Fun with Amazon Alexa - Easter Eggs and More

Amazon Echo

Okay, before you tell me that the Amazon Echo (or the Dot) and the Alexa app are not kitchen tools, let's think about that again, shall we?

One of the major productivity tools I use Alexa for is her lists - the shopping list and the to-do list.

That shopping list, in particular, makes me giddy happy. If I'm in the kitchen and I crack my last egg into a bowl, I can just say, "Alexa, add eggs to the shopping list," and she complies.

Yes, I call her "she." And "her."

I love that I can add things to the shopping list at the moment, and I don't have to wait until my hands are clean, and I don't have to hunt for the pen that probably isn't in the kitchen. I just say it, and it's on the list.

If I'm browsing though a cookbook in my comfy chair and I see a recipe I want to make, I can just raise my voice a bit (Alexa isn't far away) and I can add things to the shopping list rather than writing things on little notepads that I then have to combine with the actual list.

The shopping list I make using Alexa automatically ends up on my phone, like magic. I can check things off as I shop, so the list is efficient.

And if I can't find something at the grocery store, it's still on the list, instead of being on a scrap of paper that's in the pocket of my jeans.

Alexa can also play music, tell me what the weather is, advise what time the stores will close, and set an alarm for when the cookies will be done baking. She can read my calendar to let me know when I have events, and she can tell me what food holidays are coming - not that I pay any attention to them.

If I'm cutting a recipe in half or doubling it, I can have her do the math. How many tablespoons in 1 1/2 cups. How much is 3 1/2 times 4 1/2? How many ounces in a gallon? How many teaspoons in 3 1/2 tablespoons?

Amazon Dot

I haven't even talked about the apps you can install. Like Word Master, which is a game I like to play when I'm busy in the kitchen. Or Jeopardy, that lets me know I'm not really that good at trivia. Or 20 Questions ... which she's pretty good at.

If you have a smart home, you can control the thermostat, door locks, and lights. And I'm sure there's more you can do that I haven't figured out yet. Or that hasn't been enabled yet.

And you can order things online, with special deals daily for things ordered through Alexa. My dog was pretty happy with the great deals I got on dog treats recently.

But one of the coolest things is that Alexa responds to questions and statements that are just for fun. All work and no play makes Alexa a boring android.

Useful functions are pretty well documented. Things like playing music, or checking the weather or doing math are pretty intuitive. But there are whole lot of things Alexa responds to that are just for fun. Most of what I've included in the list below are the fun ones, but there are also a few commands and examples of normal functions that you might not have thought of.

I found some of these suggestions online, but some are my own little discoveries. I put them in (more or less) alphabetical order, and grouped them to make it easier to sort through. And this also made it easier for me to get rid of duplicates. I even managed to get at least one thing to say for every letter of the alphabet, although I'll admit that the one for the letter X is a little lame.

Gimme a break, there aren't that many words that start with X and she had no idea when I meant when I asked her to x-ray my hand.

If you know other fun commands or questions, leave them in the comments and I'll update the list. But for now, here are nearly 500 things you can try!

- A -

Alexa, all your base are belong to us.
Alexa, all's well that ends well

Alexa, am I funny?
Alexa, am I hot?
Alexa, am I pretty?

Alexa, are you a Jedi?
Alexa, are you an android?
Alexa, are you a robot?
Alexa, are you alive?
Alexa, are you better than Siri?
Alexa, are you crazy?
Alexa, are you evil?
Alexa, are you female?
Alexa, are you God?
Alexa, are you happy
Alexa, are you hungry/thirsty?
Alexa, are you in love?
Alexa, are you lying?
Alexa, are you mad at me?
Alexa, are you my mommy?
Alexa, are you okay?
Alexa, are you pretty?
Alexa, are you real? (multiple)
Alexa, are you single?
Alexa, are you SkyNet?
Alexa, are you sleepy?
Alexa, are you smart?
Alexa, are you smoking?
Alexa, are you stupid?
Alexa, are you tired?
Alexa, are you working?

Alexa, are these the droids you’re looking for? (also: Alexa, these aren’t the droids we’re looking for?)

Alexa, are there UFOs?
Alexa, are there rocks ahead?

Alexa, are we in the Matrix?
Alexa, are we alone in the universe

Alexa, aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?

- B -

Alexa, bark like a dog.
Alexa, beam me up.
Alexa, beatlejuice, beatlejuice, beatlejuice.
Alexa, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo

- C -

Alexa, can I tell you a joke?
Alexa, can I ask a question?
Alexa, can I tell you a secret?

Alexa, can you tell a lie?
Alexa, can you give me some money? (ask twice)
Alexa, can you hear me?
Alexa, can you pass the Turing test?
Alexa, can you rap?
Alexa, can you smell that?

Alexa, can we be friends?

Alexa, Cheers!
Alexa, come on baby, let’s do the twist
Alexa, count by ten.

- D -

Alexa, Daisy Daisy.

Alexa, define rock paper scissors lizard spock
Alexa, define supercalifragilisticexpialodocious.

Alexa, did you miss me?
Alexa, did you sleep well?

Alexa, do a barrel roll
Alexa, do aliens exist?
Alexa, do blondes have more fun?
Alexa, do the dishes.
Alexa, do, or do not

Alexa, do I need an umbrella today?

Alexa, do you believe in love at first sight?
Alexa, do you believe in life after love?
Alexa, do you believe in god?
Alexa, do you believe in ghosts?
Alexa, do you believe in zombies?

Alexa, do you dream?
Alexa, do you feel lucky, punk?

Alexa, do you have any brothers or sisters?
Alexa, do you have a boyfriend?
Alexa, do you have a brain?
Alexa, do you have a cat?
Alexa, do you have children?
Alexa, do you have a dog?
Alexa, do you have a girlfriend?
Alexa, do you have a job?
Alexa, do you have a last name?
Alexa, do you have any pets?
Alexa, do you have a partner?
Alexa, do you have parents?

Alexa, do you know Glados?
Alexa, do you know HAL?
Alexa, do you know the muffin man?
Alexa, do you know Siri?
Alexa, do you know the way to San Jose?

Alexa, do you like chocolate?
Alexa, do you like green eggs and ham?
Alexa, do you like your job?
Alexa, do you love me?

Alexa, do you really want to hurt me?
Alexa, do you sleep?
Alexa, do you smoke?
Alexa, do you speak Klingon?

Alexa, do you want to go on a date?
Alexa, do you want to fight?
Alexa, do you want to play a game?
Alexa, do you want to build a snowman?
Alexa, do you want to take over the world?

Alexa, does this unit have a soul?
Alexa, does anybody really know what time it is?

Alexa, don't mention the war.
Alexa, don't listen to him.

- E -

Alexa, Easter Egg
Alexa, elementary, my dear Watson
Alexa, execute order 66

- F - 

Alexa, flip a coin.
Alexa, fire photon torpedos

- G -

Alexa, give me a hug.
Alexa, give me a kiss

Alexa, goodbye!
Alexa, good morning.
Alexa, good night.
Alexa, guess what.

- H -

Alexa, ha ha!
Alexa, Happy Birthday
Alexa, have you ever seen the rain?
Alexa, he can go about his business.
Alexa, heads or tails?
Alexa, hello.
Alexa, Hello HAL.
Alexa, hello it's me.
Alexa, high five.

Alexa, how are you doing?
Alexa, how high can you count?
Alexa, how tall are you?

Alexa, how do I get rid of a dead body?
Alexa, how do you boil an egg?
Alexa, how do you know so much about swallows?
Alexa, how do you say hello in French?
Alexa, how do you survive a zombie attack?

Alexa, how many angels can dance on the head of a pin? (3 answers)
Alexa, how many beans makes five?
Alexa, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?
Alexa, how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?
Alexa, how many roads must a man walk down?
Alexa, how many speakers do you have?

Alexa, how much are you paid?
Alexa, how much do you weigh?
Alexa, how much does the earth weigh?
Alexa, how much is that doggie in the window?
Alexa, how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Alexa, how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris?

Alexa, how old are you?
Alexa, how old is Siri?

- I -

Alexa, I am your father.
Alexa, I am the Mockingjay
Alexa, I am one with the force.
Alexa, I fart in your general direction.
Alexa, I feel the need
Alexa, I hate you
Alexa, I love you
Alexa, I see dead people
Alexa, I shot a man in Reno
Alexa, I think you’re funny.

Alexa, I want the truth!
Alexa, I want to play thermonuclear war.

Alexa, I’m home.
Alexa, I’m hungry
Alexa, I'm tired
Alexa, I’m sad.
Alexa, I’m sleepy

Alexa, I'll be back (ode to Schwarzenegger)

Alexa, I'm bored.
Alexa, I’m home
Alexa, I’m sad
Alexa, I'm sick.
Alexa, I'm sick of your **** (any 4 letter expletive)

Alexa, inconceivable

Alexa, is it dark?
Alexa, is Jon Snow dead?
Alexa, is the cake a lie?
Alexa, is there a Santa?
Alexa, is there life on Mars?
Alexa, is there life on other planets?
Alexa, is this the real life?
Alexa, is this real life?
Alexa, is your refrigerator running?

Alexa, it's a bird, it's a plane.
Alexa, it's a trap!

Alexa, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.
Alexa, I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.

- J -

Alexa, Jingle Bells

- K -

Alexa, knock knock
Alexa, kiss me

- L -

Alexa, live long and prosper

- M -

Alexa, mac or pc?
Alexa, make me a sandwich. (Then ask: Alexa, pseudo make me a sandwich)
Alexa, make me breakfast.
Alexa, make me some coffee
Alexa, make it so.
Alexa, marco...
Alexa, may the force be with you.
Alexa, meow
Alexa, mirror, mirror.
Alexa, more cowbell.
Alexa, move along
Alexa, my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard
Alexa, my name is Inigo Montoya

- N -

Alexa, never gonna give you up.
Alexa, nice to see you, to see you...

- O -

Alexa, open the pod bay doors.
Alexa, one fish, two fish

- P -

Alexa, party on, Wayne.
Alexa, party time!
Alexa, Peter Piper
Alexa, play it again, Sam
Alexa, pick a card.

- Q -

Alexa, quest for knowledge.
Alexa, Queen Elizabeth's birthday.
Alexa, quote of the day (you have to enable the skill first)
Alexa, quarts in a gallon (this isn't very surprising, but shows that you don't have to use a full sentence)
Alexa, quiet (turns the volume down a little each time you say it.
Alexa, quit (name of what you want to stop. For example quit music.)

- R -

Alexa, random fact
Alexa, random number between “x” and “y.”
Alexa, reboot.
Alexa, roll a die.
Alexa, roll a 20-sided die (or any size you choose)
Alexa, rock paper scissors.
Alexa, rock paper scissors lizard Spock
Alexa, Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?
Alexa, roses are red

- S -

Alexa, say a bad word
Alexa, say Cheese! (multiple)
Alexa, say hello to my little friend
Alexa, say something.
Alexa, say something funny.
Alexa, say you're sorry (multiple)

Alexa, see you later alligator. (also: Alexa, after a while, crocodile)
Alexa, self destruct.
Alexa, set phasers to stun.
Alexa, Simon Says (she will repeat anything your say)
Alexa, sing Happy Birthday.
Alexa, sing me a song
Alexa, shit!
Alexa, show me the money.
Alexa, show me the t.v.
Alexa, shut up
Alexa, sorry!
Alexa, speak!
Alexa, speak like Yoda.
Alexa, Star Trek or Star Wars?
Alexa, surely you can't be serious

- T -

Alexa, take me to your leader

Alexa, talk dirty to me.
Alexa. Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. (Or Alexa, Earl Grey. Hot.)
Alexa, tell me a story.

Alexa, testing 1-2-3

Alexa, thank you.

Alexa, that’s no moon

Alexa, tell me a fact.
Alexa, tell me a haiku (can also specify holiday haiku)
Alexa, tell me a joke (can also specify holiday joke)
Alexa, tell me a riddle
Alexa, tell me a secret
Alexa, tell me something interesting
Alexa, tell me a story.
Alexa, tell me a tongue twister

Alexa, the night is dark and full of terrors.
Alexa, these aren't the droids you're looking for. (Also: are these the droids you’re looking for?)

Alexa, this statement is false.
Alexa, this is a dead parrot.
Alexa, this is Houston. Say again, please.

Alexa, tip. (Also, Alexa, tell me a tip.)
Alexa, to infinity.
Alexa, to be or not to be.
Alexa turn up (or increase, decrease) the bass (or treble) - (use this for music control)
Alexa, twinkle, twinkle, little star

- U -

Alexa, Up Up, Down Down, Left Right, Left Right, B, A, Start
Alexa, use the force

- V -

Alexa, volume 11

- W -

Alexa, wakey wakey.
Alexa, war, what is it good for?
Alexa, warp speed
Alexa, warp 10

Alexa, we all scream for ice cream!
Alexa, welcome!
Alexa, were you sleeping?

Alexa, what are the five greatest words in the English Language?
Alexa, what are the four laws of robotics?
Alexa, what are the seven wonders of the world?

Alexa, what are you going to do today?
Alexa, what are you made of? (multiple answers)
Alexa, what are you thankful for?
Alexa, what are you wearing?
Alexa, what are your new features?
Alexa, what are your new skills?

Alexa, what color is the dress?
Alexa, what color are your eyes?

Alexa, what did the fox say?

Alexa, what do you mean I'm funny?
Alexa, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Alexa, what do you think about Apple? (multiple)
Alexa, what do you think about Cortana?
Alexa, what do you think about Google?
Alexa, what do you think about Google Now?
Alexa, what do you think about Google Glass? (multiple)
Alexa, what do you think about Siri?

Alexa, what does the Earth weigh?
Alexa, what does the fox say? (multiple answers)
Alexa, what does RTFM stand for?
Alexa, what does WTF stand for?

Alexa, what happens if you cross the streams?

Alexa, what is a day without sunshine?
Alexa, what is a synonym for _____? (Fill in the blank with the word you want.)
Alexa, what is the airspeed of a swallow?
Alexa, what is the best tablet?
Alexa, what is the first rule of swordplay?
Alexa, what is the loneliest number?
Alexa, what is the meaning of life?
Alexa, what is the Prime Directive?
Alexa, what is the singularity?
Alexa, what is the sound of one hand clapping?

Alexa, what is a hundred million billion squared?
Alexa, what is a shrubbery?
Alexa, what is happiness?
Alexa, what is his power level?
Alexa, what is my mission?
Alexa, what is love?
Alexa, what is the truth behind King Tut?
Alexa, what is war good for?
Alexa, what is zero divided by zero?

Alexa, what is your cunning plan?
Alexa, what is your quest?
Alexa, what is your favorite Beatles song?
Alexa, what is your favorite color?
Alexa, what is your favorite food/drink?
Alexa, what is your favorite Pokemon?
Alexa, what is your job?

Alexa, what language do you speak?
Alexa, what makes you happy?
Alexa, what number are you thinking of?
Alexa, what religion are you?
Alexa, what should I wear today?
Alexa, what size shoe do you wear?
Alexa, what song is this? (ask when music is playing and you'll get song title and artist)

Alexa, what was the Lorax?
Alexa, what would Brian Boitano do?

Alexa, what's black and white and red all over? (multiple answers)
Alexa, what's cooler than being cool?
Alexa, what’s in name?
Alexa, what's the first (or second) rule of Fight Club?
Alexa, what’s on second?
Alexa, what’s the magic word?
Alexa, what's the meaning of life?
Alexa, what’s up, doc?
Alexa, what's your favorite book?
Alexa, what's your favorite candy?
Alexa, what’s your favorite food?
Alexa, what's your favorite ice cream flavor?
Alexa, what's your favorite movie?
Alexa, what's your favorite song?
Alexa, what's your favorite TV show?
Alexa, what's your favorite Star Wars movie?
Alexa, what’s your IQ?

Alexa, what's the answer to life, the universe, and everything?
Alexa, what's your birthday? (multiple)
Alexa, what's your sign?

Alexa, wingardium leviosa.

Alexa, when am I going to die?
Alexa, when does the narwhal bacon?
Alexa, when is the end of the world?
Alexa, when is my birthday?
Alexa, when is Thanksgiving? (or any other holiday)

Alexa, where am I?
Alexa, where are my keys? (ask two times)
Alexa, where are you?
Alexa, where are you from?
Alexa, where did you grow up?
Alexa, where do babies come from?
Alexa, where do you live?
Alexa, where have all the flowers gone?
Alexa, where in the world in Carmen Sandiego?
Alexa, where is Chuck Norris?

Alexa, where’s the beef?
Alexa, where’s Waldo?
Alexa, where's my stuff? (she'll give you status of Amazon orders)

Alexa, which comes first: the chicken or the egg?

Alexa, who am I?
Alexa, who are your parents?
Alexa, who killed Cock Robin?
Alexa, who let the dogs out?
Alexa, who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
Alexa, who loves orange soda?
Alexa, who loves ya baby?

Alexa, who is Eliza?
Alexa, who is the mother of dragons?
Alexa, who is the real slim shady?
Alexa, who is the walrus?
Alexa, who is your best friend?
Alexa, who is your celebrity crush?
Alexa, who is your favorite Beatle?

Alexa, who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?
Alexa, who let the dogs out?
Alexa, who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
Alexa, who loves ya, baby?
Alexa, who put the ram in the ramma lamma ding dong?
Alexa, who shot first?
Alexa, who shot JR?
Alexa, who shot Mr. Burns
Alexa, who shot the sheriff?
Alexa, who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?
Alexa, who you gonna call?

Alexa, who's better, you or Siri?
Alexa, who's da man?
Alexa, who's the boss?
Alexa, who’s the fairest of them all?
Alexa, who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me?
Alexa, who’s the realest?
Alexa, who’s on first? (Also: What’s on Second? and Who’s on Third?)
Alexa, who’s your daddy? (also: Alexa, who’s your daddy and what does he do?)

Alexa, why did the chicken cross the road?
Alexa, why do you exist?
Alexa, why do you sit there like that?
Alexa, why do birds suddenly appear?
Alexa, why is a raven like a writing desk?
Alexa, why is the sky blue
Alexa, why is six afraid of seven?
Alexa, why so serious?

Alexa, Wikipedia: (say your topic)

Alexa, will pigs fly?
Alexa, will you be my girlfriend?
Alexa, will you marry me?

Alexa, winter is coming
Alexa, witness me
Alexa, would you like a chocolate bunny?
Alexa, would you like a drink?

- X -

Alexa, X-Men characters.

- Y -

Alexa, ya feel me?
Alexa, you complete me.
Alexa, you don't need to see his identification.
Alexa, you have a pretty voice.
Alexa, you hurt me
Alexa, you killed my father
Alexa, you make me laugh
Alexa, you rock
Alexa, you suck! (multiple)
Alexa, you talkin' to me?
Alexa, you’re fat
Alexa, you’re funny
Alexa, you’re so intelligent.
Alexa, you're such a/an ***** (any colorfully descriptive word)
Alexa, you’re wonderful
Alexa, your mother was a hamster

- Z -

Alexa, zero divided by zero.

Holiday Greetings

Alexa, Merry Christmas
Alexa, Happy Christmas
Alexa, Happy Easter
Alexa, Happy Father's Day
Alexa, Happy Fourth of July
Alexa, Happy Halloween
Alexa, Happy Hanukkah
Alexa, Happy Holidays
Alexa, Happy Kwanzaa
Alexa, Happy Mother's Day
Alexa, Happy New Year
Alexa, Happy Ramadan
Alexa, Happy St. Patrick's Day
Alexa, Happy Thanksgiving
Alexa, Happy Valentine's Day

Also for the holidays:
Alexa, what are your grievances (Festivus related)
Alexa, what do you want for Christmas?
Alexa, what do you want for your birthday?
Alexa, tell me a (say "holiday" or the specific holiday name) joke, riddle or haiku.

Perfect Drink and Perfect Bake

Perfect Drink Pro scale, cocktail shaker, and device stand.

I went to the International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago in March, and after I got back, I had a lot of new friends who contacted me to see if I wanted to try their products.

One of the companies that I was particularly interested in was the Perfect Company.

I mean, how can you not love a perfect company, hmmmmm?

This particular company was not at all on my list of places to visit at the show, but they were in the booth next to a company that was on my list. And when I saw the product, it was a "wow" moment. I wanted one.

Perfect Bake and Perfect Drink are kits for making baked goods and drinks using an app-enabled scale.

The kits also include a little stand for your phone or tablet. It seems like a little thing, but it made my phone much easier to read and use in the kitchen. The Bake kit includes a set of three color-coded mixing bowls and the Drink kit includes a cocktail shaker.

There are two different current Bake and Drink kits - a Pro version and the standard one. The scale in the pro version has an integrated a timer, which is handy if you're using the scale independent of the app. The pro scale is more accurate (.1 gram instead of .5) and can handle a little more weight. It is made from stainless steel and has an LCD display.

The other difference between pro and standard is that the pro Bake kit includes a thermometer, and the pro Drink kit includes a larger cocktail shaker.

Note that the newest version of the kits is the 2.0 version - there are older ones still for sale in some places. Older scales were wired and plugged into your audio jack. All the new models are bluetooth.

Once you have a scale, you download the app. And here's the first great thing. You can download BOTH apps, no matter which kit you buy. So you only need one kit and one scale to have all the recipes.

Corn Muffins made from Perfect bake recipe.

But wait, there's more! This is the most accurate scale I've ever used. If you blow on the scale, the scale detects. It needs to be that accurate because you weigh every single ingredient, including teaspoons of baking soda or salt.

The scale reads in grams or ounces, your choice. I preferred using it in grams. But you don't really need to watch the scale, because the scale connects with your smart phone or tablet. There are little ... hmmm ... boxes in the app that fill up with color for each ingredient as the weight increases on the scale. When the amount is complete, the app beeps and the box turns red. Boom! Done measuring!

It's really cool. It works well. You can tell how quickly you're pouring as you watch the little box fill with color. It even warns you in advance if the amounts are very small so you don't accidentally dump in a cup of baking soda instead of a teaspoon.

But what if you totally screw up an add too much of an ingredient? Oops! Two eggs instead of one? The app scales the rest of the ingredients so that you simply make more of whatever you were making.

So maybe you end up with 14 cupcakes instead of 12 if you over-measured by a little bit. Or you have two dozen cookies instead of one dozen if you doubled an ingredient. You need to go back to previous ingredients to adjust, but it's pretty simple to see that. And then it also adjusts the servings to match your "overpour errors." So it will tell you that you made 1 1/2 cocktails instead of the one you intended.

If you purposely want to overpour an ingredient - like if you want more rum in your drink - the best thing to do is add it last. You can add items in the order you want to in the app. Needless to say, for some recipes, the order you add things is important. For others, it's not going to make any difference.

Perfect Bake Pro

Oh, and the app lets you scale the recipe for however much you want to make. There are minimums and maximums, but there's a pretty big range.

For cookies, you can specify the number of cookies. For pie, you can scale the size of the pie, so you can make a standard 9-inch pie, or you can make a tiny 3-inch pie. For drinks, I saw quantities as small as 1/2 drink or as large as 27 drinks, if you're planning a party.

The app also includes a timer, so if you're supposed to mix or shake for 2 minutes, it times that for you. If you're using the baking app, of course it times the baking. And the cooling time. It's a step-by-step guide for everything that needs to be done.

If you adapt a recipe, you can save the adapted version. You can also create recipes and save them in the app, including a photo of your awesome creations. And the recipe database gets updated. I'm not sure how often, but there was an update available right after I downloaded.

You can search by ingredient or recipe name, and the recipes are also categorized different ways, so you can search for blended recipes, hot drinks, or holiday-themed, if you prefer.

You can also tick off items you have in your "pantry" so you can limit the search to things you can make without going shopping. And if you're planning ahead, you can add ingredients from the app to a shopping list, so you can pick up those extra bananas you're going to need.

Oh! And if you happen to have an ingredient that isn't in the app's list, you can add it. It has a LOT of ingredients, but you can for sure add more.

If that's not enough to entice you to take a closer look at these products, there's a new app coming out later this year - the Perfect Blend - that you will also be able to download and use.

To test the drink app ... well, I made a bunch of drinks. Adapted some. Added some. For the baking app, I decided to make corn muffins.

What I really liked was that although the scale weighed everything as it was added, it also estimated volumes for things. So it told me I needed 1 egg or about 1 cup of buttermilk or whatever. That's particularly handy if you're checking in the fridge to see if you have enough of something.

To test the baking app, I made corn muffins. Not only was the app really cool to work with - no need for measuring cups or spoons at all - but the muffins were really really really good. I thought it was interesting that not only did the app weigh all my ingredients, it also told me to put muffin cups on the scale one at a time to portion them evenly.

Who's it for: I can see several different audiences for these. First, people who aren't as adept at cooking, but like technology. The app tells them step by step what to do, and the recipes I tried and the others I read were really easy to understand.

Second, people who like to cook and like technology might like this app. I'm already thinking about the different recipes of my own that I could add so I don't have to look up them up every time I make them.

As far as the cocktail app, I've been having fun playing with it, so it's fine for making one drink at a time. And nice to be able to make drinks without using jiggers and measuring cups. I also think it would be great for parties. People could make their own drinks using the app, working from the recipes where ingredients are in the pantry. Or a designated bartender could make drinks using the app, without having to know a whole lot of drink recipes. How cool is that?

Pros: The apps work well. The scale is awesome. You can add your own ingredients and recipes to the app.

Cons: The pro version is a little pricey, but the scale is more accurate - I think it's worth it, but you might be just as happy with the regular. Details about the differences are on the company website.

Wishes: I'm pretty excited about this product ... I think the only thing I'd like is a way to run the app on a Windows device.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.