5 ms·
That happens when you lower the crap out of the price. For 30 bucks with a freebie, I even bought one. And a google home mini. In the same room.
by paultopia 9y ago
That happens when you lower the crap out of the price. For 30 bucks with a freebie, I even bought one. And a google home mini. In the same room.
- melling 9y agoSomeone put an Echo Dot in my stocking. I’ve been ranting about these devices for a while and even recently wrote a little blog post: https://h4labs.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/voice-as-a-user-interface-is-almost-here/ https://h4labs.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/voice-as-a-user-inte... Is it worth getting a Google Mini too? I’m told that it’s actually smarter. I’m going to set up my Echo so I can reorder all the stuff I hate to shop for. We’ve been waiting half a century for “Voice as a User Interface”. Now we’re only a decade away?
- paultopia 9y agoI mean, I just use mine to check the weather. But for 30 bucks, the three seconds I save from not reaching for the phone are kinda worth it, I guess? It reminds me of my first few calendar items too...
- StevePerkins 9y agoI would say that the Amazon Echo is generally better at DOING STUFF (e.g. setting alarms and reminders, playing music, adding stuff to your Amazon shopping cart (of course), controlling your TV if you have a Fire stick, etc). Supposedly controlling smart home gear, although I haven't dipped my toes in those waters yet. The Google Home is generally better at ANSWERING QUESTIONS and providing information. Random queries that pop into your head a thousand times a day (e.g. Who starred in such-and-such movie? Who won the last time the Atlanta Falcons played the Carolina Panthers? etc). Occasionally though, Alexa will surprise you by answering a question where Google flopped. Either way, like others in this thread, I now have both since they discounted them so low for the holidays. But for the Google, I get by with the "Mini" version... whereas I sprung for the full-size Amazon Echo because I use it for music, audiobooks, podcasts, etc and want the better sound.
- Trav5 9y agoAnd Samsung Voice can't do anything well.
- adjkant 9y agoI'm sorry, I didn't catch that. What voice interface system would you like to criticize again?
- Trav5 9y agoS Voice by Samsung, found on the Gear S3. It's a watch with a full color screen and a cell modem, an amazing bit of hardware. Voice command does not work well at all though. I would love having Google Now on it.
- notyourwork 9y agoI agree and its not really a surprise either... Google has been in the search (Q&A) business a long time.
- gh02t 9y agoI actually find ghome to be better for smart home use. The app is a little more intuitive with organization and it is a lot better with recognizing the names of your stuff. Alexa would have trouble recognizing arbitrary names while ghome almost always gets it right. I started with Echo but ended up replacing it with Google Home because I like it so much more.
- pythonboi 9y agoThankfully I am not the only one who thinks this! I had an argument with my brother over IoT devices with Echos vs Google Home products. Google Home still requires you to use 3rd party apps but you are forced to set up the device in a location in your home/apartment. I can walk into my apartment and say "Ok Google, turn on all lights" and not have to worry about which brand of lights turn on. When I used my Echo Dot my brother got me last Christmas, I had so many issues with the same command.
- wepple 9y agoYep, do it. You’re interested enough to write it up, you should take a look at the home mini. There are a fair number of people in this thread saying they prefer the dot, which is really interesting to me because I thought the home was the clear winner. Perhaps I need to give Alexa a second chance. The big upside of the home is it has contextual understanding. “Alexa, what’s the temperature in Celsius” gives me the weather, including full day forecast (cloudy etc) in Fahrenheit. Google will tell me exactly what I wanted to know. I’ve given up on Alexa, but maybe “she” deserves a second chance.
- QAPereo 9y agoMaybe it’s just me, but I find these products creepy and intrusive. When I think of entities I’d trust with a networked mic in my home, giant multinationals don’t readily spring to mind. Price is not the issue, much like price isn’t the problem with FB. ...Then again I have a cellphone...
- JonDav 9y agoWhat was the freebie?
- paultopia 9y agoOne of those tp-link smart plugs. Which I haven't even taken out of the box yet, so maybe that shouldn't have influenced my purchase decision!