I’ve just seen that there’s a few places discounting these in the run up to Black Friday.
Once the novelty of asking them what time it is or getting them to play some music off Spotify etc, what do you actually use them for?

I’ll be getting a Google Home soon, as we’re an Android household.
Heavy Spotify users, frequent Netflix users, and have some home automation stuff. With that in mind I think voice cast, a reasonable stereo for a room that currently doesn’t have one, voice control of automation stuff, and things like setting verbal timers and writing stiff with kitchen prep hands will be a real help.

I’ve been reading a few things about these and I quite fancy getting one but it’s bloody hard work deciding which to go for!
I’ve got Amazon Prime so the Echo sounds like it would link up well with that but at the same time I’m an android user so the Google Home would probably work better with that.
Tough choice.

We have Prime as well, but we also have multiple Chromecasts which is the clincher for me – understandably, integration between the Googleverse and AmazonLand is a little patchy, and I don’t really want to get into hacking about behind the scenes.

we’re an Android household

There was a time when that remark would have got you noticed.

integration between the Googleverse and AmazonLand is a little patchy

“Alexa, say ‘Hey Google, play some Dire Straits'” 😉

“Alexa, say ‘Hey Google, play some Dire Straits'”

*Google Home* “Dad” profile selected

It’s an interesting conundrum.
Echo has been around much longer and Amazon has a put a lot of faith in this market.
Google is reacting to Amazon and has less to lose if it doesn’t work as well… but then Google’s amassed knowledge >> Amazons amassed knowledge.

Amazon winning on automation integration right now.

what do you actually use them for?

Bin dun a few times this one, but my Echo mostly gets used for (in order of frequency):

– listening to the radio (via TuneIn)
– playing music (via Amazon Prime)
– news (“flash briefing”) and checking the weather
– setting timers when cooking
– random internet facts, usually when talking to the kids about stuff
– just as a speaker for my phone playing mp3s, Spotify Free, YouTube etc
– silly games

Note: I don’t have any home automation (yet), and I don’t have multiple devices (yet) so no room-to-room calling.

It is in no way “essential”, but it is a useful luxury and feels like living in the future.

I’ve read that Alexa has much better voice recognition than other equivalents and gets more frequent updates.

I’ve read that Alexa has much better voice recognition than other equivalents and gets more frequent updates.

Plenty of reviews say GH has better voice recognition and better AI

Unless I’ve read everything about it wrong, the other big bonus of GH is, as alluded to above, it recognises voice patterns and matches them to the user, so it auto selects the Google account of the person making the request – i.e. you ask Google ‘OK Google, get me directions to Swindon MTB trails’, ‘OK Google, send this to my phone’ it will send it to your device, as opposed to your wife/child/dog’s.

My experience of Amazon world is pretty naff in this respect – i.e. our Fire stick can only have one profile, switching it means removing the profile and adding the new one.

This reviewer didn’t think much of the Google Home Mini:
The Register – The Google Home Mini: Great, right up until you want to smash it in fury

I use my Dot for turning on the heating – I can lie in bed on my day off and just say “aelxa, set the downstairs heating to 20 degrees” and then by the time I’m up and had a wash its all toasty in the kitchen!

Is it just the “OK Google” thing thats on Android phones, but in a standalone speaker?

My great uncle gives us £100 to buy a family Christmas present each year. The last two have paid for a slow cooker and a food processor. I’m choosing this year.

I’m assuming that the Home Mini is going to be three for two or something for *spits*Black Friday*spits*, so going to buy three – I’m thinking one upstairs by my bed, one in the living room and one in the kitchen.

We already have a ChromeCast in the TV and have family Spotify, etc.

Edit: they’re reduced already! Hmm, three Minis or a Home and a Mini?

Where’s cheapest for these things then?

I’ve read that Alexa has much better voice recognition than other equivalents and gets more frequent updates.

Not wanting to personalise my Echo, I changed the wakeup name to Computer. Fine, but watching Star Trek the other night, someone ordered food from the replicator and the Echo added it to my shopping list.
Still, uses – lights, mines are automatic anyway but sometimes go off earlier than I’d like, so switch them back on and off by voice. Listen to radio and streaming services. Local tide times (I do a bit of sailing). Jokes and puns. There is a Harmony remote control extension for it which would control TV, soundbar, dvd player and hi-fi via Echo, might treat myself

– listening to the radio (via TuneIn)
– playing music (via Amazon Prime)
– news (“flash briefing”) and checking the weather
– setting timers when cooking
– random internet facts, usually when talking to the kids about stuff
– just as a speaker for my phone playing mp3s, Spotify Free, YouTube etc
– silly games

I don’t have any of those uses and I don’t think there’s an add-on to control the wood burning stove – “Alexa – put another log on the fire!” 🙄

I suppose it’s a bit like the introduction of TV remotes. At the time they mostly replicated the functionality of the buttons on the TV but with the introduction of digital STBs there’s so much functionality that a remote is realistically the only way to navigate.

I think we are still very much in the early adopter phase, another five to ten years and it (Home automation) will be much more widespread as more appliances come with the required technology and whatever we have now reaches the end of its life and gets replaced.

79 quid for Google home at john lewis

I don’t have any of those uses

You don’t listen to the radio or music, have no interest in the news and weather, and don’t cook?

Okaaaay then. Yeah probably not for you.

Well,

Listen to the radio, mostly in the car.
Occasionally play music on my phone. I’ve got the free month’s trial of Amazon Prime (joined by accident – my fault) but will cancel it before the end of the trial as there’s sod all on there that I’m interested in. Don’t stream music.
Watch news on the TV, I don’t need to know *everything as it happens*. If my wife is out for the night I probably won’t turn the TV on at all.
cooking involves chopping stuff up and so on. Rarely have need to set a timer, in fact I can’t remember doing it.
Kids? Oh, don’t have any. If I want to know anything I’ll head over to the computer or iPad and check.
Don’t really play games.

If I want to turn the lights off I’ll get up, walk over and use the switch.

So, like I say, home automation doesn’t exactly fit into my life. I’m not a Luddite, I work in technology, I just don’t have a use for all of it.

Technically I don’t have a use for my 14″ dildo I have in the back of my van, but it doesn’t stop me having one.

Yeah I wasn’t trying to be snarky whitestone. It genuinely doesn’t sound like you’d get much out of it.

(You should make the most of that Prime trial though. There are some good shows on there to watch before it expires, even if you don’t use the music aspect).

DD: is that your booster seat? 😉

Actually it was looking through the shows that I couldn’t find anything to interest me. I’m aware that I might be in a minority here 😉

DD: is that your booster seat?

Well, “booster” is one word you could use.

I couldn’t find anything to interest me

Wow. Not even under movies?

Well, “booster” is one word you could use.

Makes you stand a little more erect when you sit on it?

Noticed you can only use music prime on one device at a time without paying extra. Bit cheeky.

Tonight’s amusing use of the Dot: my gummy 7 year old was writing her Christmas list (first draft) so…

“Alexa, play ‘All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth'” 😀

(Not something I’d have had on CD or MP3)

If you’ve got one of the Amazon devices you could always enable my Strava skill 🙂

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0773WGK4R

Anyway this thread was a useful reminder before I forget or miss their reminder. Just cancelled Prime, jeez they really don’t want you to cancel do they?

“Do you want to cancel?”

Yes

“Are you sure you want to cancel?”

Yes

“Are you still sure you want to cancel?”

Yes

Just ordered a Home and a Mini, courtesy of my Great Uncle Jim.

Well I ordered an Echo and a Dot as I had a couple of vouchers that should give me another £15 off the sale prices.
I then changed my mind and ordered the Home and Mini but when I tried to cancel the Amazon order it was too late.
I’ve now got them all turning up tomorrow 😆

My Dot at the moment mainly gets used for:
Timer/alarms when cooking
Controlling various lights
Checking the time
Streaming tune-in radio to a bluetooth speaker in my bathroom

None of the above is life-changing but it is fairly useful at times (and a Dot isn’t much money).

I’ll probably get a Logitech Harmony kit soon and control my TV with it, possibly an Echo for the kitchen to play songs in there.

Echo for the kitchen to play songs in there.

I connect my Dot to my grandad’s huge old 70’s radio when I want some proper noise in the kitchen.

But the internal speaker is good enough most of the time.

I got a Google Home Mini as a birthday present the other day.
Handy for asking when shops open/shut, travel times etc

You get 3 months of Google Music streaming service which is nice – would cost you £30. Still fiddling with it.
May prove to be a gimmick, but might be quite handy in bedroom or kitchen for cooking etc. Probably handy for my brewing – setting timers, doing unit calculations etc. Wonder if it can do Brix to specific gravity?

Is the Dot speaker reasonably ok? I have a Bluetooth sound-bar and a mini Bluetooth speaker already, so is it just a bigger speaker that the echo brings to the mix?

Can you make spotify a default, or do you have to tell it to play from spotify each time?

The Dot speaker is fine for Alexa talking, for music it’s a bit meh (think £5 Bluetooth/iPad non-Pro speaker quality). Echo is essentially the Dot with a £20ish-quality Bluetooth speaker built-in. The new Echo has a smart hub built in now, not sure if the new Dot does (you’ll need a smart hub for controlling stuff like lights)?

My understanding is that the Dot/Mini speakers are like playing music direct from a reasonable mobile phone – okay for listening to podcasts while cooking, etc but not for music at a party.

The Echo/Home speakers are like a reasonably decent bluetooth speaker, so with careful positioning will fill a room.

I wish the Google devices had line out, for connecting to a decent speaker, but I suppose that’s what the Chromecast Audio is for.