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I try to live simply and avoid unnecessary technology for myself, but I think one of these products could help my relative. She is now in Asst Living (yay!) due to physical breakdown, including very limited vision due to AMD. Mentally she's pretty much okay, but is bored because she can't read, and every movement (such as getting to and turning on the CD player) is a huge effort, so she doesn't do it.
I have bought her a tablet but haven't given it to her yet; I'm worried that the 8x11 screen is too small to be effective, and I don't know what the setup requirements (for me) and the learning curve (for her) would be to make it serve as a low-vision aid for telling the time, playing music, and reading books aloud. Maybe an Amazon Echo that is voice-activated would be better? I am morally disinclined to give money to Amazon, but I am also burned out by frequent phone calls of the "What day is it? What time is it?" variety, and the Echo sounds like a good solution for that.
I appreciate any advice. Here are some specific questions I have:
For the Echo, does it require private wifi, or will it work on the facility's wifi?
I am just learning about the National Library Service and Braille and Audio Reading resources, which apparently enable free audiobooks to be accessed via the Echo. Has anyone had experience with that?
Is there free music content (classical) that it could access, or does it have to be purchased through Amazon for the Echo?
Or just general thoughts/advice would be welcome. She lost most of her eyesight pretty quickly and I'm having a hard time figuring it all out. Thank you!

An echo dot will work off of any wifi, and it would probably be easier to manage than a tablet. Tho, if it's a Kindle Fire, you can set up voice activation for Alexa on that, too. The issue with that is that it takes a bit longer for it to "wake up" than it would an echo dot. It will read books on her Amazon account, but I don't know anything about books from the NLS. I can post a link for the top 100 free Kindle books if you'd like it. They update it constantly. I *think* you can also just ask it to play classical music. If she wants to request a specific song there may need to be a subscription. (Don't quote me on that, lol!)

There will be a bit of a learning curve, of course, with either a tablet or an echo dot, but it might be worth it in the long run.
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Reply to Stardust
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Contact the agency for services for the blind in your area for advice. There may be devices and assistance your relative qualifies for, or at least some good pointers on how best to help
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Reply to Daughterof1930
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