Google home minis? What to do?

[kohai]

I already have 2 echo dots interfaced with my isy and google had a promotion with their phones and I ended up with 2 google home minis.  I already have my echo dots setup and wondering what I could do with these things.   I really don't need more coverage.  Are the dots better than the mini or the other way around and I should swap in the minis?  Or, just find some place to use them?

 

What would you do?

[MWareman]

I have 4 minis and 1 regular Home.

 

The most popular function is ‘Hey Google, broadcast.....’ and all Home devices wake up and broadcast the comment following. It’s become a whole house dinner bell...

 

I also have my Minis ‘paired’ to either a Visio Smart TV or a non-smart TV with a Chromecast. My Vizios are connected to Sonos Playbars. This allows me to ask for any given piece of music and my Google Music Subscription springs to life playing thru the Sonos. It’s a very slick integration.

[larryllix]

I have 3 Dots, an ecobee4, an Echo and three Google Home minis.

 

The GH minis are a lot smoother for looks and AI but so far, the minis are trouble due to the AI making assumptions.. If they don't understand the device you stated, they make something up, even if it is every device in the house.

Alexa makes up some excuse about multiple units and asks for a repeat and never guesses.

 

At this point I have almost give up on the minis for HA. "Turn on Red bed", "Turn on Red bedroom", "Turn on Red Lights",  and "Turn On Red bedroom lights",  can all get various devices that contain Red in the name and usually all 9 of them will get triggered. "Turn off bedroom lights" gets every colour program and white lights in that room as it assumes I mean everything with bedroom in the name. You can see ISY run through flashing most of the rainbow and white before turning the string off. duh!

 

With Alexa. "Turn On the Red lights" gets one room and "Turn On red bedroom lights" gets another room as they are two different programs.

 

For looks, smoothness of operation, sound, function and online AI, the Google minis are far ahead but that AI  gap is closing.

[kohai]

My 11 yr old son asked if he could have one in his room.  It looks like they have children controls but I'm leery of him having it in his room -- too easy to have it give all the answers to his homework.

[larryllix]

My 11 yr old son asked if he could have one in his room. It looks like they have children controls but I'm leery of him having it in his room -- too easy to have it give all the answers to his homework.

I don't see the homework issue as a problem.

 

For math they gave to formulate their problem into a prper sentence and usually understand what tgey are asking first. It becomes easier to just get the answer out of their head.

 

Great for advanced things like squares and cubes.

 

Night Time stories and music are great

The intercom and emergency phone dialing features can be nice too.

 

 

I already bought my 5 year old granddaughter a Dot  and my 4 year old grandson is getting a Dot in March. Only because GH was too expensive at the time. GH is better for the non-techie AFAIC.

Just don't allow vocal purchasing. I think it is stupid to order something blind anyway.

Edited January 26, 2018 by larryllix