Google Home

FL630 said:
I'm currently an Amazon Echo user, mostly to control my Hue lights, smart plugs and the usual timers, weather and general questions.

Has anyone here gone from an Echo to Google? Is one better than the other?

Edit: I am an Android user (S8+), use Gmail and Google calendar. I don't use my Echo for streaming music.
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I started with Google Home but have some comments to share:

1. Both control Hue lights, smart plugs and the usual timers.
2. Echo was the first device in the smart voice assistant market, introduced about 2 or 3 years ago. Google Home entered the market about a year ago or so. Then again, Google Home is based on Google Assistant, the voice search tool on more than a hundred million Android smartphones. Many believe Google Assistant to be the best voice search tool available in the market today.
3. Google Home uses Google Search. Amazon uses Bing. As to general questions, most people would argue that access to Google Search is second to none in the search space for general and specific questions. There is a really good reason why in many European countries, Google search is 90% of the search market. Google was not the first search company either. First mover advantage did not amount to a meaningful advantage for the first search company.
4. I too am a heavy user of Google services such as search, calendar, maps, Chromecast, Nest Thermostat, Google Music, etc I believe that is a big advantage with Home as these Google services work natively with Home. Both devices use many third party services and because Echo has been around longer, it has more third party services but I have found the selection on Google Home is more than sufficient.
5. Incidentally, most surveys I have read say that the main use for the smart voice assistant is for music, even though I note that you do not use that feature. By the way, Home is said to be a better music quality speaker than Echo. To underscore this point, Google has now introduced a more expensive Home device called Google Max for high quality music sound, a hat tip to the number of serious music listeners on their device.
6. On integrated services, I use Google Home for voice entry of my Google Calendar events. Works great. Also when I ask Google, it tells me all my events and meetings on my calendar every day.

Let us know what you decide.
 
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Thanks @sesevans

I'm not too worried about music as I tend to stream Spotify through my phone onto my KEF Eggs which are soon going to be mated by a nice small sub such as a REL T-Zero, which should give me better sound quality than any smart speaker can handle. The Google Max looks neat, but expected $400 (=£400) is a bit steep.

I'm really tempted to try Google over my echo dot, perhaps if I sell my Dot for £20 or so it'll make an interesting buy.

Perhaps I'm just bitter over Amazon and their shocking customer service and delivery times that I've had recently :D
 
@FL360 It's probably worth pointing out that sesevans has only ever posted on Overclockers praising Google devices and services and putting down competition, literally not a single post about anything else. That's over 500 posts(!) which are purely positive things about Google and nothing more, so it might be worth getting a few more opinions.
 
Em3bbs said:
@FL360 It's probably worth pointing out that sesevans has only ever posted on Overclockers praising Google devices and services and putting down competition, literally not a single post about anything else. That's over 500 posts(!) which are purely positive things about Google and nothing more, so it might be worth getting a few more opinions.
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Well it's one way to get yourself to the MM :) I'd still be interested to hear further opinions of those whom have used both devices, but I am very tempted to buy a Mini to give a shot.
 
Many have recently "pre-ordered" the Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL and will be testing out the new Google Home Mini for the first time. There are so many cool features on Google Home that we have discussed on this Thread that the "newbies" will benefit from our leading the way.

I have three Google Home speakers in my home and there is a cool, new feature that will appear soon with the latest Google Assistant update. You will be able to use your Google Home (or Mini) as an intercom in your home as long as each of the Home or Home Mini speakers are linked to the same sign in (ie GMail).

Often we have to shout upstairs to get children down for dinner, hoping they do not have their doors closed. Now with your phone you can broadcast so that your message will play simultaneously to each Home speaker. No more shouting aloud! Or telling the kids that it is time to leave for school.

You can use your phone for a broadcast even if you are outside your house so that you can announce for example, when you are arriving! Many other applications of this new intercom feature come to mind.

https://blog.google/products/assistant/communicate-around-the-house-with-the-google-assistant/

and

https://blog.google/products/home/google-home-mini-has-arrivedheres-what-you-can-do-it/
 
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Broadcasting to your home, from your phone whilst out of the house is a little intrusive no? The comedy of my girlfriend enjoying a night in on her own whilst I'm out with my mates... Shattered by me broadcasting from the train home at 11pm "HI HONEY IMMA ON MY WAY HOME BUT DONT WORRY IM NUT TOO DRANK HEY THIS TRAIN SMELLS OF WEE WHOS KEBAB IS THAT?" lol :p
 
Scam said:
Broadcasting to your home, from your phone whilst out of the house is a little intrusive no? The comedy of my girlfriend enjoying a night in on her own whilst I'm out with my mates... Shattered by me broadcasting from the train home at 11pm "HI HONEY IMMA ON MY WAY HOME BUT DONT WORRY IM NUT TOO DRANK HEY THIS TRAIN SMELLS OF WEE WHOS KEBAB IS THAT?" lol :p
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Enjoyed your comment. In the case you cite, I hope you have a very understanding other half!

Seriously though, I think the expectation is that the person doing the broadcasting has a reasonably good knowledge about whether the party listening at home has some interest in what you are going to say.

I do think that in our house, the most common use will be to avoid shouting from one end to the other.....something that happens when you have teenage children.
 
Lots of place doing the home for £79 and mini for £34 if anyone here is looking to pick them up. I won't name them in case any are competition I can't mention, but hop over to hotukdeals.
 
I ordered a home, might pick up a mini as well. I was actually waiting for black Friday thinking they'd drop it to £99 again, so this was a welcome suprise.
 
2nd Mini going back... Getting another full fat one for the living room! MUCH better than the rainforest toys, and the kitchen hi-fi is definitely coming out now (damn, I'll have to switch the radiator on to compensate for AV amp heat loss!).
 
Just ordered a Home for the lounge and a mini for the bedroom.

£79 + £34 = £113 + £3.95 P&P
- £2.50 Quidco Cashback deal on till midnight
- £5.84 (5% Quidco Cashback)

= £108.61

Complete bargain and no brainer at this price!
 
photoshop said:
Whats the reason you dont like the mini's?
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Love them, but only need just the one for the bedroom, which I've already got... After getting the first full fat Home earlier and a second Mini, I was going to use the second Mini in the living room... However, after I set the big one up in the kitchen and playing some music on it, another one of those will do for the living room instead.

As addictive as Sonos, but a load cheaper and more useful!
 
whiskycycle said:
Love them, but only need just the one for the bedroom, which I've already got... After getting the first full fat Home earlier and a second Mini, I was going to use the second Mini in the living room... However, after I set the big one up in the kitchen and playing some music on it, another one of those will do for the living room instead.

As addictive as Sonos, but a load cheaper and more useful!
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I just wish the sound quality was as good as the Sonos. I'll be getting a Sonos One for the kitchen which should get Google home support early next year.

Would love a Google Max but at £400 no chance!
 
I've told my girlfriend in no uncertain terms she should be buying me a white mini for Christmas (now). Whether or not I can wait that long or be tempted to buy one myself and have two come Christmas.. well.

I have (yet another) question. If you set up your Chromecast as your default audio player, how do you tell Home to play something on only the Home (not Chromecast)? Is there a command for that? :confused:
 
Matty8787 said:
Just ordered a Home seeing as they are only £79 at the moment, any tips, tricks etc?
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Great news and hope you enjoy it. There are so many tips and tricks that it is hard to know where to start. Hope you look back at this thread for many suggestions. Needless to say just Google it. My three Home devices set up at home are used throughout the day from basic things like voice search and music playback (I use Google Play Music subscription but Spotify works fine too) and setting timers and setting wake up calls to helping set up my home as a smart home to use my Home to control my Nest Thermostat (voice instructions such as turn up heat to 22C or turn down heat), smart lights (Philips smartbulbs easily controlled by voice instruction to Home), to boiling water in my smart kettle and much more.

Coming soon to Home is voice calling. I also enjoy broadcasts from my phone when I am out and about and simply want to send a family member a message if I know they are home. You broadcast message into Assistant on phone and it simultaneously broadcasts to any and all Home speakers you are logged into.
 
Coming to smart voice assistants in 2018 might be pico-projectors and enhanced security using 3D sensors.

I would find the security aspect very appealing as a motion detection service when I am not at home. Not sure yet how I would use a pico projector but perhaps with the 3 D sensor? Would it replace a Google Nest indoor Camera. Any suggestions?

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20171120PD200.html
 
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