Google readies new phones, gadgets featuring its software

On Tuesday, Google is expected to finally unveil its answer to the Echo, alongside new smartphones and tablets. It shows that he has an extensive experience in hardware design, production, and management.

If they’re not lit up, the device shouldn’t be listening to anything you say unless it hears you say “OK Google”, first.

Stand-alone devices such as the Amazon Echo provide value to both consumers and enterprises by being simple and easy to use, especially as all you really need to do is talk into thin air to get the device to do what you need.

David Foster will be heading a hardware division in Google.

Google’s new smartphones, which are reportedly built by HTC, will likely run on its latest mobile operating system, Android Nougat. Given Google’s history of being unsuccessful in the hardware sector, this time it may have a victor just like it did in Chromecast. But smartphones are evolving into something new. The company isn’t disclosing how much it will spend, but made it clear the ads touting products “Made by Google” will be ubiquitous during the next few months.

Google Wifi is essentially a networking hub or home router that can be controlled via a smartphone app.

Google is betting that people care more about convenience and ease than they do about a seemingly oblique notion of privacy, and it is increasingly correct in that assumption.

“Google on paper is much better-positioned to do something like this” than Amazon, Jan Dawson, founder of research firm Jackdaw Research, said ahead of Tuesday’s event. “We want Google Home to match your preferences”, Rishi Chandra, director of product management at Google, said. In essence, Google Home is an always-aware iteration of the Google Assistant, and can handle a wide breadth of real-language queries. While you could also cast things like Netflix and Google Play Music to your TV through your phone, the biggest selling point was certainly the ability to cast Chrome webpages to your TV. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.) And Siri, while plugged into your calendar, often doesn’t understand what you’re asking.

The “Home” device will feature Google’s digital “Assistant” service, a voice-activated personal butler that can search the internet, play music or perform other useful tasks.

In IT Blogwatch, we Googlefy our life.

The new devices represent a big push by Google to make and sell its own hardware, instead of largely just supplying software for other manufacturers.

Will it succeed? That’s a hard thing to say, of course. The helper will respond to spoken questions such as “How do you remove wine stains out of the carpet?” and commands to control the volume of the television and other home appliances with internet connections. Look at Apple and the iPad.

What distinguishes Google’s new wave of devices: years of investment in artificial intelligence that produced the Assistant. Under the hood the phones boast similar specs to an iPhone 7 with a marginally improved camera.

Still, this is by no means a slam-dunk for Google. “The market, however, is still nascent, and an early presence won’t guarantee success over the long term, especially given that Google Home offers some unique benefits”, explains Joe Branca, Senior Analyst, Smart Home Strategies Service.