sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
What smartplugs do you use?
Google Home and Google Home Mini - discussion
- Thread starter Lord Camomile
- Start date
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
Awesome. Didn't even have to pay any shipping!
joustmaster
offcumdun
Mine are all kasa. Plugs on a few lamps. And a load of bulbs. No colour ones. But ones that let you change the temperature of the light colour. I wish I'd just bought the bulbs and not the plugs, tbh.
I've also got hive heating. And 4 hive bulbs. They're like those little halogen kitchen and bathroom style ones. Really cool
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
I got my free one through the post and couldnt actually think where to put it. So it's going to my sister who actually finds the sound quality of the speakers acceptable for playing music.
BristolEcho
Well-Known Member
Didn't seem worth it's own thread so I'll just post here that I got a Lenovo smart clock today! They were on sale for £40 so think they are just about worth that from my initial impression.
Speaker is decent and I wanted a small one for the bedroom as I like to lazily listen to tunes without moving. Links up nicely with Spotify. Display is decent enough.
My main reason for buying it is due to wanting to play podcasts without having to touch my phone so that I can leave my phone in another room at night. I think it might be a bit more fiddly to do this I'd hoped as I use Acast which doesn't link in. The internal Google podcast player is only voice activated only and not that intuitive.
Despite that I have figured out a workaround so by casting from my phone which should be fine as I can still leave it next door.
Speaker is decent and I wanted a small one for the bedroom as I like to lazily listen to tunes without moving. Links up nicely with Spotify. Display is decent enough.
My main reason for buying it is due to wanting to play podcasts without having to touch my phone so that I can leave my phone in another room at night. I think it might be a bit more fiddly to do this I'd hoped as I use Acast which doesn't link in. The internal Google podcast player is only voice activated only and not that intuitive.
Despite that I have figured out a workaround so by casting from my phone which should be fine as I can still leave it next door.
sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
I bought a home hub too,really like it. I got a nest doorbell fitted too as my partner gets anxious about opening the door to people when I’m at work and they work great together
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
As a owner of both an Amazon Echo and a Google Home Mini, I have to say The Google device is the more annoying of the two when trying to get it do the simple task of streaming a radio station. Example from just now.
"Hey Google Play 6 Music" - OK here's a spotify playlist called 'BBC 6 Music' - NO
"Hey Google Play Radio 6 Music" - OK, here's a spotify playlist called 'BBC 6 Music' - NO
"Hey Google Play "BBC 6 Music" - OK, here's a spotify playlist called 'BBC 6 Music' - NO!
"Hey Google Play "BBC 6 Music on iPlayer" - Voice actions aren't available for that app - WHAT?
"Hey Google Play "BBC 6 Music on BBC iPlayer"- Streaming BBC Radio 6 Music from the BBC - FINALLY!
This is not an isolated incident. Not long after that I tried to get Classic FM on:
"Hey Google Play Classic FM" - Sure here's a Spotify Playlist called Kurrupt FM Garage Classics BBC 3 -
It then proceeds to play Adeste Fideles from the Classic FM Christmas album which makes even less sense. Alexa doesn't put me through this degree of bollocks.
"Hey Google Play 6 Music" - OK here's a spotify playlist called 'BBC 6 Music' - NO
"Hey Google Play Radio 6 Music" - OK, here's a spotify playlist called 'BBC 6 Music' - NO
"Hey Google Play "BBC 6 Music" - OK, here's a spotify playlist called 'BBC 6 Music' - NO!
"Hey Google Play "BBC 6 Music on iPlayer" - Voice actions aren't available for that app - WHAT?
"Hey Google Play "BBC 6 Music on BBC iPlayer"- Streaming BBC Radio 6 Music from the BBC - FINALLY!
This is not an isolated incident. Not long after that I tried to get Classic FM on:
"Hey Google Play Classic FM" - Sure here's a Spotify Playlist called Kurrupt FM Garage Classics BBC 3 -
It then proceeds to play Adeste Fideles from the Classic FM Christmas album which makes even less sense. Alexa doesn't put me through this degree of bollocks.
editor
hiraethified
I say 'play BBC 6 Music' and it works every time.As a owner of both an Amazon Echo and a Google Home Mini, I have to say The Google device is the more annoying of the two when trying to get it do the simple task of streaming a radio station. Example from just now.
"Hey Google Play 6 Music" - OK here's a spotify playlist called 'BBC 6 Music' - NO
"Hey Google Play Radio 6 Music" - OK, here's a spotify playlist called 'BBC 6 Music' - NO
"Hey Google Play "BBC 6 Music" - OK, here's a spotify playlist called 'BBC 6 Music' - NO!
"Hey Google Play "BBC 6 Music on iPlayer" - Voice actions aren't available for that app - WHAT?
"Hey Google Play "BBC 6 Music on BBC iPlayer"- Streaming BBC Radio 6 Music from the BBC - FINALLY!
This is not an isolated incident. Not long after that I tried to get Classic FM on:
"Hey Google Play Classic FM" - Sure here's a Spotify Playlist called Kurrupt FM Garage Classics BBC 3 -
It then proceeds to play Adeste Fideles from the Classic FM Christmas album which makes even less sense. Alexa doesn't put me through this degree of bollocks.
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
Weird, perhaps it’s because I have it linked to my Spotify?
Nevertheless I have the echo dot linked to Spotify too and it works fine every time. It’s just the Google home mini which seems to have issues.
RubyToogood
RubyTwobikes
I have now donated my Google Home Mini to a local organisation which supports disabled people to use technology as it makes far more sense as a controller for eg someone with MS who wants to voice activate lots of things than it does for me.
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
Good shout. I should probably do this with mine. Hardly gets used. Decided I don't like speaking to my tech. Maybe I should come back in 5 years.
cybershot
Well-Known Member
Although only for 30 mins, Googles downtime today I assume took these out as well? Really does make me wonder if too much over reliance on this sort of tech, especially when it's vital for someone's house such as turning the lights on!
Losing your own internet is probably going to happen more than Google itself going down again, but the point remains.
Losing your own internet is probably going to happen more than Google itself going down again, but the point remains.
ddraig
kicking against the pricks...
Yup, one bloke quoted on beeb said they were sat in their toddlers room in the dark as the lights were controlled by google home, and they were rethinking their reliance on such tech
editor
hiraethified
I can always override my lights with a good ol' fashioned manual switch. Plus I only have non essential lighting hooked up.
cybershot
Well-Known Member
Yeah but you're not wheelchair bound!
editor
hiraethified
True, but the point is valid: don't hook up essential lighting!
Saul Goodman
It's all good, man
Or use a system that also includes an RF remote, which wouldn't be hard to attach to a wheelchair.
No way would I trust something important like lighting to be solely controllable via the internet.
