Virtual Assistant for parents?

In particular I need something that is...

1: Cheap - even if I had my parents pitch in to buy this, none of us are on a good budget. My parents both lost their jobs and are on disability now, and I'm stuck with a job that doesn't pay particularly well and no other options available. Plus my parents are klutzes when it comes to technology and keep dropping, sitting on or misplacing their phones, Kindles, etc. Realistically I'm probably going to have to repurchase this a few times, so something affordable is a must.

2: Easy to use - my parents know how to use their phones, but using any more than the alarm functions on them (which they tend to ignore) is beyond them, and as mentioned they couldn't figure out the Alexa device. They need something they can use to set alarms for them and, preferably, actually tell them what those alarms are for, record things like shopping lists, and so on, preferably without too much of a hassle in doing so.

3: Durable. Remember the bit about klutzes above? I've heard that Apple's Siri is one of the best virtual assistants available if only due to it being the oldest and best established, but I've also heard that it only comes on extremely fragile and expensive iPhones, and I definitely can't afford to replace that every time they sneeze at it or knock it off a table.

The most convenient option of course would be to find some sort of guide to help them figure out Alexa, but I don't actually know how useful that VA is to begin with. If they're being given out for free like that one was I don't have high hopes, but I know nothing of the market for these right now.

Hopefully this isn't too off-topic for the board, but I'm unsure where else to ask.

Flash CM and Google Assistant on the cheapest Android tablet you can find. Or pirate Windows 10 and use Cortana.

>>61506836
you need something like the amazon echo
I don't know if it has all this capability since I've never used it but, you want something that's always on, always listening and able to speak up with reminders and shit.

>>61507413
How effective is Google Assistant? And why pirate Windows 10 instead of looking into buying it legitimately?

>>61507545
That does sound like what I'm looking for, and some research indicates it works with Alexa, something they already have (albeit that they don't use).

As someone who has been through what you're trying to do (helping parents with technology)... From your description of your parents condition, it may be too late to introduce an automated reminder assistant. They would need to learn how to use the system. Even if you have a great system, they may not have the ability to EASILY interact with a disembodied verbal helper who doesn't understand basic rules of English. I applaud the attempt and wish you success.

>>61506826
PS: Google Home already seem to have a more flexible verbal interface than Alexa. Google "google home vs alexa" and see what recent comparisons are saying. Alexa definitely has Google Home beat if all you want is a verbal shopping assistant. For almost every other use, Google Home wins easily.

>>61509190
>google google home vs Alexander
I see what you did there

There was actually a presentation ny a guy who works at Amazon who used his Alexa to help his autistic son to remember to do things.

Google Assistant ends up being more efficient than other AI solutions and able to complete more tasks as well.

>>61512075
Found it

https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/pollexy-building-a-special-needs-voice-assistant-with-amazon-polly-and-raspberry-pi/

My thanks to everyone for their responses! At the moment I'm looking more into the Google Assistant/Google Home thing, since I checked in with my parents and apparently my dad "had a fight" with Alexa, so I'm leaning away from getting them another Amazon product. I'll have to do more research on pricing, durability and/or portability for Google's VAs.

File: 1328420401063.jpg (55KB, 340x310px) Image search: [Google]

55KB, 340x310px

>>61512307
>my dad "had a fight" with Alexa