Google Home

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Google Home

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#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

25280 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#1716305 7-Feb-2017 08:29

Get both.

Richard rich.ms

Trend Micro

Affiliate link

Affiliate link: Trend Micro provides enhanced protection against viruses, malware, ransomware and spyware and more for your connected devices.

hairy1

3162 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#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....

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

davidcole

5536 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#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.

Previously known as psycik

OpenHAB: Gigabyte AMD A8 Brix, OpenHAB with Aeotech ZWave Controller, Raspberry PI, Wemos D1 Mini, Zwave, Xiaomi Humidity and Temperature sensors
Media:Chromecast v2, ATV4 4k, ATV4, HDHomeRun Dual
Windows 10 Host Plex Server 3x3TB, 4x4TB using DriveBender, Samsung 850 evo 512 GB SSD, Hyper-V Server with 1xW10, 2xUbuntu 20.04 LTS, Backblaze Backups,

lchiu7

5865 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#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/rooms/32019730 Mention GZ to get a 10% discount

System One: PS3 SuperSlim, NPVR and Plex Server running on Intel NUC (C2D) (Windows 10 Pro), Sony BDP-S390 BD player, Pioneer AVR, Odroid C2 running Kodi and Plex, Panasonic 60" 3D plasma, Samsung Q80 Atmos soundbar. Google Chromecast, Google Chromecast TV

System Two: Oppo BDP-80 BluRay Player with hardware mode to be region free, Vivitek HD1080P 1080P DLP projector with 100" screen, Denon AVRS730H 7.2 Channel Dolby Atmos/DTS-X AV Receiver, Samsung 4K player, Google Chromecast, Odroid C2 running Kodi and Plex

hairy1

3162 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#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

249 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

#1716912 7-Feb-2017 22:51

+1 for both. They are complimentary.

afe66

2920 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#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

5536 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#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

2398 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#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

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#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.