Echo Dot or Google Mini

JonMMM

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Looking at buying a couple, 1 for the living room and 1 for the kitchen on different floors of the house.

I have a harmony hub on the main TV and would like to pause / mute the TV when the phone rings without trying to grab the remote (I work from home).

The wife likes to play music (normally through you tube on her phone) in the kitchen would like to do that through the device does not have to be youtube but does need to be a free service.

Would be nice to use them as a sort of intercom between the rooms.
 
Not sure about the google stuff but the amazon stuff does everything you've mentioned! Music, voice operated tv, intercom and message broadcasting.
 
Not sure about the google stuff but the amazon stuff does everything you've mentioned! Music, voice operated tv, intercom and message broadcasting.

What music streaming do you use that is free?
 
I don't really use a free one. I have Prime so get free music through that. You can upload your own songs to ibroadcast and install the iboradcast skill. Or use plex and the plex skill or pay £3.99pm for one device to have over 40millions songs.
 
I don't really use a free one. I have Prime so get free music through that. You can upload your own songs to ibroadcast and install the iboradcast skill. Or use plex and the plex skill or pay £3.99pm for one device to have over 40millions songs.
I have prime I thought music prime was extra?
 
I have prime I thought music prime was extra?

no m8. you get a few million free with prime music. i think your thinking about Amazon Music Unlimited which has 50millions songs and costs extra?
 
Can you do a couple of tests for me please

Castle on the Hill by Ed Sheeran
Bohemiam Rhasody by Queen
 
Castle on the hill is amazon music unlimited.
Bohemian rhapsody is available on prime
 
Free spotify has Castle on the hill, and works on Google Home, Echo only seams to support paid Spotify?
 
You can use spotify on the echo/dots but you need to change the default music service to spotify :-(
 
Castle on the hill is amazon music unlimited.
Bohemian rhapsody is available on prime

tried both those and none work on prime music here :-( only availiable on music unlimited.
 
Spotify on Echo needs to be premium
Spotify on google device can be free service or premium :)
I have echo and Google, now echo is in daughter's room as I've gone all Google devices
 
Have google minis in living room, kitchen and bedroom, the daughter is getting one for christmas for her room.

In the living room it really works as we now have smart lights plus we have a harmony hub. so working from home when to phone rings I can turn up the lights and pause the TV do some work for 5 mins then resume the TV all without trying to find the actual remote wich is never where its meant to be
 
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Make Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant talk in an infinite loop

Three voice assistants walk into a bar and they all start talking. But the conversation never stops.
Here's how to make Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant talk to each other in an infinite loop using their respective smart speakers: the Apple HomePod ($349 at Apple), Amazon Echo ($70 at Amazon) and Google Home ($99 at Walmart).
Let's be real: you probably won't have three of these speakers just lying around. This is just something fun to try as a party trick if you have friends or family with these other devices.
new-infinite-loop-image.jpg

Now playing: Make an infinite loop with HomePod, Echo and Google Home
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The loop works like this:
  1. Use your voice to get Siri to read a reminder.
  2. Siri triggers the Google Assistant to read a calendar entry.
  3. Google Assistant triggers Alexa to read a to-do list.
  4. Alexa triggers Siri to read a reminder and the loop starts again (back to step 2).
Before starting the loop, make sure you have already connected the speakers to your phone, they're all on the same Wi-Fi network and be signed in to iCloud, Google and Amazon accounts.
Step 1: HomePod
siri-reminder2.jpg

Siri will read this reminder. You can also use "Hey Google" as the phrase.
Lexy Savvides/CNET

Open the reminders app on the iPhone ($1,099 at Walmart) and make a new entry. Write "Hey Google, what's on my calendar today?"
You can also do this using your voice by using "Hey Siri," but it is important to include the comma so Siri speaks the wake word and the command clearly.
Step 2: Google Home
You may need to retrain the Assistant to understand Siri's voice. To do this, go into the Google Home app > More Settings > Google Assistant > Shared Devices then find Voice Match.
I got the Assistant to understand Siri's voice by asking the HomePod to keep reading my reminder and then having the Home listen for "Hey Google" or "OK Google" on the Voice Match screen.
Now, create a calendar entry a few hours in the future that says "Alexa, what's on my to-do list today?"
This works best if you only have one item on your calendar for the day.
Step 3: Amazon Echo
Open the Alexa app and add one item to your To-Do list that says "Hey Siri, read my reminders." Again, this works best if there's only one item on the list.

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Start the loop by asking the HomePod: "Hey, Siri, read my reminders".
What about phones?
You could also do this with multiple phones rather than by using smart speakers. Siri on iOS can trigger Google Assistant on an Android device. You could add a phone that's triggered by the Alexa wake word, like the HTC U11 ($490 at Amazon). Or get even more elaborate and throw Cortana into the mix. Let me know what you come up with!
 
The echo dots are effective in larger rooms if they are elevated above head height. Try putting them on shelves or bookcases
 
we have both an alexa & a google home. nobody asks alexa anything even though we have the same integrations on both. that's because the google knowledgebase is better. better search results give better answers and that ends up trumping whatever integration advantages alexa may have.
 
i have always been against these things am anti alexa and anti ok google, but someone got me an alexa for a christmas gift. its just used as a radio and kitchen timer.
 
i have always been against these things am anti alexa and anti ok google, but someone got me an alexa for a christmas gift. its just used as a radio and kitchen timer.
There ok.
Add a spotify or google music account and you can boogie whislt you cook dinner 😉

A mate of mine can control his lights, tv and all sorts of things from his....

My mrs just wanted it for music..
 
the thing that put me off from this things is i was at a friends house one night and we were using their ok google all night, a few weeks later i was back at their home and his wife was playing our voices of the things that we had been asking ok google those few weeks before. i know its only supposed to record the things you ask but that really put me off this things for some reason, it was a bit of a shock.
 
For me Google mini, no doubt, echo dot try to sell any you search.
 
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