The Google Home is a fantastic bit of almost futuristic technology. Reminiscent of the Computer from Star Trek and the natural English input feels powerful. That said there are some really simple things that the Google Home cannot get its digital head around.
1. Tell me when the next train is
When you live less than 5 minutes walk from the train station knowing when the trains are is kind of useful. Frustratingly the Home knows but you have to ask the question in a particularly awkward way. The natural "when is the next train to Sheffield" gets a "sorry I can't give directions for public transport yet". But ask "How long to Sheffield on the train" and it tells you what time to leave (coinciding with the next train) and how long it will take.
2. Turn on my Nest cam
So I have to admit I saw the Nest logo (and the fact that Google own them) and expected to be able to do this. It turns out you can only can control the Nest thermostat not the Cam. I'd love to be able to turn the Cam on and off with the Home. I can imagine this might be a security issue so maybe this needs to wait until the Home only responds to its owner's voice.
3. Translate better
I'm learning Russian badly and make use of translation sites you can "talk to". The concept is simple, I go to Google Translate and use voice input to see if it can understand my Russian. Sadly the Home only seems to be able to translate from English to Russian. Maybe I need to wait until the Home is released for the Russian language and switch. Although I need to improve my Russian first.
When you live less than 5 minutes walk from the train station knowing when the trains are is kind of useful. Frustratingly the Home knows but you have to ask the question in a particularly awkward way. The natural "when is the next train to Sheffield" gets a "sorry I can't give directions for public transport yet". But ask "How long to Sheffield on the train" and it tells you what time to leave (coinciding with the next train) and how long it will take.
2. Turn on my Nest cam
So I have to admit I saw the Nest logo (and the fact that Google own them) and expected to be able to do this. It turns out you can only can control the Nest thermostat not the Cam. I'd love to be able to turn the Cam on and off with the Home. I can imagine this might be a security issue so maybe this needs to wait until the Home only responds to its owner's voice.
3. Translate better
I'm learning Russian badly and make use of translation sites you can "talk to". The concept is simple, I go to Google Translate and use voice input to see if it can understand my Russian. Sadly the Home only seems to be able to translate from English to Russian. Maybe I need to wait until the Home is released for the Russian language and switch. Although I need to improve my Russian first.
4. Learn non-standard names
Whilst this is not really an essential function the Home will remember names you tell it. You can say "What's my dog's name?" and it will repeat what you told it in the past. This also works for cats, wookies and a number of other things. Unfortunately the Home only seems to let you have pets with names from a set list. Our dog is called Shea (named for William Shea) but the Home insists he's called Shane.
So is it worth getting one?
There are so many things the Google Home can do they are definitely worth considering. There are though some really obvious things that it can, yet, do.
Whilst this is not really an essential function the Home will remember names you tell it. You can say "What's my dog's name?" and it will repeat what you told it in the past. This also works for cats, wookies and a number of other things. Unfortunately the Home only seems to let you have pets with names from a set list. Our dog is called Shea (named for William Shea) but the Home insists he's called Shane.
So is it worth getting one?
There are so many things the Google Home can do they are definitely worth considering. There are though some really obvious things that it can, yet, do.
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