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4 Easy Ways to Track Price Drops in Amazon

There’s no question that we all enjoy a good deal. More often than not, Amazon is the best place to find a great deal. Now that you know Amazon is the go-to place for online shopping, how will you know when prices drop? The good news is there are plenty of ways to track price drops and be in the know to find the best price. Related: 5 Smart Hacks to Save You Money on Amazon 1. CamelCamelCamel If you’re a frequent Amazon shopper, CamelCamelCamel.com is a must-know site. While it isn’t much to look at, it’s a fantastic resource. The primary function of… Read more

How to use your Amazon Echo Dot as a Bluetooth Speaker

ARTICLE – A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about How to listen to audiobooks and read eBooks for FREE. Since then, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying using the Libby app to listen to free audiobooks by checking them out (virtually) from my local library.

I listen to the audiobooks through my phone (Huawei P30 Pro) and the car stereo in my MINI Cooper while I’m driving to and from work each day. The problem is that these brief sessions only allow me about 40 minutes of listening per day. That’s not much time to get through a full-length novel in the time allotted for a Libby loan.

I have tried listening through the built-in speaker on my phone while getting ready for work in the mornings, but the Huawei speaker’s max volume setting isn’t loud enough for me to hear over the sound of the shower and the bathroom fan.

I thought about buying a small waterproof Bluetooth speaker than I could put in the shower with me, but I already have a speaker in my bathroom – an Amazon Echo Dot which is actually what started my new found love of audiobooks in the first place. If only there was a way I could listen to Libby through the Echo Dot like listening to an Audible book. Sure, I could use a line out cable to plug my phone into the speaker,  but the way my Echo Dot is mounted in my bathroom (see lead image) the 3.5mm line out jack is blocked – and who wants to use cables anyway, it’s 2019 for goodness sake!

Then a light bulb flicked on in my brain and I thought, what if I could use the Echo Dot as a stand-alone Bluetooth speaker? Is this possible? A quick Google and I learned that yes, it definitely is possible!


Through the Alexa app, you can set the Echo Dot to play music from other certain other streaming apps like Pandora, Spotify, etc. But as you will notice, Libby isn’t included in that list. But a little more Googling helped me learn that I can pair the Echo with my phone and use it just like any other Bluetooth speaker. Yay!

All you have to do is say “Alexa, pair Bluetooth” and Alexa will reply with “Searching…” Then you open the Bluetooth settings on your mobile device and look for an Echo-XXX entry in the devices list, click on it to connect and you’re done! Alexa will confirm that the connection has been made and then any sound that normally comes from your mobile device will now play through the Echo until you disconnect.

Now when I am getting ready in the morning,  I just say “Alexa, connect to my phone” and wait for her to say that she’s connected. Then start the Libby app. When I’m done listening, I press pause in the Libby app and say “Alexa, disconnect” and Alexa will confirm that the connection has been disconnected. Nice and simple!

I like that I’ve found another use for my Amazon Echo Dot in addition to just using it to listen to music, read the news, or listen to podcasts.

Now if I can just solve the issue with not being able to turn off the wake alarm in the morning because Alexa will say that there’s no connection to the internet…

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How to use your Amazon Echo Dot as a Bluetooth Speaker originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 13, 2019 at 12:08 pm.

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Get a Eufy Smart Plug at 40% Off

We have covered what a smart plug is before, and if you like what it does and are keen to get one or more to make your home smarter, then don’t miss this great deal by Anker, where you can get the Eufy Smart Plug at 40% off. A smart plug can connect to the Internet and allow you to control it from your mobile phone. It is a great small gadget to turn your “dumb” devices into smart ones. The Eufy Smart Plug comes with support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and in addition to the EufyHome app, it lets you turn plugged… Read more

What Do You Get with an Amazon Prime Subscription?

If you’ve ever shopped on Amazon before (and who hasn’t!), you have undoubtedly seen all the adverts for Amazon Prime. It’s a monthly subscription fee at $12.99, where Amazon gives you a lot of exclusive goodies available only to Prime members. The thing is, Amazon doesn’t advertise all of the benefits you get – just the big ones. So, what do you get with a Prime subscription, and is it worth your money? What Does Prime Get You? 1. Free Next-Day Delivery This is the biggest perk to Prime and the one… Read more

Tomorrow is Prime Day, so make sure you’re ready for all the Black Friday in July deals

NEWS – Other than Black Friday, which comes in November, the biggest shopping day of the year has been Amazon Prime Day which launched 5 years ago. Prime Day has been one day in July where Amazon heavily discounts products exclusively for Amazon Prime members.

This year, Amazon is giving Prime members 2 days of crazy deals and the event starts tomorrow on July 15th at 2:59am EDT and runs through July 16th. To take advantage of all the deals, you will need to be an Amazon Prime member. Here’s how you can easily signup today so you’ll be all set for tomorrow.

The easiest way is to sign up for a free 30 day trial of Prime is to go here. You can also get a free trial of Prime if you sign up for Amazon Family account or an Amazon Prime Student account.

Once you’re signed up as an Amazon Prime member, be sure and keep an eye on the deals posted on the Amazon Prime Day page.

You can also sign up to get a sneak peek at deals before they go live by using the Amazon app on your mobile device. For more info on how to do that, go here.

You should also be aware that many of the Prime Day deals will be featured as Lightning Deals which means you have to grab them fast because they are time-sensitive deals which will end before the end of the whole Amazon Prime Day event. The best thing to do if you see a product that you want to buy is to add it to your cart immediately. However, you’ll only have 15 minutes to make up your mind if you want to buy it.

If you happen to miss out on buying something you wanted, all hope isn’t lost because there is an opportunity to still get the deal. You can join the wait list for that product and if the same item expires in someone else’s cart, it will magically show up in yours and you will have another 15 minutes to complete the sale. Crisis averted!

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Tomorrow is Prime Day, so make sure you’re ready for all the Black Friday in July deals originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 14, 2019 at 2:40 pm.

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