Google Home £79 - Mini £34 + PM/PW

bk

Google Home usually £129 reduced to £79, Google Home Mini usually £49 reduced to £34.

They are available at a bunch of UK stores this morning, Maplins, Currys, Argos, Google Play Store, etc.

You will have to use Parcel Motel or Parcel Wizard to get it here and maybe a revolut card. It looks like Maplins has a £5/10 voucher that might be worth checking out.

Fantastic devices, I've already have a Google Home and now adding a Mini. They pair very well with the Spotify Premium.

Let Black Friday madness commence

BTW for anyone who has detailed questions about these, let me point you at the Home Automation forum where these get discussed in detail, including a detailed FAQ there (a little out of date, needs updating):

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1777

Kintarō Hattori

Fecker, I just bought another mini and I'll try to convince the missus that we should pack away the amp/speakers in the living room. Sure they sound better but they aren't being used.

bk

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Fecker, I just bought another mini and I'll try to convince the missus that we should pack away the amp/speakers in the living room. Sure they sound better but they aren't being used.

Haha, if you want you could also buy a Chromecast Audio and hook it up to those speakers and amp, so that the mini plays the music through those.

That is what I'm going to do with my mini, it will play the music through some high quality bedroom speakers.

maximoose

Bought one just now off Maplins, get a £5 voucher for a spend over £40.

Also can get about £6 cashback when you activate this offer and purchase through Topcashback

bittihuduga

maximoose wrote: »

Bought one just now off Maplins, get a £5 voucher for a spend over £40.

Also can get about £6 cashback when you activate this offer and purchase through Topcashback

do maplins UK deliver to Ireland? or did you use PM?

maximoose

I ordered to parents house in NI, but they deliver to Parcel Wizard/Motel as far as I know!

CantGetNoSleep

I have Chromecast audio in every room in my house - could I swap with these mini speakers and pair them as part of a multiroom?

BattlingCheese

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

I have Chromecast audio in every room in my house - could I swap with these mini speakers and pair them as part of a multiroom?

You can, however, it's worth pointing out the mini sound quality isn't brilliant. Perfect for voice and small rooms but if you have Chromecasts connected to decent speakers you will see a drop in quality but the added functionality might be worth it. Just bear that in mind.

Mini's also have not aux port so can only connect to 3rd party speakers via the chromecasting protocol and not wired like your Chromecast audio.

bk

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

I have Chromecast audio in every room in my house - could I swap with these mini speakers and pair them as part of a multiroom?

The Google Home Mini doesn't have an audio out, so they aren't a direct replacement for your CCA's

Instead they work with the CCA's. You can set the mini so that it replies to questions via it's own inbuilt speaker, but plays music out via one of the CCA's without you specifying.

So if you say:
"Hey Google, how high is Everest" - it will reply on the mini, but if you say
"Hey Google, play music" - The music will play out on your CAA/speaker in the same room (need to setup first, just a one time thing).

Of course you can also use CCA groups. e.g.
"Hey Google, play music on home group" and the music plays out via all your CCA's throughout your house.

Of course if you get a full size Google Home, you could use that instead of your speakers/CCA's, though music quality might not be as good as your speakers, depending on how good they are.

You can have a Google Home and CCA's in the same group, I do that. I've a Google Home in the living room and a CCA in the bedroom and it can play music from both at the same time.

However while you can do that with the mini, I wouldn't as it's in built speaker isn't really good enough for quality music playback.

CantGetNoSleep

BattlingCheese wrote: »

You can, however, it's worth pointing out the mini sound quality isn't brilliant. Perfect for voice and small rooms but if you have Chromecasts connected to decent speakers you will see a drop in quality but the added functionality might be worth it. Just bear that in mind.

Mini's also have not aux port so can only connect to 3rd party speakers via the chromecasting protocol and not wired like your Chromecast audio.

Thanks - I'm thinking of getting them for bathrooms and bedrooms, I'll leave the more decent living room speakers with a normal chromecast connection. Just think that these look much tidier (at the moment I use a single speaker with Chromecast audio in these rooms - sounds decent but wires are a mess, and cause interference if you power the Chromecast from the speaker).

bk

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

Thanks - I'm thinking of getting them for bathrooms and bedrooms, I'll leave the more decent living room speakers with a normal chromecast connection. Just think that these look much tidier (at the moment I use a single speaker with Chromecast audio in these rooms - sounds decent but wires are a mess, and cause interference if you power the Chromecast from the speaker).

See above cross post for more info.

But yes, they are probably ok for a bathroom, but maybe not bedroom.

If you want to completely get rid of those speakers, I'd go for the full size Google Home or even better Google Home Max, which looks awesome, but cost $400!

Another option might be to hold off, seemingly Sonos is playing to add Google Home support to their new speakers. But obviously will cost quiet a bit.

The mini is a nice cheap addition that might do you for now.

iggy

Is the mini better than an amazon dot?
I have an echo already but not sure to continue with the amazon stuff or try out a Google mini.

BattlingCheese

I find the mini perfect for bedrooms.

Audio books, news, alarms, reminders and the "Good Morning" functionality are ideal for its use and it looks great and unassuming on the bedside locker.

bk

iggy wrote: »

Is the mini better than an amazon dot?
I have an echo already but not sure to continue with the amazon stuff or try out a Google mini.

Well do you like the echo dot?

I've both a Google Home, Echo and Echo dot and I've just ordered a mini.

Basically I've decided that GHome is a lot better then Echo and I'm replacing the Echo's with GHome.

I just find the GHome to be a lot smarter, understands me better, better at answering questions, etc. GHome feels a bit more natural, you could ask the same question in a dozen different ways and it still works. While with the Echo I fell like you need to know the precise command.

Not to say Echo is bad, but I just find it a bit frustrating at times.

A mini might be a cheap way to try Ghome and see which you prefer before going all out on one or the other. However note the mini doesn't have audio out, if you use that on the dot.

bk

BattlingCheese wrote: »

Audio books, news, alarms, reminders and the "Good Morning" functionality are ideal for its use and it looks great and unassuming on the bedside locker.

You are right, great for all of those type of things. But not quiet there for music/spotify if that is what someone is planning to do with it. Full size GHome or CCA's for that.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

breeno

In terms of sound as a speaker, is the GHome on par with the Echo or is the Echo the better sounding device? Talking about the full size models not the mini.

dodzy

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Fecker, I just bought another mini and I'll try to convince the missus that we should pack away the amp/speakers in the living room. Sure they sound better but they aren't being used.

I use the Dot with the audio out port (missed opportunity from Google with the mini IMO) to an old neat & nice JVC system I've had in the house for years. Love it for spotify. As bk says, and I agree, Alexa is a peculiar aul dear. Statements have to be just right for her to carry out the instruction. A little annoying but at least it has thought my daughters the importance of correct pronunciation.

That said, the OP link to the home is very tempting but I think I'll leave it as the dot performs fine for us. Again, 99% used for spotify playlists and a plethora of radio stations.

Though I'm the only one in the house that can get her to play RTE Gold. And even when I'm saying "Alexa, RTE Gold on Spotify", she used to miss it from time to time, but I have her sussed now. Like all women I suppose, simply tell her what she wants to hear and all's well

bk

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Google rolls out new features gradually, but everyone eventually gets them after a few weeks. You can force it to update if you really want. I don't bother.

I find Alexa far more variable. Some people have to say "in Dublin" when asking for the weather, others don't. Some have to say "on spotify" when playing music, others don't, etc.

odnoklassniki

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

I have Chromecast audio in every room in my house - could I swap with these mini speakers and pair them as part of a multiroom?

What speakers do you use with it?

bk

breeno wrote: »

In terms of sound as a speaker, is the GHome on par with the Echo or is the Echo the better sounding device? Talking about the full size models not the mini.

About the same IME. I think the Echo might strictly speaking go a bit louder, but the GHome sounds a bit better at normal levels (better base, less tiny).

I never play either at loudest anyway, would annoy the neighbours.

blastman

Thanks for the heads up, OP, Christmas shopping has officially begun!

Mantis Toboggan

Just ordered a mini, don't need it but I couldn't resist, thanks BK

Bawnmore

I wonder is there any chance it'll be reduced further for Black Friday? Lifehacker sa as low as $19 for the mini, but could be just US.

CantGetNoSleep

odnoklassniki wrote: »

What speakers do you use with it?

In the smaller rooms I use something similar to these

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008YU9G8K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

1jcdub

Just bought a Google mini from Curries UK :-)

Koolhanger

Thanks OP, just ordered the Google Home

Kintarō Hattori

dodzy wrote: »

I use the Dot with the audio out port (missed opportunity from Google with the mini IMO) to an old neat & nice JVC system I've had in the house for years. Love it for spotify. As bk says, and I agree, Alexa is a peculiar aul dear. Statements have to be just right for her to carry out the instruction. A little annoying but at least it has thought my daughters the importance of correct pronunciation.

That said, the OP link to the home is very tempting but I think I'll leave it as the dot performs fine for us. Again, 99% used for spotify playlists and a plethora of radio stations.

Though I'm the only one in the house that can get her to play RTE Gold. And even when I'm saying "Alexa, RTE Gold on Spotify", she used to miss it from time to time, but I have her sussed now. Like all women I suppose, simply tell her what she wants to hear and all's well

My issue is I don't want to have to turn on or leave on a huge home cinema amp to listen to music. For me the point of these is that I can do something there and then. I'd like to be able to tell Home to listen to music without having the need for the amp remote to be hanging around the couch.

While the setup I currently have is great I think I may store them in the attic as we don't really listen to much music/watch many movies at the moment as we have a 5 month old. So a Home unit won't be as good from an audio point of view, it should be sufficient.

mrcheez

Well damn, I was just about to buy an Echo for the folks for Xmas (I have 2 Echo Minis in my place which I'm happy with)

I'd be interested in trying Google Home though for their place. The power of a better search functionality would be good.

Just so I can ease my mind is there anything that the Echo (not Dot) does better than Google Home? (apart from being £10 cheaper of course)

bk

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

My issue is I don't want to have to turn on or leave on a huge home cinema amp to listen to music. For me the point of these is that I can do something there and then. I'd like to be able to tell Home to listen to music without having the need for the amp remote to be hanging around the couch.

While the setup I currently have is great I think I may store them in the attic as we don't really listen to much music, watch many movies at the moment as we have a 5 month old. So a Home unit won't be as good from an audio point of view, it should be sufficient.

That is exactly my experience. I've a Google Home in the living room, but also an AV Amp + 5.1 speakers hooked up to a CCA there. So I can play music directly from the GHome or from the 5.1 speakers. The 5.1 speakers are much better sound quality obviously, yet 90% of the time we just use the GHome as the audio quality is more then good enough for our needs most of the time and it is easier then turning on the AV, etc.

Buck

Koolhanger wrote: »

Thanks OP, just ordered the Google Home

How? I've tried both Currys and Maplins and both are looking for a UK billing address, using Parcel Motel so delivery is not a problem - just the billing address

bk

mrcheez wrote: »

Just so I can ease my mind is there anything that the Echo (not Dot) does better than Google Home? (apart from being £10 cheaper of course)

Not much, The new Echo has a 3.5mm audio out port, which GHome doesn't have (though it can do similar with a separate Chromecast Audio).

Also arguably the new Echo looks a bit nicer, with changeable covers to match your decor.

On the downside the new Echo is reported to have only ok sound quality. Worse then the old Echo, but I haven't tried it, so I can't say for certain.

bk

Buck wrote: »

How? I've tried both Currys and Maplins and both are looking for a UK billing address, using Parcel Motel so delivery is not a problem - just the billing address

I used ParcelMotel address for the billing address too. Just use paypal, it doesn't really care about the address.

Buck

bk wrote: »

I used ParcelMotel address for the billing address too. Just use paypal, it doesn't really care about the address.

Thanking you sir - just ordered from Curry's

mrcheez

bk wrote: »

Not much, The new Echo has a 3.5mm audio out port, which GHome doesn't have (though it can do similar with a separate Chromecast Audio).

Also arguably the new Echo looks a bit nicer, with changeable covers to match your decor.

On the downside the new Echo is reported to have only ok sound quality. Worse then the old Echo, but I haven't tried it, so I can't say for certain.

Right, and on the reverse is there anything the Google Home does "worse" ?

Are they essentially the same, just with better search function on the Google Home and better personality on the Echo ?

bk

mrcheez wrote: »

Right, and on the reverse is there anything the Google Home does "worse" ?

Are they essentially the same, just with better search function on the Google Home and better personality on the Echo ?

Actually I think GHome also has a better personality

My child loves playing with her, ask it jokes, ask it what noises various different animals make, lots of kids games, etc.

At Halloween it was super cool, say "Hey google, make it spooky", it started playing spooky music and my hue lights started flashing different lights throughout the house and played cartoon spooky stuff on the nvidia Shield TV. Silly, but loads of fun, the kids loved it.

When Ghome first launched, Echo had already been out two years, so Echo supported more control of smart home devices at first, but Ghome has very quickly caught up and seems to support everything now too, but their might be the odd weird device that is on the echo, but not GHome.

Only thing I can think of is "Echo/Alexa" wake words are nicer then "Hey Google"

Of course Echo has a bunch of other devices like the Echo Show and Echo Spot, with screens, but I'm certain Google will launch a similar device to those too in a few months like they have with the Mini and Max.

mrcheez

bk wrote: »

Actually I think GHome also has a better personality

My child loves playing with her, ask it jokes, ask it what noises various different animals make, lots of kids games, etc.

At Halloween it was super cool, say "Hey google, make it spooky", it started playing spooky music and my hue lights started flashing different lights throughout the house and played cartoon spooky stuff on the nvidia Shield TV. Silly, but loads of fun, the kids loved it.

When Ghome first launched, Echo had already been out two years, so Echo supported more control of smart home devices at first, but Ghome has very quickly caught up and seems to support everything now too, but their might be the odd weird device that is on the echo, but not GHome.

Only thing I can think of is "Echo/Alexa" wake words are nicer then "Hey Google"

Of course Echo has a bunch of other devices like the Echo Show and Echo Spot, with screens, but I'm certain Google will launch a similar device to those too in a few months like they have with the Mini and Max.

Yeah not too worried about the additional device support. Just really want it for the folks to listen to the radio and ask general queries.

My Echo is great for what I need, but general queries are where it might suffer a little beyond basic commands like the weather and news.

Would be nice to have a genuine conversational device in the kitchen.

I agree "Alexa" is a nicer wake word though... plus my Mum always asks "How's Alexa" and was impressed with it when I brought it over last Xmas and she serenaded us with Christmas Carols during our meal.

Hmmm... now I dunno... might be more sentimental enjoyment from Alexa....

WayneEnterprise

Buck wrote: »

How? I've tried both Currys and Maplins and both are looking for a UK billing address, using Parcel Motel so delivery is not a problem - just the billing address

I ordered from shop.bt.com using PM as both billing and delivery with no problems

I ordered direct from UK Play Store. No issues.

Cheers OP!

Supercell

Thanks OP bought from google play store for delivery by Parcel Wizard, have Echo and Echo dot already, suspect this will be more user friendly.

givecredit

Thanks bk. I must unsubscribe from bargain alerts. It's going to be a busy month.

Mantis Toboggan

Supercell wrote: »

Thanks OP bought from google play store for delivery by Parcel Wizard, have Echo and Echo dot already, suspect this will be more user friendly.

Did the playstore not want an English billing address? Ended up having to use curry's.

Mantis Toboggan

Can Google home do anything that your phone can't?

bk

Tyson Fury wrote: »

Can Google home do anything that your phone can't?

Always listening, far field mics. No need to pull your phone out to ask questions, control home automation devices or play music. It can hear you across the room.

Also a bigger speaker for playing music, etc. that is far superior to your phone.

BTW There are two google assistants, the original OK Google one which was pretty rubbish and the new Hey Google one that first appeared on the GHome and is now being rolled out to newer Android phones and which is far superior, so depends on which one you have.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

mrcheez

Interesting article comparing Google Home to Amazon Echo

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/google-home-voice-controlled-speaker/


Does GH offer free music? Don't want to be reliant on a paid music service as I have for my Echos with Spotify.

Mantis Toboggan

Patww79 wrote: »

Apart from being a bassy speaker, it does less. If you have an android phone with Marshmallow or above on it then change your language to US English and you'll get the full version of assistant (you can change back after).

Yeah that's the version I have. It's really good.

At least this stand alone device will have a decent speaker.

Sappy404

Wish I'd checked the Google store - they do free delivery. I bought it off Argos with a £3.95 delivery charge. Ah well!

Blacktie.

Sappy404 wrote: »

Wish I'd checked the Google store - they do free delivery. I bought it off Argos with a £3.95 delivery charge. Ah well!

Glad I read this. I'd rather get it direct than through a reseller!

Eire Go Brach

Genuine question. What data does it collect? I just am not comfortable with any google products or services these day.

breeno

Long shot but..... I have a one 4 all voucher going unused. Is there a way I could use it on one of the UK /NI online stores for a Google Home? Argos accept it online in ROI and Currys in store but not sure about NI? They used to offer Amazon vouchers but that facility seems to have been stopped.

Also, can the GHome play Spotify play lists on request or is it limited only to songs and bands? I tried Google Assistant on my phone and it doesn't seem to recognize playlists.