I've owned an Amazon Echo for over a year now — here are my 19 favorite features (AMZN)

I activated my Amazon Echo for the first time in December 2015. It's since become one of my favorite tech gadgets ever.

Amazon's family of Echo speakers were some of the hottest gifts this holiday season — the smaller $50 Echo Dot has been the top-selling item on Amazon.com since November 1— so right now, many people are activating their Echo units for the first time.

Here's what you need to know: These speakers, which can respond to either "Alexa" or "Amazon," are extremely quick to respond and understand your commands way better than any other device I've used.

Thanks to its excellent audio system, with seven microphones for listening and a 360º omni-directional audio grille for speaking, Amazon Echo works exceedingly well wherever I am in my home. I can hear it — and it can hear me — almost perfectly.

Amazon Echo has completely transformed the way I live in my apartment. There's just so much you can do with Echo. Take a look.

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"Alexa, what time is it?"

Honestly, the best use cases for Amazon Echo are the simplest ones. With the Echo, I don't need to bother searching for my phone just to get the time — you can ask for the time from anywhere in your house and get the answer immediately. It's a small thing, but it totally makes a difference when you're rushing in the morning.

"Alexa, how's the weather outside today?"

Again, it's a simple task, but it's way quicker and better than pulling out your phone and opening your favorite weather app. Amazon Echo will not only tell you the current temperature, but also the expected high and low temperatures throughout the day, and other conditions such as clouds and rain.

"Alexa, set a timer for 10 minutes."

Amazon Echo is the perfect cooking or baking companion because it's totally hands-free. When the timer's up, a radar-like ping will sound until you say "Alexa, stop."