Google Home is now in Indian homes

After a long waiting period Google Home & Google Home Mini, two models of AI smart speakers powered by “Google assistant” are finally launched in India.  Amazon smart speakers are well-known to us which were made available to Indian users 6 months ago.  I am one of the very first users of Amazon Alexa speaker if I consider our visually impaired community in India.  I demoed and guided and trained many blind users of Amazon Alexa to make them a pro-user.

My experiences and explorations were shared in my earlier blog on this URL  http://saitechblog.blogspot.in/2017/11/alexa-my-virtual-girlfriend.html

After using my Echo Dot & Alexa for more than 6 months now I got a new virtual assistant for myself in the form of Google Home Mini. Here I am sharing my first hand observations after using Google smart speaker for a week. Post lot of buzz and social networking teasers Google launched their smart speakers in India on 10^th April 2018. They started selling it on Flipkart on the same day and also made it available offline in more than 600 stores across the country.  Out of them Reliance Digital has one of the best launch offer as they provide free JioFi device with 100 GB of data. Flipkart also had free JioFi device for initial 3 days along with 10% cash back on HDFC credit cards. Off course to avail the cash back I bought Google Home Mini (Rs. 4450) from Flipkart & got it delivered on 15^th April.  

Here at home now I am with my 2^nd smart speaker. I was eager to experience new one for its features.

Unboxing & set up

Flipkart shipped this device in a big shoe box, I thought it was a bundled pack for JioFi router & Home Mini but I was wrong as there was a tiny box in this big packet. I removed the bubble rapping &opened the small box with cutter. There was a donut shape speaker along with a cute looking charger. My colleagues told me that it looks like a Moti soap which we all Indians buy during Diwali days, LOL. I hooked the tiny charger to power plug & connected the USB pin to a port available on the speaker.

I found a slider button just next to USB port, I identified this must be a microphone toggle switch. After turning ON the power switch, within 3 to 5 seconds, I heard a startup sound, Google Assistant prompted “Your Google Home Mini is ready to set up, download Google Home app to your device & finish the configuration”. 

Wow! Crystal clear audio with user friendly instructions. I installed “Google Home” in my Android phone; on first screen of this app I read a message that set up your new device. I tapped on it & got a confirmation for my Google Home Mini, heard a chime sound on speaker & confirmed the same through app. Great, what an accessible way to connect to your speaker for the first time. My brother told me that lights on speaker have changed after this step.

I finished the initial configurations like Google account confirmation, home address, device name, WIFI connection & other assistant preferences. All these steps were highly accessible with my screen reader “Talkback”.

Since, I use “Google assistant” on my phone “Hey Google/Ok Google” voice model training was not required for me. Within 5 minutes I completed the speaker setup.

My first question to my Home Mini was “How are you?” a pleasant female voice quickly replied “I am great; you want me to help you in anything?”

Great! What a feeling, first time I heard Google assistant’s voice on a device other than my android phone. I explored the Home app for some more important settings.

Recommended settings for blind users

To turn chime sounds on wake-up word there is one option under device settings as”Accessibility”. This is a very useful option for person with vision impairment as these audio cues help us in talking to assistant efficiently. You can also turn OFF the casting on other Android devices on this network for barring other users on Home Mini. Additionally Google Mini has few touch gestures which can be performed using its top panel. You should keep USB point of this device on 12 O clock for correct position. Once kept in this position single tap on left/right edges will increase/decrease the volume & short/long tap on top of the device will play/pause the currently streaming audio. While taking orientation accidently I turned up the volume & paused the streaming many times, so you all better be careful.

Initial usage

Since I am a hardcore user of this “Google Assistant” on my phone I am very pro in handling voice queries & utilizing most out of it. As speaker is connected to our Google account all our meetings, events, calendar entries & reminders are accessible through this device, which is really a big hit.  Sending e-mails, messages & making calls are still not available in our region however Google will be bringing these features very soon.

As a welcome offer this device came with 6 months free subscription to saavan.com & gaana.com which is very nice if you are not a Google play music subscriber.

Since I am a play music user, it was playing all the media through my Google play account.  I tried asking few local places & got very quick results along with directions to my phone. I also checked traffic towards work & any other destination only using my voice, thanks to its integration with Google Maps.  As it’s an IPL season, I enquired for scores and teams. Got wonderful results, I must say Google has accepted a challenge to make this a true Desi product.  Playing audio-based games, checking flight details along with price, fetching facts/info from internet, making funny conversations, singing songs & operating smart devices installed in your home are few are its additional offerings.

Amazon vs. Google smart speakers - who is really smart?

This smart speaker is after all from a search giant Google hence it is having an access to massive data farms, smart AI algorithms & highly efficient natural language processing, with all these attributes it will definitely be a game changer in a smart speaker segment.  However, at this moment it is  in the initial phase in India. It has limited offerings & services but I am sure Google will work on it.  

·       In spite being a late comer in this segment it lacks way behind in context of local content.  

·       Recognizing Hindi & other regional languages is not so great due to which streaming local content is a challenge.

·       I have to yell many times as speaker doesn’t wake up quickly, I hope Google will fix this in next firmware update as this is very irritating.

·       Startup sound & audio feedback for muting/unmuting microphone are two amazing features Google Mini has, I still miss those in my Echo device.

·       When I compare Google home mini with my existing Amazon’s Echo dot I discovered that in terms of setup & audio quality Home Mini is really great however lacks in overall usage due to its poor localized touch & limited services.

Google has to shift the gears rapidly to gain big number users in this tough competition. Let’s hope for a truly ‘desi’ upgraded smart speaker from Google. 

Well, while you are finishing reading my post here I am enjoying some relaxing music with Google home mini.