Google Home

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sbiddle

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#208322 7-Feb-2017 07:26

Has anybody on here got one of these?

I was thinking of picking up an Amazon Echo while in the US but am now swaying towards the Google Home.

Everything I've read so far seems to regard the Echo as still the superior device in many ways - better integration and 3rd party app/device support and great Amazon integration with their services. Home however seems to be vastly superior if you want something to actually speak to in natural English and get answers.

I don't see any issues setting up Home outside the US like there is with Echo.

Anybody have one (or both) and have any comments on them?

richms

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#1716305 7-Feb-2017 08:29

Get both.

Richard rich.ms

hairy1

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#1716310 7-Feb-2017 08:38

Yeah. Get both. Good re-sale for both in NZ. We have the Echo. Never voice trained it which might be some of the problem but I find Alexa has a 20% miss rate with questions. The addition of world time zones has sorted out the calendar and time problems we used to have with the Echo.

I am tempted to get a Home as we are invested Google but no US trips for ever more for me....

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davidcole

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#1716335 7-Feb-2017 09:03

Get an apple tv as well, and get siri, alexa and whatever they call google home to talk to each other.

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lchiu7

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#1716511 7-Feb-2017 13:50

hairy1:

Yeah. Get both. Good re-sale for both in NZ. We have the Echo. Never voice trained it which might be some of the problem but I find Alexa has a 20% miss rate with questions. The addition of world time zones has sorted out the calendar and time problems we used to have with the Echo.

I am tempted to get a Home as we are invested Google but no US trips for ever more for me....

I would say get both too. You can get one without landing on US shores from here

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1297281-REG/google_ga3a00417a14_home.html with US$21 shipping to NZ.

Can you clarify what you mean about world time zones for the Echo/Dot? I hacked my units to have NZ time but no other location services possible. Is there an update now without requiring hacks?

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

hairy1

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#1716541 7-Feb-2017 14:25

lchiu7:

hairy1:

Yeah. Get both. Good re-sale for both in NZ. We have the Echo. Never voice trained it which might be some of the problem but I find Alexa has a 20% miss rate with questions. The addition of world time zones has sorted out the calendar and time problems we used to have with the Echo.

I am tempted to get a Home as we are invested Google but no US trips for ever more for me....

I would say get both too. You can get one without landing on US shores from here

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1297281-REG/google_ga3a00417a14_home.html with US$21 shipping to NZ.

Can you clarify what you mean about world time zones for the Echo/Dot? I hacked my units to have NZ time but no other location services possible. Is there an update now without requiring hacks?

Yes. In settings in the app you can select a time zone.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

pedrogarcia

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#1716912 7-Feb-2017 22:51

+1 for both. They are complimentary.

Apple TV

Stream your favourite shows now on Apple TV (affiliate link).

afe66

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#1716958 8-Feb-2017 06:59

davidcole:
Get an apple tv as well, and get siri, alexa and whatever they call google home to talk to each other.

How do you get Siri working on ATV. I've bought one in Dec when in USA but it said Siri not available for Nz. Would be nice to talk rather than use onscreen text searches.

A.

davidcole

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#1717186 8-Feb-2017 13:18

afe66:
davidcole:

Get an apple tv as well, and get siri, alexa and whatever they call google home to talk to each other.

How do you get Siri working on ATV. I've bought one in Dec when in USA but it said Siri not available for Nz. Would be nice to talk rather than use onscreen text searches.

A.

if you sign in to a uk or us tunes account I think you have the option then.

shk292

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#1720040 14-Feb-2017 14:28

I recently brought back a Google Home from USA. Having tried it out for a few days in USA, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to set up for use in NZ - simply a matter of using the app to authenticate with home WiFI, and changing the location to my home address. You get a warning that it is designed to work with USA WiFi, which I ignored, but otherwise no problems. It does sometimes struggle to understand kids speaking quickly with a kiwi accent, but then so do most Americans

I don't have any home automation to try it with, it's more of a fun/novelty thing for me and a convenient way to play music from Spotify and TuneIn

sbiddle

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#1720092 14-Feb-2017 15:58

I just picked one up a few hours ago here in the US. I'm just about to have a play with it soon.