We have several, used for alarms, music, news, weather, trivia games. My favorite function is bedtime music, usually classical set on a timer.

I use it like that but it doesn't give you a time of day that you *see*. You'd ask 'her' the time. She does alarms well.

The Dot version is less money and works fine with "radio" such as NPR. It's not bad for low volume music.

I use my Dot as my bedside alarm. It's great for that. I do worry about power outages and wifi outages because the Dot doesn't work during either of those, so if I have a really important alarm, I also set my iPad.

If you've looked at the functions and find few would be useful, then maybe you should stick with a conventional clock radio? I've looked at the Amazon and other devices and find little of interest for myself. I think the novelty of talking to it would wear off pretty quickly. I almost never use that capability with devices I already have.

Android and Apple phones and tablets all allow setting alarms with a vocal command if that's what you want to do. And are much easier and faster to set than using an alarm on a clock radio. Such alarms are reliable and aren't affected by power outages.

Elmer, that may serve as an alarm but not as an all-day radio. I wake up at the same time regardless of alarm, but I want my radio to come on at 630.

Oh, and the Dot doesn't have a visible clock. I'm not going to wake up in the middle of the night as talk to Alexa and wake up my husband just to see what time it is.

The Echo "Spot" has a clock face. (It also has a camera you may want to cover.) We are happy with the speakers on our Echo devices.

Your phone can function as an alarm/radio - there are settings in the various radio/music apps such as Pandora, iHeartRadio, and the Public Radio App. Perhaps those, plus a nice, cheap clock would work for you?

Why would I want to leave my phone in the bedroom? I don't want my phone on to play the radio all day. How would I charge it as I move around the house?

Besides, no phones in the bedroom, that's a rule.

I'm usually up on technology, but the less "internet of things" items I have in the house, the better. A clock radio seems to be the perfect solution to your scenario. My trusty old Sony digital clock radio wakes me up with whatever preset station is set to the alarm time Monday - Friday. I do have the iPad and iPhone upstairs (because my family seems to have forgotten the house phone number) in case of emergency calls at night.

Back to the original question, which has nothing to do with cell phones. Has anyone used an Echo device as a bedside clock radio?

Thanks for all the advice on questions I never had! ;-)

I have never used an Echo device for anything, and I won't have one in my house. But good luck in your quest. :)

My comment was intended to mention simple alternatives with equipment you likely already have, if you wanted a voice activated alarm that was easier to set than a clock radio. Along with having a clock radio for your all day sound.

Android phones, maybe iPhones too, have a "Do Not Disturb" function that silences all sounds (except an alarm) during the hours you can set. My smartphones is on my nightstand overnight (for my own convenience) and it's completely silent (except for alarms I've set).

As I mentioned upthread, yes, I use my Echo Dot as a bedside alarm clock.

Back to the original question, which has nothing to do with cell phones.
Has anyone used an Echo device as a bedside clock radio?

Yes. As an alarm and radio, but Dot isn't a visual clock, she needs to be asked what time it is, unless you change her name to "Spot", then she'll display the time and weather, but I know you don't want weather, so I think you can remove that skill.

Looking out the window isn't a good weather forecast. :) It may be sunny right now, but we're expecting heavy rain accompanied by high winds this afternoon, (according to Alexa). :)

Elmer, as I said, I need to replace the current clock radio because of wonky analog tuning, poor sound quality, and poor time keeping (it's a Sony). There is no other equipment that I currently have. I won't use my phone for that purpose, to stay on in the bedroom all day.

There is another Echo device with a clock face and there is also an adapter for the Dot with a clock face.

Modern clock radios are much better than the one you apparently have. The one I have is at least 6 years old. It loses 2 minutes per year, but the cool thing is it changes automatically for daylight savings time. Now think about your phone from 6 years ago. Technology is improving everything all the time.

Not sure why you choose to not use your phone for this. That seems a little eccentric. The phone is perfect for what you want to do and will not drain the battery. I wear wireless Bluetooth headphones connected to the phone, which rides around in my pocket. The phone battery doesn't seem to drain at all. If you want better sound quality than the radio in other rooms you can get relatively inexpensive Bluetooth speakers for that.

I have direct tv which has a nice selection of music options. I have a TV in the living room and bedroom. When I want to hear music I can use those.

I wanted a clock that was big enough to see at night from the top of my dresser. It is an alarm clock but I use my phone if I need an alarm. I got a nice size atomic clock so I don't have to deal with setting it. It works for me.

We don't have any of the devices that talk to us other than the one on the phones.

Good luck with your quest!

Yikes, I was simply referring to your mobile phone, nothing more. Agree with dchall's comment.

Hmmm, my Sony clock radio is less than 2 yrs old and changes to DST automatically. It still loses time and sounds like crap.

Why not just get another clock radio that's up to date? You said you don't feel you'd use most of the features of the echo. Like someone mentioned above you can even get yourself a nice speaker so you can hear the radio throughout the house. I'm sorry I don't have any of those amazon devices so I can't tell you much about them. Is there a reason you want the Echo over a clock radio or do you think it seems like a neat device?

If the Echo has all the features you want and you don't mind paying what they cost go for it. :)

If I understand correctly, sushipup wants radio in the bedroom. If she used her cell phone then the phone would have to stay in the bedroom.

I was talking only about using the phone for an alarm, nothing else. I must have not explained myself well, I don't get the confusion. Lots and lots of people use their phones for an alarm, it's not like doing so is a burden or impacts daytime use of the phone wherever and whenever.

Our condo BR has an iHome with great sound, but I wanted a little clock radio on my side table. It's only two months old, but it has much better sound than I had expected from something so small -- about a 3" cube. It was about $20 at Target. It's a Capello 'Sleep Easy'. It has battery backup -- 2 AAA's.

It seems the Spot can keep the clock face lit all the time (don't have one, though).

I am nearly in the same situation as you though I use a clock to show the time. I use my phone for my alarm (you can use the Dot for this). I use it to listen to the radio. Haven't yet set up talking to others in the house via other Echo devices we have.

We also have a 'smart' plug and use it to turn on a table top lamp in the room.

Here's the points about the Spot (a Dot with a screen): from Amazon

• #Echo Spot is designed to fit anywhere in your home. Use 2nd generation far-field voice recognition to watch video flash briefings, see music lyrics, weather forecasts, to-do and shopping lists, browse and listen to Audible audiobooks, and more. All hands-free—just ask.
• #Echo Spot connects to Alexa, a cloud-based voice service to play music, read the news, answer questions, set music alarms, control smart home, and more
• #Just ask to play a song, artist, or genre, and see lyrics with Amazon Music. Also, stream music and books from Pandora, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, and Audible.
• #Use the built-in speaker or connect to speakers through Bluetooth or 3.5 mm stereo cable. With multi-room music, you can play music on your Echo devices in different rooms.
• #Ask Alexa to turn on your lights, show baby monitors and front door cameras, and lock your doors. Plus, control your thermostats, garage doors, sprinklers, and more.
• #Call almost anyone hands-free, or make video calls to family and friends with an Echo Spot, Echo Show, or the Alexa App. Instantly connect to other Echo devices around your home.

My old clock radio, sitting on the bedside table, has red numbers, (but doesn't reset for Daylight Saving), I can set it for music or buzzer to wake me (but, being retired, I seldom use that feature).

There's a bar near the top left that, when I punch it, turns on my choice of radio station ... for an hour. There's a bar near the top right that I can use to turn the radio off at any time.

And I can choose to turn on the radio for ongoing listening, if I choose.

Maybe you could find one like it at a garage/yard sale

Or, maybe, an estate sale?

At about two bucks (or five?) - one time fee.

ole joyfuelled ... fuelled also by music, talk radio, news, current affairs

... prior to sleep ... when wakeful during the night ... and in the morning

Here's an update. Thanks to all. I only wanted a radio that would go on at a preset time every morning and include a clock. I bought an Echo Spot (the ball-shaped one with a face to it) and spent the afternoon playing with it.

It goes back to the store tomorrow. Seems that Alexa cna't do two things at once. When I ask it to play the radio, I get a screen with the station name. Ask for the time to show, and the time comes up, but then reverts to the radio station name after maybe 30 seconds. Turn the radio off, and I get the clock. I wanted it to tell the time (without asking every time) and play the radio at the same time. I think I'll look for Chisue's Target bargain radio.

Maybe Alexa just needs some refinements, maybe in a couple more years.

After you started this discussion, I read a few reviews of the Spot and there were a bunch of complaints that the alarm feature didn't work. I was thinking about one for myself, but I don't think the devices are quite at the level of functionality and reliability that we need.

I'm glad you posted about your experience because that result would be a deal killer for me, too.

I'm not surprised. A lot of gizmos on the market are tech products for people who want "cool" but don't want to spend much time to learn how to use them. Something you talk to that mostly understands but has use limitations fits that description. And of course for someone who wants a clock radio, nothing fills the bill better than a clock radio.

Apple products are like that in my mind. They convince customers, for example, that iPhones have capabilities Androids don't, which is mostly not the case. But the Kool Aid is drunk all the same.

Nothing is more slick than Apple's products and they can charge a premium price. It's true that everything works simply and easily right out of the box. So long as you're happy to accept doing things as they think things should be done. Because oftentimes there are no alternatives.