It seems like Amazon and Alexa and in a battle for of all things controlling your home. I must admit it sounds pretty cool when you first think about it. “Alexa, where’s the closest burger joint?” Or “Hey Google, what time does my Pilates class start?” I mean, amazon has a cooler sounding prompt then Google, but I can’t help but wonder are we making people too dependent on technology to run our daily lives? I mean I did most of my Christmas shopping online this year to hunt for the things I wanted to get for people and avoid busy malls with staff that would rather be doing something else and then running to 3 other stores only to have to go online to order it.
So we could debate the merits of this tech (and many people will or probably already are) but I want to show you the feature set of each and a few reviews from people around the net that have used them both with varied results.
Amazon Echo Boasts
- Uses Amazon Alexa as your personal assistant and responds to voice commands
- Dual speakers with room filling sound – Note that you will need a speaker if you pick up the Echo Dot which has Bluetooth connectivity
- Colors – Charcoal Fabric, Heather Grey Fabric and Sandstone Fabric (also offers “Echo Decorative Shells” to customize the look of the device in your home)
- You can stream WiFi music – Includes Prime Music (Amazon’s new service), Spotify,
- Connectivity – both through a 3.5 line-in or Bluetooth
- Able to control smart home devices – Everything from lights to thermostats all with voice prompts
- Built in hub with simple setup to control home devices – Only available with Echo Hub model
- Compatible Services:
- Music & Audio: Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, Audible, tunein, iHeartRadio, SiriusXM
- Smart Home: wemo, Nest, ecobee, wink, Philips hue, tp-link, Sony, Samsung Smart Things,
- Voice Activated
- Price points – Echo Dot- $29.99, Echo – $79.99, Echo Plus – $149.99 (As of December 2017)
Google Home Boasts
- Uses “Google Assistant” as your personal assistant and responds to voice commands
- High Excursion speaker with 2″ driver & 2″ passive radiators
- Colors – Fabric and Slate White
- Supported Operating Systems – Android 4.4 and higher and iOS 9.1 and higher
- Compatible Services:
- Music & Audio: Spotify, Google Play Music, Tune In
- Smart Home: Nest, Philips hue, wemo, tp-link, Samsung Smart things, IFTTT, LIFX, legrand, AWAIR, D-Link, deako, emberlight, HIVE, iDevices, iHome Control, Leviton, Mobilinc, Nanoleaf, nubryte, plum, Smartika, Universal Devices
- Streaming Devices: Google Chromecast, Google Chromecast Audio, VIZIO, B&O Play, Toshiba, Philips, Sony, Bang & Olufsen, Polk Audio,
- Voice Activated
- Price points – Google Home Mini – $39, Google Home – $149
So those are some good key comparisons on what you can do with Echo and Google Home but I wanted to show you a couple of the better video reviews I’ve found out there that highlight some of the fun functionality and flaws in these devices…
Time will tell on who will own this space but the interesting uses that this technology is opening up from an IoT (Internet of Things) and Smart Homes perspective it will be very cool to check in and see where these are in 12 to 18 months from now. I’ve noticed this Christmas season that these devices are everywhere, the price continues to come down and I’m curious to see how well they’ve sold and of course I know that a few of them will find their way under people’s Christmas trees as well. If you are debating buying one I’d personally say do your homework, check out video demos or go into a store to see if you can try it out yourself.
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