Anybody get a Google Home device for Xmas?

We got Amazon's Echo, Alexa. We're having a camera system and lights connected to it. I love that you can monitor your whole house remotely. I'll add things as I learn about them. Anybody can have a smart house with these devices.

So far I haven't gotten one so far.

I've seen someone say, "Okay Google, order an uber" and that was pretty cool. I know a buddy that uses his Alexa to connect all his Nest thermostat/cameras and I know the Google Home can do the same thing.

Do you really need one of these? What a big waste of money.

Wait until the next version can wipe your lazy arse and then you won't have to leave your combo port o potty / pc chair.

This product won't ever be seen at my house. I am capable of turning off the light switch and adjusting my own thermostat.

Get off my lawn!

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Anybody else get one and if so, what are you doing with it so far?

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I have had one for a month so far and I use it many times a day. Primary thing I use it for is music control. I have four Chromecast Audios hooked to speakers and positioned around my house, so I can say "play my 80's playlist on the house" and it plays everywhere or "play Band on the Run in the kitchen" and it plays the song just in my kitchen from Spotify. Then I can pause, stop, shuffle or skip tracks my voice command. Its great for doing the dishes or getting ready in the morning.

Another thing I connected to it is my Smarthings hub. From that the Google Home controls most of the lights in my house (and I am converting more over every week), and it can control my thermostat just like you get with a Nest ("what is the temperature inside" "set the temperature to ___").Finally I have that all hooked to my Harmony Hub so I can turn on my TV with voice commands, and then play content (like Netflix or even view my Google Photos) via voice commands onto my TV. Heck I can even control my fan speeds by voice. It is like living in the future.

I will probably own three Google Homes by the end of 2017 so I can deck my entire house out with them.

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Siri is smarter so far.

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Google Home is way smarter than either Siri or the Echo because it can follow context and understand pronouns. Here is a video I found that really shows that ability off:

LINK

Google Home doesn't have the expandability the Echo does, but it is smarter than anything else on the market by far. I think in two year's time it will be the hottest item on the market. Early days still.

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explain


I am pretty sure you can link multiple homes but can not link echos

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Actually I think a recent Echo update address the issue of mulitple devices in the home. I am not sure though as I have the Google Home instead because I was already 18 feet up Google's arse before this product category hit.


What I was more talking about is the fact that the Google Home only works with a subset of devices and services that Google picked to launch with, while the Echo has a huge marketplace that connects to hundreds of more devices and services than the Google Home can. Google picked some to start out with- Uber, Hue, Samsung Smarthings, and a few more- which means you won't be able to use it with a Wink hub for example like you can with an Echo.

Google is making a marketplace for the Home though, which means by the end of 2017 I expect that advantage for the Echo to evaporate. The fact that the Google Home understands context, has better voice recognition ( I NEVER have to repeat myself even when I stutter), and is backed by Google's search instead of Bing means that its future is probably brighter. But it is still early days.

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not sure on this, last I checked was not possible

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Amazon just came out with that feature with the release of the second generation Dot. They call the feature Echo Spatial Perception.

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I am still having some slight issues with command recognition. Two days ago it started playing random chimes and phrases with no prompting though

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A lot of it has to do with placement. One thing that is better about the Echo is it has more microphones in a flat circle, while the Google Home is definitely directional. It took me a week of adjusting to get it decent enough to control two rooms, and really I am going to just buy another to do it right as soon as I get some reward point from Christmas shopping.

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At least make sure you never murder anyone while in range of one of these.

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Or at least turn off the mic if you do.

It's not about being lazy (yes it is). It's about convenience. Do you have a dish washer? Do you have a laundry machine? Do you have a Garage Door Opener? Why, when you could simply wash your dishes and clothes by hand, and open the garage door manually?

For Christmas this year, the wife and I decided to implement a smart home setup. Using Echo Dots, we have voice control over our lights; using a SmarthThings hub and Samsung power bot, we can automate vacuuming the first floor (and yes, it does a fantastic job of vacuuming).

It is quite nice to have lights turn on in the kitchen, so I don't have to fumble around in the dark. It is very convenient to simply say, "Alex, turn on Show Time", and then have the lights in the living room dim to a setting that I like for watching movies.

To say, "this product won't ever be seen at my house," is no different than when people thought everyone owning a smart phone was preposterous. Embracing and keeping up with technology is a necessity in today's world.