Gadgetory

welcome to the 359 on rotor chain I'm Ben fax ribbon and I'm Alexander abled the Google home hub reviews are out in our own Andrew Gephardt is really liking this smart display works well it's a photo frame a smart home control panel and digital assistant and surprisingly blends well into your home that you're the you're the smart display guy what I write about them I'm a guy so you're the guy tell me about like how does it stack up against the echo show if you're really into watching youtube videos which granted like you're you're probably gonna be like standing up in front of the kitchen counter watching them but still if you want to watch YouTube videos this is probably better for that but for video calling it doesn't have a camera so you're just not gonna be able to do video calling it also what's interesting about what's going on with smart displays now is that there's at least some level of selection in the market you can choose between different things which is which is interesting and then maybe somebody out there maybe we'll buy the Facebook portal that would not exist right yeah well you told me your you're an echo person you've got a whole bunch of those devices is the Google home hub enough to make you I guess jump ecosystems yeah so I'm obsessed with all the Amazon echo devices I'm obsessed with Amazon like in totality but the but I really like the home up because it doesn't have a camera and that's a pause for you it is and then I have an echo spot and I really like it but the camera is weird and I feel like it takes up a lot of real estate and so I feel like the fact that this is so small and it can just really like blend into my kitchen is like very exciting to me is that where you put it the kitchen because they kept positioning is like a nightstand accessory I mean that's what I would use it for it because then I could just ask Google like for tasty recipes or something like that and I wouldn't have to worry about like accidentally getting like ugly selfie camera you know that's always like something that has concern the echo spot though is marketed as a nightstand thing so they like Amazon is very directly failing with the camera with the camera yeah telling people like hey it's fine put the camera in your bedroom it's not gonna be a problem so that's their posture this is what you get when Amazon hasn't had to deal with the privacy issues that you know it's other tech brethren have have had to deal with absolutely all right so the razor phone to exist exist I just don't understand because every phone is now built for gaming so what's the point of them spending resources is that true like every new phone look at the 10s max or the 10s or even last week when Bridgette was had the hand sewn with the ten are like I feel like all the new phones are built to play video games right there's like no point you got the pixel three XL yes God the Galaxy Note nine I mean there are tons of these big phones that all play video games that I'll talk about it obviously this one is you know they tout this one is more optimized for games better of screen refresh rate which is relatively unique administrative on the razor phone to creatively named ads ip67 water resistance wireless charging and a brighter 120 Hertz screen yeah it's I feel like it's not nothing special at the price where it's kind of at the iPhone 10 our level it's a little expensive for some for a one used to I've also seen people are having trouble just testing it like last week I saw that the screen was all jumpy and you couldn't touch on it so it's like spend your resources on making a better gaming tablet or even just a better gaming PC it's not what Razer is known for shouldn't that with yeah the doubt alright lastly want to call out our new series crossing the broadband divide this is a look at the challenges of connecting everyone in America we focus on America really this is a cool the problem connecting everyone to the Internet and you would assume you know time what we're talking about 5g and connecting everyone to blazing fast speeds there are lots of pockets of America that still don't get access our own short tip Ken went back to her home state of Iowa to get some in-depth look into this problem and this series will be running the entire week so definitely check it out for our full coverage follow us on SEANET I'm Roger Cheng I'm Ben fax or even I'm Alexander Abel listening oh boy oh boy four minutes sure does go fast thanks everybody for joining us for the recording of the audio podcast oh my lighting is really bad today I'll work on that here see me you look good you look like a vampire it really kind of depends on the day of the week in my mood anyways now it's time for you out there in the chat to send in your questions and comments about everything we talked about today I'm interested to hear more about the the rural area in yes project just because that's where I come from Nowheresville upstate New York real upstate western New York if you will please but employ the Bronx the Bronx is an upstate tshe until then let's talk a little bit about the Google home hub there's definitely some criticism coming out this one Emily's going on a tirade seems like that'd be more useful and can be picked up and carried around has a camera no good speakers just like the Google home it feels like that this thing is completely pointless why not just put a tablet on a stand so what really is the sell point what's gonna get somebody to invest in this very very single-use device I wouldn't call it a single-use device I think specifically the the idea with a smart display just like with any smart speaker is is that you're getting the voice assistant and if the voice assistant is something that is useful in your life and you like the idea of having a voice assistant you want to like while you're washing your dishes play music and not have to like go and fumble with your phone or whatever then that's why I'd like millions of people have purchased these types of things so the idea of adding a smart display is is that it's called multimodal now you can use voice and you can also tap and touch and you can see the visual so maybe that'll help with voice shopping maybe that'll help you just see the weather more clearly or just like go through news headlines but it's I understand the idea with these products I don't know that a lot of people are buying them though so I'm explaining all these uses but I don't I don't know a lot of people that have them in their home I mean I think the two examples that I saw at the Google event it was like the the step by step cooking directions they like being able to like call out to your tab like alright I'm ready with this next step and then having either to gather the ingredients or like the step-by-step instructions that would useful also the idea that this was this also double as a digital picture frame which those things kind of died out really quickly not only that like you could get one for cheaper than $150 yeah so yeah now that I'm a dad I like a Sam else app and I like seeing my kids photos pop up don't start crying like random you know random part of the kitchen is kind of peeling to me but I think that I mean Emily was saying what why don't you just put a tablet on a stand like you can if you have a tablet I do have a tablet and I have standards actually yeah but does it have voice like would you be able I know the Amazon tablet oh boy the future of it you know when I first got my dot I didn't think I was gonna use it as much as I did and yeah especially the spot now you really didn't think I was gonna use it I got it as a present and I was like whatever I'll just set it up and now it's like it's in my everyday life so I think it's just more about like integrating I think there's just a level of comfort that needs to be developed with these products just like the I mean the the original micro speaker and all that that was kind of a novelty and it got to the point where it was widely accepted I think that's where we are now with the these smart displays real kind of like what what do we need this for yeah I would agree also the hundred sixty I mean it's cheaper than a tablet that's the thing like if you don't have a tablet you start from scratch this is you know an okay option this is a viable option there it is but it's stuck in your house it's a definitely cheaper option than like buy a full-blown tablet and stand right the tab will run you five hundred bucks however for people that are really used to mobile devices whether it's a tablet or a phone a lot of these smart home things they only work if they're plugged in all the time so you can't take them with you and the only way that like any of these voices systems work is if you buy multiple different stuff which I guess is really good for the tech company yeah so like if I won Amazon's voice assist and in my car I have to buy an additional thing for that yeah if I want it in the kitchen I got to buy another one for that so yeah they're upselling an extension of if you already have like a little smart home you know if you already have the mini and you have everything else it's just like one more thing to make it just your entire smart house like well that's the thing like yeah if my question is for folks who are like committed to you know Amazon or Google like whether or not any of these parts are gonna convince myths which like if you've already invested in like four or five Amazon products will you go to the Google home hub or the home in a year I'm intrigued by it I mean if somebody if it was like on sale or somebody gave it to me as a present like I would definitely play around with it I like Alexa and I'm used to Alexa but I think that were in a situation with the Google home hub I would definitely Alexandra we're not allowed to use that word here yeah don't say oh yeah I've been I've been like a call me I've been like really try every single time I like so many times really they're not viewers that complain about there are viewers for the viewers that watch the show all I may have triggered some people on Twitter do it that's proof that that the entire Smart Home Hub thing has really becoming ingrained in the ecosystem at least in our little niche audience oh yeah I mean it may be it's not far and wide and showing up in your granddad's place but it's so normal now that you do have to be careful like well I feel really bad for anybody whose actual name is that oh yeah all right yeah I used to go by Alexa when I was younger today if we keep this up nice alright next question is coming in well it's really more of a comment but it kind of bridges off what you were just talking about with people and their loyalty Timothy do says pre-ordered my home hub can't wait to use it with my hello Ness now that's definitely a good point to bring up is like that that ecosystem being completely ingrained in and wanting all of your stuff to work together seamlessly Timothy also goes on to ask can the Google hub connect to an external battery pack Oh interesting maybe we haven't heard anything yeah that being developed I've seen that I've heard of a lot of people hacking this stuff I mean to make it portable yeah why would you do that because people take it out of beach when you're talking about smart home stuff a lot of the like the really forward reaching folks are basically in the maker community yes so they want to take this thing and then do whatever it is that they want to do with it so I could imagine that you could connect it to an external battery I'm not saying it would be easy yeah I mean I guess it means uses a USB port you can just plug into can you I don't know there's enough generic ones out there that are USB or even AC that you could probably tap I just need port no it depends on the adapter that they include with the right the the device because if it's not that significant I guess you can swap it out with the I don't know and then take it with you like a boombox but it doesn't come off are you gonna say anything else is that what you're gonna do bad it's mine but the audio audio is not great so even if you stood out like stood outside hold on hold on the audio is not great compared to what though it's all relative like if you really compare you know if you're gonna go or the Dex interesting okay yeah alright so you're gonna lease you're gonna compare the other smart to the market have superior audio right cuz I definitely hear like for instance with the echo a lot of folks complain that it's tinny especially the dot and whatever I'm like okay well what are you comparing it to are you conveying it comparing it to a Bose or no no's no because I'd be like that okay I mean it's basic physics the speaker's not gonna be great in its trying to feed something else that's right alright let's move on to another question actually now that you guys are talking about comparing it can trusting what's the benefit buying the home hub versus other google smart displays Joseph Gauss says how does Google home have compared to the Lenovo smart display looking into buying one of these which one would you recommend now we already talked about the audio fidelity but what are there some other factors that kind of weigh in on on buying options on these okay the Lenovo smart display is obviously a bigger display and I the speaker looks a lot bigger too so you might get better sound quality out of it it's also more expensive I think it's at least a hundred dollars it might be a little bit less than a hundred dollars more than the Google one and also if you have any interest whatsoever in video calling the Lenovo one has a camera where as the home hub does not so you would save a little bit of money other one does have a physical shutter there right correct yeah so that's kind of nice if you kind of want that camera for specific uses but you don't want on all the time it's kind of nice to have that physical shutter yeah yeah Alex Mitchell is one of those guys it says as much as I appreciate not having a camera I still want one for video calls when I'm cooking give me a camera cover so it looks like the home hubs out on his wish list serene joy says can't Google just released an upgraded chromecast with smart capabilities that would convert televisions into smart displays or photo frames that would sell out fast I do not think you're wrong on that one stern joy I think I'd be more interested in that myself being a longtime chromecast user what do you guys think I mean you wouldn't how many people have like a TV in their kitchen I think I'd be more apt to invest in a cheap decent-sized LCD TV and mount it on the wall next to my fridge or something and then smart if I it then I am to put a little guy that's gonna occupy very valuable kitchen counter space that I have in my tiny apartment oh that's me I don't know I don't know that you're saving that much money at that point you're buying a TV and then you're getting a chromecast and I know a chromecast isn't really that expensive right and now you're putting the whole system together the idea with the smart displays is you don't have to do any of that stuff just give us your money and plug this in plus I'm really lazy when it comes to stuff like mounting things and installation and and work general so that's using a lot more work than just slice right to your point about eliminate kitchen counter space I'm right there with you that's like that is a constant battle that I have to fight is figuring out how to put everything everywhere like we've got always small I mean yes it would take up valuable real estate but I can have a toaster there you could you could with something along the lines of a coffee maker I mean that's that's a valuable space like real estate wise it's pretty much the same space as a coffee maker you could put it on a little shelf by an electric yeah yeah like just go to Ikea and you can like build layers you know right right that's still that's still effort that sounds like that's difficult timmi they do brings up a good point can you mount this thing by the looks of it it doesn't have any new mounting hardware you do put up a shelf or whatever there's also the speaker is in the back of it so if you mounted you closer to the wall that's not good it could cause like a really weird like sound quality problem so any displays mountable so pretty heavy that would kind of be a little worried about now yeah yeah yeah I mean if if you're interested in a smart display but think they all look kind of ugly which is me wait like maybe 2 to 3 years like a couple generations from now I personally think they're gonna look a lot more like smartphones but right now they're all kind of like too big and plasticky and I know the echo show did a much better job in this next generation but they're still not nearly as polished as a lot of smartphones and and granted that's not the most fair comparison because smartphones has been have been around for more than 10 years and smart displays is like a new product I feel like there's gonna be a point where a smart display and I've phone are gonna look exactly the same and but which is I mix them I in my hair make foldable the phone is foldable you unfold it paste it to the wall oh my god I love the future yeah like unscrew it and like paste it to your face whoo yeah they just talked about it LG is also working on the scroll phone right now by I decree cooler but not terrible all right be nice we don't judge here we're not prejudiced all tech is beautiful at CNET okay before we wrap up this conversation when is Apple getting into the smart display game great question see Google releasing a camera version as a response next year okay I can answer that second question we actually talked to Google executives it was rich brown spoke with them at the event and they said look we want to test this out in the market and if they're really if people tell us that they would prefer a camera we're not against doing that they're not in like some philosophical like they haven't boxed themselves into like no we're never gonna have a camera as far as Apple um I would love to see them be a little bit more experimental with coming out with different product designs but like they're really slow with doing any of that kind of stuff well you know your money on that iPhone I mean that thing they tried to be experimental with the air power and it's been a year and we still I mean Apple has a formula it works and then I don't think they're gonna straight for well I also looked at home pod I don't know hope hasn't really been that well-received so I don't know in terms of like I think they're trying to work on that before they get to smart displays no I would like to see them have come out with a home pod mini or totally home pod micro dot I don't know what they look but they kind of work on Siri to open a no go home pod nano that would be really cool that's a naming convention that Apple would have come up in years well that's yeah iPod Nano right that's Apple is just way behind on all this stuff and the home pod was just a first step but we just talked about the Nano they got to work on Siri yeah it would be nice if they came out with a smart display but I think you're right that it's just really far from now yeah I think before they work on a smart display they they have to make Siri better I mean it's yeah I could absolutely awful hmm it's very frustrating how awful it is when you have oh yeah I mean I struggle to just ask I ask Siri for the weather for some reason that's like a two minute affair for me you know yes all right we have run out of time but there's still great questions full-flowing in most notably the the philosophical question has high in smartphone market reaches Plateau almost every high in phone specs are the same nowadays attributing to Alexandra's comments about the razor phone too you pick your favorites you sit with it nobody shocks you anymore welcome to modern technology well the phone yet it doesn't exist yeah just like the wireless power Apple it will exist I'll buy it when I see it you said you're right I did say I said the exact same thing last year so you know I feel like now you 24 the operating systems maybe not the specs but you buy the phone cuz you're too lazy to switch over and Bri buy all your apps that's true that means real pain but so yes that's what that's a valid thing okay for real though we are out of time I wish we could have talked a little bit more about this rural internet initiative I want to hear more about this Roger I'm gonna need you to stay after class but until then we are going to say goodbye for the day thanks everybody for joining us Roger let's take us on out sure the 39 is available iTunes tune in Feedburner stitcher google play music google podcast the amazon echo of course sina.com we'll see y'all tomorrow bye folks thanks you