or maybe even before starting a long day—it helps to chill out a bit.
The excellent Zen Sounds skill helps you do just that, with a dozen high-quality, hour-long sounds ranging from thunderstorms to beaches to tranquil gardens.
Audible Stories
Great for kids and adults alike, the free Audible Stories skill plays short stories from a collection of genres: family, sci-fi, adventure, romance, comedy, and several others.
You don’t need an Audible membership to use it, either: just say, “Alexa, read me a story” once you’ve enabled the skill, and it’ll handle the rest.
Monster Guard
If your kids are afraid of monsters (or maybe you are?), the Monster Guard skill is a must-have.
It “scans” the room for any signs of monsters, never finds any (thankfully), and then activates a force-field to keep creepy-crawlies away all night long.
Each session features unique audio from “Monty” the friendly monster so as not to get repetitive and features cool sound effects and music.
Sports News Minute
Whether you’re a die-hard sports fan or you just want to be kept in the loop, the Sports News Minute skill is a great way to get caught up each day.
Covering NFL, NBA, MLB, college sports, golf, and more, it’s a concise and well-produced roundup of scores, news, and other updates.
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This story was originally published by ProPublica.
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