I was very surprised to find that Google Home is not being simultaneously launched in the US and Europe. They are just letting Amazon get a big head start. How big a head start as far as I can tell is still yet to be seen. As for price I don’t see them offering it for a £100 like Amazon did with the pre release of the echo.
I guess my real question is I am very happy with my echo. I really don’t see how Google expects me to be interested in a change?
I was disappointed to see the disparity, but not surprised. We are a different market with different consumer laws, and that’s just the start of it for electronic items.
Unlike you, I’m not bowled over by Alexa. There is a lot of half baked functionality built into the UK version. No IFTTT, no shopping. It seems to have been rushed to marked.
As an example, ask Alexa to find you music from a particular artist. She tells you that she’ll play the most popular tunes for that artist, you can skip, or if you want to buy a track or an album just ask her.
Immediately after the description there’s an error sound and she says “I’m not sure I can help you with that”, and then silence.
I’m sure these features will come, but it just might not have been ready for market yet.
If I’d paid £150, I’d be sending mine back now and waiting for Google Home. The presentation looked amazing, and I rate my Android for voice recognition over Alexa any day of the week.
Yep, I’m pretty much annoyed about this too.
Don’t get me wrong the Echo is a pretty cool device and has loads of potential but for us in the UK it’s missing some really useful functionality IFTTT is just the top of the list of things.
The Google device has an immediate advantage over Echo in that it has the entire of Googles services available and we already know how well integrated and hackable (in a good way) those are through API’s etc.
Amazon need to pick up the pace and make the tools available for the average user to make integration with other systems easy, sort out comms with the local network etc.
I’m seriously wondering if I have bought into a lemon at the minute.
Yeah I do understand that. But with Googles sizes I would not put it beyond them. If they could get a main land Europe release before Amazon surely this head start would be worth a little extra effort.
At least we know IFTTT is coming and we actually have a product to do our British thing and moan about. I never really brought Alexa to order all my toilet roll through anyway so that one doesn’t bother me.
As far as my experience with finding music. It is the complete opposite I have been able to search for specific songs with great success.
I don’t see how 2 mics is going to be better than 7 just doesn’t make sense. Plus Amazon already has a years worth of data to draw from.
You do realise there is no current release date for APIs or services to make 3rd party integrations with Google home right. Where as Echo has this capability day 1 in the UK.
Google has the trump card on voice recognition. They’ve been doing it for longer, and with superior AI capabilities.
Yes there is:
Starts in December
Also:
Plus Amazon already has a years worth of data to draw from.
Google have at least 7 years of data to draw from, not to mention their knowledge graph, and if that can help, near 30 trillion websites that can provide the data instead.
Amazon rely on Bing… 
Amazon have somewhat of an advantage in retail sales. It’s not a big leap to be able to start putting your shopping list together and amazon teaming with supermarkets to supply the grocery items. They can supply everything else on prime.
A joint venture between say amazon and tesco or sainsbury would dominate retail and grocery sales. Google is very good at getting you the information (and selling yours), but the actual monetising of the system would come from data on Google. It can come from actual goods sales with Amazon.
Also, if and when google open up the voice interaction to 3rd party developers, I see no reason for the actual google home device or multiples thereof. Just talk to your phone as you currently do. No need for far field listening or multiple devices. Just use the phone.
Also, if and when google open up the voice interaction to 3rd party developers, I see no reason for the actual google home device or multiples thereof
Its a case of when, rather than if. Hopefully it’ll get released in December with the API, however there is an embedded Google Assistant SDK which lets you build the assistant into any device you want from a Raspberry Pi to a Fridge 
I hope this doesn’t turn into a religious thing, along the PC vs Mac lines.
it’s good that there are competing systems out there. And the market will be stronger if both survive. So I’m cheering both camps.
I think its a given this will happen/ already has. I was really excited for the Google Home I thought they would add a lot of cool new features building on the echo. But from what I can see its just and echo clone with google search.
Is it going to work on phones that are locked with the screen off? great if it is 
but if not, having to get up off the sofa, pick my phone up off the coffee table where it lives, unlock it, ask Google to change the tv channel over…doesn’t appeal to me at all 
It already does, if you allow it. My 6P is set to respond to ‘OK Google’ whilst locked, screen off, cover closed. Handy when driving.
Edit: Although it could be amusing at a Google press conference 
Any idea if one bought in US would work with smartthings in uk/ireland?
Also wondering this for Canada. I really don’t want to wait until 2017. I’m guessing the USA one should be the same as the one coming to Canada. C UL listed?
Can’t get it to work with the screen off on my budget phone (works fine from lockscreen and I didn’t know about that!) good to know, thanks 
certainly a feature I’d like when I upgrade.
I wasnt too happy to find out that we have Bing based search results either 
I thought the fact that Amazon was finally releasing the Echo over was a sure sign that Google Home was going to be available in the UK asap and I am more than a little disappointed that not only is it not coming yet but more over we dont know when it is coming.
I do wonder if Google arent 100% sure that it will work as they want it reliably enough and a smaller roll out in the US will allow them to get the bugs out before a wider audience can get it. This is based only on the fact that at the announcement the Google Home bit was a recorded presentation and not done live.
The fact Google Home will support Smartthings, Nest, Hue & IFTTT while at this point Echo doesnt appear to really means we either have to buy from the States or wait and see which one will works as we want first either through an update or going on sale.
Yep not a bing fan.
Any idea of voltage for the Google Home? 110-240v? Wish to bring in Singapore.