Question

Google Home - a good thing?


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Video half way down
http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/18/11702284/google-home-io-2016-ai-voice-search-advertisement
Is it me, or is it the over the top American thing, but half way through I became annoyed. Perhaps because the family were talking to google more than each other!!!

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Userlevel 7
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John MacFarlane (Sonos CEO) also posted this tweet - suggestions of a tie-up ?
https://twitter.com/JohnLMacFarlane/status/733013734625415168
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On the assumption that John MacFarlane is nobody's fool (particularly regarding PR) that tweet certainly looks like a major telegraphing of intent.
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Yeah he seems to prefer google over amazon, but where does he place apple, 2nd? Microsoft last? maybe the 4 giants will battle it out and sonos will stream ahead (see what I did there ;O)).....tortoise and hare....
Common sense says that Sonos should be neutral, able to work equally well with all the big boys, and thereby retain access to a bigger market.
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When he initially talked about the new focus on voice control he praised amazon. Now it's Google that's doing great. Would it be possible Sonos is after mirroring their own music services strategy of enabling as many services as possible? What if they would be trying to forge partnerships with amazon, google and all other voice control providers?

If you asked a voice enabled Sonos Play:xy to play the Beatles it could use Sonos algorithms and hand over the request to a music service that's configured on your system. If you asked for the weather forecast the request would go to a voice services provider you had selected.

Just mulling why he would embrace anyone who introduced a new voice control service.
On the assumption that John MacFarlane is nobody's fool (particularly regarding PR) that tweet certainly looks like a major telegraphing of intent.

Here's the entire tweet:

"Early days for voice control in the home - excited ride this as it becomes real: Google Home http://gizmodo.com/google-home-is-the-potential-nail-in-amazon-echos-coffi-1777354822 …"

Guess I'm not getting the intent message. What am I missing?

Did he mean to say "exciting ride, this..." or "excited to ride this..."? If the second, does he mean Google's product, or voice control in general?
I hope for Google's sake their current wireless whole house speaker system is better than their last attempt. Because Nexus Q was an unmitigated disaster. Then again, companies like Google can afford to fail, which could be why the often do.
Speaker streaming and control is a feature of Google Home:
Stream audio to any Speaker that has Chromecast Audio plugged in or Chromecast built-in. Then play, pause, skip, or turn up the volume.

Assuming that Sonos has "Chromecast built-in", we should be able to tell Google Home to play music on Sonos.
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Currently chromecast is not built in, nor are there any plans we know of.
Sonos probably currently would see it as loosing connect sales. What new sonos sales just because of chromecast would come to offset this loss, debateable. Although the CEO did welcome google home as competition to alexa.
At current sonos pace at least a year away.
Plus google seem to be implying buy a home speaker for each room, no sonos needed.
Speaker streaming and control is a feature of Google Home:
Stream audio to any Speaker that has Chromecast Audio plugged in or Chromecast built-in. Then play, pause, skip, or turn up the volume.

Assuming that Sonos has "Chromecast built-in", we should be able to tell Google Home to play music on Sonos.


It doesn't though does it? And it think people are after a bit more than just play, pause, skip and volume...
Speaker streaming and control is a feature of Google Home:
Stream audio to any Speaker that has Chromecast Audio plugged in or Chromecast built-in. Then play, pause, skip, or turn up the volume.

Assuming that Sonos has "Chromecast built-in", we should be able to tell Google Home to play music on Sonos.


It doesn't though does it? And it think people are after a bit more than just play, pause, skip and volume...


This is what I'm wondering. I can cast directly to my Sonos speakers from Google Play. It seems logical that Google Home could do the same thing. e.g.: "OK Google... Play Foo Fighters Radio in the Living Room" should stream Foo Fighters Radio from my preferred service to my Living Room speaker(s) according to what I've read so far.
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Only with android at the moment.
You can't read any future integration into how it works today, but your right it might work ok, whatever sonos are not working on it.
good point. wishful thinking. It would be sweet though.