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Google Home v Amazon Echo (Dots! Moar Dots!)

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Anyone have either?
Opinions?

I was planning on picking up a Google cheap this week (rumors of $99) but there's currently a $20 off 3 from Amazon, netting you 3 Dots for $130.

They both provide similar features. I'm wondering how invested Google is in the Home, they tend to be flighty on products. Otherwise I would favor Google simply because they already know more about me and I can probably do more powerful stuff because of that.
 
I got the Amazon Echo as a gift from my work - otherwise I would not own one. And after using it for a few months, I wouldn't recommend anyone run out and grab one either. It's neat, but far from life changing. I basically just use it for:

-news updates and weather
-adding things to my shopping list and to-do list (it integrates with my To-Do/Shopping App Todoist, which is nice)
-setting timers for cooking/laundry/etc
-listening to my podcasts (aka a glorified bluetooth speaker)
-calling Ubers

If This Then That (https://ifttt.com) has some cool algorithms you can apply to your Echo to add some cool stuff too, so I'd make sure you check that out for either product once you have one.

I can appreciate that if you have smart appliances in your home there's more potential, but that's not my situation. Anyways, I tend to agree with you that Google's syncing with your Google account may add some more abilities and that'd probably be my lean too (without having done any research on Google Home).
 
super interested in this category too-- am requesting either an echo or a home for christmas and am planning to get one or the other for my dad for christmas as well.
 
Never trust Google products. They're notorious for abandoning products. Amazon is the better bet.
 
I have the dot - its nice just for the music playing capabilities, especially if you link to Prime Music. That being said, the speaker is really crappy so if you're comfortable spending an extra $100 I would get the echo. I've debated upgrading to that solely for the sound.
 
Have the Echo, we love it. Most common uses:

Our first floor has smart lights - just say living room on, all lights off, etc. The Echo has great voice recognition.

We listen to Spotify all the time. News feeds in the morning. Timers when cooking (can do multiple timers).

Tied IfThisThenThat to it along with our Harmony remote. Can turn the tv on/off (a million times more responsive than the Xbox One is, we've stopped using its voice control), change channels, etc. Pretty cool. Overall we find it very useful.
 
So with the Home, you can tell it to share something on your Chromecast, but I need a way to get the TV turned on and changed to that input first. Sounds like Harmony may do that? Some TVs can change to new input automatically, but my LGs don't seem to support it.
 
I was a relatively early adapter of the Echo.

Don't get me wrong, it's frickin' awesome... but the number that people have bought based on seeing me demo the thing in our house is insane.

I use it for 2 things, primarily. (1 is way more valuable than 2, IMO)

1 - Music. I'm not a music snob (or even a big fan), but having the ability to just say "Alexa play something like kanye's old stuff" & having a station made with no fuss with touching any gadget is just awesome. Controlling volume, song, everything you could want by voice is just remarkably handy.

2- weather. I just don't pay attention to forecasts very often, so I've found its really easy just to ask Alexa what's up before leaving the house.

The Echo's speaker is fantastic. Good bass, etc. I am used to having a very solid home theater system, though I'm rarely hungry for anything more than the Echo can crank out.

The reason I say I think the number of people who have bought one based on seeing what it does in my house is insane: people are fascinated with Alexa's integration with Wikipedia, etc. It's a really cool thing to demo to people, but in all practicality, I don't think it's anything most of us would continue to use regularly.

Since I'm a nosy little bitch, I've enjoyed looking through some of my friends Alexa apps (with their permission via their phone) to see what they use her for. She's primarily a conversation piece for most people. Which is fine. But, if that's her place... having her in the form of 'Dot' makes much more sense.

I'm going to write a 2nd post about the dot, since they are very different devices.
 
Dot is a beast. I love this thing for $50. I'm actually just going to buy a few six-packs and be done with my Christmas shopping.

The biggest feature upgrade is the aux-out port. I don't think I'm alone in having a few extra speakers laying around the house from the less-portable/more-wired computing days.

I've got my Dot hardwired into an old sound system in our bedroom. Her mic picks up every request I throw her way (even from our connected bathroom with the door shut). She leaves a lot to be desired in her built-in speaker, but if you set yours up like this... That's of no concern. Plus... She's tiny. For the size of it, the internal volume really isn't that bad. I wouldn't be surprised at all if my father (just as a cliché example of an old fogey) thought the on-board speaker was more than enough.

The two devices (echo and dot) are deceptively different. It actually took me a bit to find the right place for each.
 
This may be a really dumb question, but, would it be possible to for the Echo (or Home) to connect to a Sonos system, or other wireless speaker system, so that it could play the selected music through multiple speakers throughout the house?
 
Deadbolt said:
Never trust Google products. They're notorious for abandoning products. Amazon is the better bet.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that Amazon fire phone really is awesome.

Google definitely tries a lot of things and if they don't work, they abandon it. But Google Home is a pretty safe bet. Google purchased Nest a few years back and that's going just fine. Google realizes that search via phone or in the home is the next level. It needs to be in that market and Google Home will be around to link it all together.
 
For those interested in Echo Dots, they're on sale for $39.99 and if you add the Amazon Assistant browser extension, you can get a $5 off a purchase of $25 or more (non-digital products).

Also, if you are looking for a Smart Outlet, the WeMo Smart Outlet is on sale for about $20 if you use Alexa to order ($10 promo credit from Amazon Alexa).

The Dot cases are also on sale for those looking to dress up their Dot as well.
 
so is a Dot useful if my phone is an iPhone? (Yes, I'm channeling rj.)
 
DeacDiggler said:
so is a Dot useful if my phone is an iPhone? (Yes, I'm channeling rj.)
Click to expand...

My parents have an Echo and a Dot and they don't have any smartphones - they have iPads. So you should be totally fine with an iPhone. I have to imagine that even Google would make their stuff compatible with non-Android devices so as not to cut off the market.
 
DeacDiggler said:
so is a Dot useful if my phone is an iPhone? (Yes, I'm channeling rj.)
Click to expand...
The dot itself doesn't necessarily connect to your phone. You have to download the Alexa app and set it up with your various accounts, from Amazon prime, to Fire TV, to Spotify to Dominoes Pizza. Once you have added all your accounts to the Alexa app you connect the device to your wifi and complete the Alexa voice recognition setup.
 
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