Google Home Hub (Chalk)

Okay. There are Bluetooth speakers. Smart Bluetooth speakers (Alexa and Google). And then there’s that is a cross breed of tablet and Bluetooth speaker that can control functions of your home, search the web and social media platforms and even FaceTime with the command of your voice! It’s as simple as “Hey Google play the news” with no added subscriptions or contracts! Videos can be broadcasted from your phone onto the screen making your phone a remote and saving some $ with You-Tube-Red as you can still use all other functions on your phone while broadcasting YouTube videos to your hub! Connect your pandora, Disney+, Netflix and so much more! I absolutely love my !!! I know I’m lame ha ha ha but my favorite functions are the alarm clock that displays your Google ... MoreOkay. There are Bluetooth speakers. Smart Bluetooth speakers (Alexa and Google). And then there’s that is a cross breed of tablet and Bluetooth speaker that can control functions of your home, search the web and social media platforms and even FaceTime with the command of your voice! It’s as simple as “Hey Google play the news” with no added subscriptions or contracts! Videos can be broadcasted from your phone onto the screen making your phone a remote and saving some $ with You-Tube-Red as you can still use all other functions on your phone while broadcasting YouTube videos to your hub! Connect your pandora, Disney+, Netflix and so much more! I absolutely love my !!! I know I’m lame ha ha ha but my favorite functions are the alarm clock that displays your Google schedule as soon as you disable the alarm and the fact that I can tell my Nest Hub to FaceTime family COMPLETELY hands free!! It’s perfect for broadcasting shows for little ones who get to tapping away on cell phones! The speaker is loud enough to hear throughout my apartment but it’s not a surround system at all! Not as loud or nearly as much bass as my JBL Charge 4 Bluetooth Speaker but definitely has more functionality’s! A plus is I am able to piggyback Bluetooth speakers from my Nest Hub to be able to control and play music in multiple rooms at once.

A worthy adversary to competitive products!

Discovered Monoprice and their fantastic pricing far below the MSRP of this item. Was shopping because famous jungle river retailer promotes their gear and doesn't offer Google stuff AFAIK. Glad I found Monoprice, loved the speedy delivery in addition to the best pricing! The Google Home Hub appears to offer a lot of features, and was quite easy to set up using my Android smartphone. Being a Google boy, I am already hooked up with Google Calendar, YouTube, Google Music, and so on. I had read a lot of chatter about the competitor product bombarding users with promotional ads and 'what I can do' messages without being asked to- and though this unit might do that in future, so far it's not an issue, at least as I have it set up. I like that I can listen to music, check ... MoreDiscovered Monoprice and their fantastic pricing far below the MSRP of this item. Was shopping because famous jungle river retailer promotes their gear and doesn't offer Google stuff AFAIK. Glad I found Monoprice, loved the speedy delivery in addition to the best pricing! The Google Home Hub appears to offer a lot of features, and was quite easy to set up using my Android smartphone. Being a Google boy, I am already hooked up with Google Calendar, YouTube, Google Music, and so on. I had read a lot of chatter about the competitor product bombarding users with promotional ads and 'what I can do' messages without being asked to- and though this unit might do that in future, so far it's not an issue, at least as I have it set up. I like that I can listen to music, check weather and much more by saying Hey Google, and it already recognizes my voice from my SmartPhone's prior voice-training. Music sound is more than acceptable for its size, much like a table clock radio. I have the full-screen clock in use, the only downside is that the default clock and temp the size of the characters is too small, and no way to enlarge them - HINT HINT HINT Google! I have to think at some point the Googlistas will recognize older folk need larger digits, and its OK to cover up the on-screen photos. Overall a nice device and very much worth it's Monoprice cost. Not sure I'd feel the same at or near full MSRP though. I am not able to see incoming email messages on this device (sadly), which would be a definite PLUS. Also i cannot display a full month or even a full week of my Google calendar, though it CAN access my Google Calendar and tell me about upcoming appointments. Easy to set alarm via voice (I really like that feature). I think I'm going to be satisfied with this purchase for some time.

Don't do it

I will start by saying that I'm one with tech, so this review is not derived from ignorance.This thing sucks. I think most people would like this in their kitchen for recipes, but let me tell you unless that recipe is coming from a Google partner, it won't show it. It's not like you can manually search a recipe since there is no text field, or log in to something like pinterest, so whatever it pulls up from your voice search is what you get. Don't even ask about pinterest, it's a no go with this device.As for sound quality, it's a steaming pile of shhh. I thought I would get a quality upgrade from the Google home mini/nest speakers (which I have many) but I was sadly mistaken.It will however turn off your lights and control other smart devices but so will your ... MoreI will start by saying that I'm one with tech, so this review is not derived from ignorance.This thing sucks. I think most people would like this in their kitchen for recipes, but let me tell you unless that recipe is coming from a Google partner, it won't show it. It's not like you can manually search a recipe since there is no text field, or log in to something like pinterest, so whatever it pulls up from your voice search is what you get. Don't even ask about pinterest, it's a no go with this device.As for sound quality, it's a steaming pile of shhh. I thought I would get a quality upgrade from the Google home mini/nest speakers (which I have many) but I was sadly mistaken.It will however turn off your lights and control other smart devices but so will your mini's and your phone. Do you really need a display for that?So you can stream Netflix and YouTube to it...whoopee! It's a 7 inch display so you might as well just watch it on your phone and just like most other things with this device, you better be pretty specific in telling it what to stream because you can't input text to search.What is this thing good for? I'm still trying to figure that out after a month of use. It's no more handy than a nest mini even though you'd think it should be with a display. I suppose if you want to be tacky and display your personal photos, you can do that but this thing is so underutilized and restrictive that it actually angers me that I was dumb enough to buy it.In conclusion, you might as well stick your cash in the oven and bake it on 450 for 2 hours because it would be less of a waste than spending it on this junk.

Google Home Hub Review

Introduction: The google home hub is something that you may have looked at buying before and haven’t really thought it was worth the money. It may seem like a lot of money for a smart device that may or may not work well, but after this review hopefully you will have more information on it. The google home hub is the first smart home assistant that I have had in my house. It was very easy to setup and was easy to use. The setup time was really short which was great because you could use the hub right away. Once you turned on the google home it walked you through a step by step process of how to get it setup the way you like it. If you needed more help in setting it up or just had questions, then googles website is also very helpful which can answer any questions ... MoreIntroduction: The google home hub is something that you may have looked at buying before and haven’t really thought it was worth the money. It may seem like a lot of money for a smart device that may or may not work well, but after this review hopefully you will have more information on it. The google home hub is the first smart home assistant that I have had in my house. It was very easy to setup and was easy to use. The setup time was really short which was great because you could use the hub right away. Once you turned on the google home it walked you through a step by step process of how to get it setup the way you like it. If you needed more help in setting it up or just had questions, then googles website is also very helpful which can answer any questions that you may have. It is powered through google which made it really easy to connect my Samsung phone to which was a big bonus for me.Design: Google’s home hub comes in a variety of colors which include chalk, charcoal, aqua, or sand. With these variety of colors, it suits most people that would want one. It has a 7-inch touchscreen display that is large enough for people to see what is on the screen from a distance which is very helpful compared to other devices like this one. The speaker quality was really good, and the assistant was able to understand me well which I wasn’t sure on from the start due to phone assistants.Capabilities: The Home Hub has a multitude of capabilities which make it very versatile and can connect you home even more. You can do things like change your thermostat for your home or connect a Nest camera and doorbell to it. You would be able to manage your home cameras and see who is at the door without going to the door. If you have other google devices like a google home mini which you can place in another room, they can connect together to give you a better experience.Sound/Assistant: One thing that I didn’t like about the home hub was when the music was playing the google assistant had a hard time hearing what I was saying apart from the music. Then if I wanted to tell the assistant to do anything it would be hard to do. I also didn’t like if someone else was talking, but I opened the assistant it would pick up both people’s voices. They need to work on it, so it will only respond to the person who originally started talking to it.Conclusion: In conclusion, the google home hub is definitely a product that I would recommend to anyone thinking about purchasing a product like this. It offers a wide range of capability’s that can help make anyone’s life easier. It is a well-built device that will work for a long time and will be something that you will be able to trust.

It will surprise you; all of the ways I use my hub

I use Chromecast, have a Pixel, and have a couple google speakers already, so it isn't surprising I wanted a display that could seamlessly connect me with all those products. We've also started to get into the smart home trend, and we figured it would be nice to have something that lets us connect those as well.All that said, the Hub was better than I expected. It has a user-friendly interface that helps you see what you need to at a glance. It is quick to respond and gives clear results. When you need to give further information, you can speak back or press a button on the screen. The images on the screen are crystal clear and we used the Google home app to display our favorite google photos app on it when it isn't being used and it looks sharp.Originally, we ... MoreI use Chromecast, have a Pixel, and have a couple google speakers already, so it isn't surprising I wanted a display that could seamlessly connect me with all those products. We've also started to get into the smart home trend, and we figured it would be nice to have something that lets us connect those as well.All that said, the Hub was better than I expected. It has a user-friendly interface that helps you see what you need to at a glance. It is quick to respond and gives clear results. When you need to give further information, you can speak back or press a button on the screen. The images on the screen are crystal clear and we used the Google home app to display our favorite google photos app on it when it isn't being used and it looks sharp.Originally, we had this in the kitchen. It was awesome; we would watch youtube on it while eating breakfast, listen to the daily news while doing dishes (skipping the boring stories with a command or button), have it read ingredients and steps for recipes (either our own or ones we ask for) for us as we cooked, and used it to monitor our smart home devices.After we started renovating our kitchen, we brought the hub into our bedroom as an alarm clock. This also works really well. The device dims and turns into a black-screen-with-white-numbers clock when it is bedtime. For privacy, we use the switch on the back to turn off the microphone when we don't want it listening. It doesn't have a camera so we never worry about being watched. In the morning, you can have it act as an alarm, so we started keeping our phones away from the bed so we aren't on them so much before we sleep. It will play any sound you want, then I have tell me the news so I feel up to date in the morning. It is incredibly customizable so you can have the morning experience that helps you best. When our kitchen is done, we'll likely buy the bigger one for our kitchen and keep this in the bedroom, because it's the best alarm clock I've had.All said, I would say the Nest Hub is worth the price, but I'd still wait for black friday for sales on it. If you can afford it, though, and wonder if it will work as advertised, it does and it will surprise you with how much it can do. You will definitely find more uses for it than you even bought it for. In my book, that's a good sign of a great product.

It’s okay.

This device is very interesting. Has a bit of a learning curve. I am not computer savvy so maybe that’s the problem. I also have an Alexa echo 8. My boyfriend monopolizes it. Alexa is much more user friendly. Google requires some research to use. I still haven’t figured out video chat.It works well for simple requests such as recipe look up and such. Maybe I just need more time to play with it. Again it’s okay but I prefer Alexa.

Practical product, well designed and made, really nice to use

The screen is very good - sufficiently high resolution, sensible size, and the brightness control is always just right. Sound is loud and very clear but don't expect a hi-fi speaker because it has little bass. Although based on the same software and AI, the Nest Hub really capitalises on its screen, giving it many advantages over Google's Smart Speakers. I use the timers a lot, and often several at once when cooking. Being able to see their progress all at once is great, and they have fun themed sounds and animations if you name the timers. It's also great to see at a glance that what you said was understood, because your voice recognition results appear at the top of the screen as you speak. When it's not busy it can show photos from albums and I completely ... MoreThe screen is very good - sufficiently high resolution, sensible size, and the brightness control is always just right. Sound is loud and very clear but don't expect a hi-fi speaker because it has little bass. Although based on the same software and AI, the Nest Hub really capitalises on its screen, giving it many advantages over Google's Smart Speakers. I use the timers a lot, and often several at once when cooking. Being able to see their progress all at once is great, and they have fun themed sounds and animations if you name the timers. It's also great to see at a glance that what you said was understood, because your voice recognition results appear at the top of the screen as you speak. When it's not busy it can show photos from albums and I completely underestimated how nice this is. The whole family enjoys seeing forgotten photos pop-up unexpectedly, which would normally otherwise only see the light of day when searching for something else. Search results appear with more context, and they're surprisingly intelligently displayed - gently scrolling over the part of the web page with the relevant answer. There's no camera so you can't send video calls but the speakerphone audio quality is excellent. If your kitchen counter has too much stuff standing close around the Hub I noticed the precision of the voice control is reduced, but it's excellent otherwise, and works amazingly well with a lot of background noise. It has real volume buttons on the back that you can use by feel, but you can also use gestures on the screen to show a touch volume slider. The only downside I can think of is it's not going to fill a large living space with dance music, but for an average room it's more than enough. It seems very well built, but if it went wrong I would have to get a replacement right away as I would really miss it.

Pretty neat gadget

This is a fun little gadget. It's great to walk into my apartment and tell it to turn on my various lights and to play music for me. Even when I'm not using it it's nice to have a large clock face on the wall to look at.I know this thing is not supposed to be wall-mounted, but with some very minor skills one can install it in a wall like I did (attached photo).The far field microphone isn't great, sometimes from just across the room I have to yell at it. But even with the speakers in the wall the sound is pretty good. I can listen to music from other rooms, I might have to tell it to turn the volume up to 80 or 90%, but that's no biggie.It works with my off brand Wi-Fi thermostat. This thing will connect to almost any brand of smart device you can imagine. I wake ... MoreThis is a fun little gadget. It's great to walk into my apartment and tell it to turn on my various lights and to play music for me. Even when I'm not using it it's nice to have a large clock face on the wall to look at.I know this thing is not supposed to be wall-mounted, but with some very minor skills one can install it in a wall like I did (attached photo).The far field microphone isn't great, sometimes from just across the room I have to yell at it. But even with the speakers in the wall the sound is pretty good. I can listen to music from other rooms, I might have to tell it to turn the volume up to 80 or 90%, but that's no biggie.It works with my off brand Wi-Fi thermostat. This thing will connect to almost any brand of smart device you can imagine. I wake up in the middle of the night and if I am too warm I call out to turn the temperature down to 72° and the mini split beeps acknowledging it. I really do love this thing. I may not feel that way if it were much more expensive, but for only a hundred bucks I don't think there's any way of going wrong with this