Gadgetory

Google helmets gunning for Amazon echo spot on the home voice assistant throne based on the demo we saw at Google's developer conference yesterday Google has a three-part plan of attack to take on Amazon and Alexa who is that for me first a more conversational voice controller system in the video a kid ask Google home 3 straight question ok Google how many guys are on our galaxy well there are about 100 to 400 billion stars according to space.com which star is the closest according to NASA the nearest star system is Alpha Centauri Google home uses the context of the previous question to answer the next one Alexa the voice assistant in the Amazon echo can't do that yet she can respond to some basic internet searches Alexa three stars are in the galaxy our galaxy has 300 billion stars Alexa which one's closest I don't know that one but I'm working on including more local businesses to be fair Google Homes demo is just that it's a pre produced demo but the Google assistant on any current Android phone has similar contextual awareness ok Google how many stars are in the galaxy 100 billion stars ok Google which ones closest according to Hubble Space Telescope the closest spiral galaxy is Andromeda since what Google can do now isn't that far off there's no reason to think Google home isn't gonna deliver on that conversational functionality but Amazon updates Alexa all the time so by the time Google home hits retail shelves Alexa might be much more conversational her self second syncing with multiple devices we have an echo here in the living room and an echo over there in the family room they won't talk to each other Google home promises to talk to any chromecast device that's how it sends the picture of the star to the TV in the video and how it sends the song to multiple rooms to wake up the kids third customizable design people love personalizing their electronics and you'll be able to swap out the bottom of Google home with different colors and materials to match your home's decor the Amazon echo just has one first party action it's a tall black cylinder so Google home wants to win the design battle but some people think it looks like an air freshener so we'll see so if Google comes through on all of those promises it could be better than the Amazon echo but Google hasn't said a whole lot about smart home integrations yet there was that one part of the video where they use a voice command to turn on the lights in the bedroom but it hasn't offered a lot of specifics and the Amazon echo is a great smart home controller that's why we use it in the CNET smartphone so if Google falls behind on those integrations the echo could still be our first choice as a personal assistant either way looking forward to the battle ahead