Google Assistant ALL the things! Someone obviously decreed this to be the motto of CES 2018. iHome were apparently party to this decree and have Google Assistanted a bedside alarm clock.
iHome, known for speakers, portable devices and smart home control solutions, have today announced a Google Assistant powered bedside speaker, the iGV1. The speaker has won a CES Innovation Award for it’s functionality and design which is remarkably like a sawn-off Google Home, complete with the fabric speaker grill.
The iGV1 is designed to be used as a bedside clock system but with the added functionality of Google Cast, Google Assistant, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a 1A USB charging port. Along with this it has an LCD clock that also shows the next alarm time that is set. The clock has time sync via NTP to provide clock accuracy over Wi-Fi
The iGV1 can do everything a Google Home can do through it’s Google Assistant integration and also includes Far Field Voice Activation microphones for accurate listening. The iGV1 may well be smaller than the Google Home but it’s sound packs a punch with the Reson8 speaker chamber design. Alarms can be set using voice commands, as can the volume levels of the speaker.
Putting Google Assistant into an alarm clock is a great idea. When the alarm goes off users can either turn it off using the snooze button or off by asking Google Assistant to do their bidding. From here the user can then start their day setting all their IoT devices to work (“Turn on thermostat”, “What’s on for today?”, “start the coffee maker”, “play a playlist”, “turn on the lights downstairs” etc). Google for one love the idea:
The goal of the Google Assistant is to help users no matter what device they’re using or where they are in their day. With iHome, we’re excited to bring users another way to interact with the Assistant, right on an alarm clockAnurag Jain, Product Manager for the Google Assistant
At this stage it is unknown if this will make it to our shores but we will keep an eye out for this new speaker. It is “coming soon” to the US and I personally hope it comes here too.
