Google certainly had a lot on their plate for today’s celebrations. Certainly, the new Nexus, well, the Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones were the stars of the show. However, Google had many other important things to discuss. The Internet of Things (IoT) for instance is going to be a huge moneymaker and hopefully a huge convenience to customers. Google has slowly been bringing out parts and pieces to connect the dots. It is all part of the Google Assistant, and if you have tried Allo since its release, you have had a taste of it. Today, Google announced the ‘Google Home speaker’ that offers more robust features of Goggle Assistant. It’s much like the Amazon’s Echo only with more connectivity options. It is available now for $129 USD (about $170 CAD), and Google has assured us it will be available in Canada, but not until 2017.
This little Google Home speaker is predominantly white on top with and an array of base colors, so it blends in with your décor. There are three fabric-covered bases in Mango, Marine, and Violet. You can also get the base in metal, and those are available in Copper, Snow, and Carbon. As small as it is, it puts out a loud enough sound to be heard over background noises and also to hear your speak your commands – always starting with “OK Google.” Once you speak, some sensor lights on top will flash to let you know it is ‘listening’ to you. Right now it knows over 70 billion facts and the number keeps growing.
Here is a great example of how these devices and programs all work together. You can use your Google Home device to add items to a shopping list using Google Assistant. After you have completed your list, drive to the grocery store and use you Google Pixel to access the list. Talk about a time saver and as connectivity grows so will the conveniences. Google Home will already interact with other IoTs such as Nest, SmartThings, Phillips, and IFTTT. Not all the parts are in place yet, but as Google announces new products they are always thinking about how this device will work with that one.