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Google Home was released on 4 November 2016 in the United States of America for $129,<ref name="ref1"/> and on 6 April 2017 it was also made available in the United Kingdom for £129.<ref name="ref6">ALLISON, Conor. Google Home smart speaker finally gets a UK launch date. Wareable [online]. 2017, Mar 28. Available online at: https://www.wareable.com/smart-home/google-home-uk-launch-release-date-2017 (Retrieved 2017, Jun 13)</ref> On 2 June 2017 it became available for pre-order in Canada for $179.00 CDN<ref name="ref7">ETHERINGTON, Darrell. Google Home now available for pre-order in Canada. TechCrunch [online]. 2017, Jun 2. Available online at: https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/02/google-home-now-available-for-pre-order-in-canada/ (Retrieved 2017, Jun 14)</ref> with a retail date of 26 June 2017.<ref name="ref8">MOON, Mariella. Google Home will arrive in Canada on June 26th. Engadget [online]. 2017, Jun 2. Available online at: https://www.engadget.com/2017/06/02/google-home-canada-launch-june-26th/ (Retrieved 2017, Jun 14)</ref> So far, it has not been released in any other countries, but Google aims to expand it soon also to Australia, as well as Germany, France and Japan.<ref name="ref9">PRIEST, David. 5 ways Google Home just got better. CNET [online]. 2017, May 17. Available online at: https://www.cnet.com/news/google-home-gets-a-slew-of-new-features/ (Retrieved 2017, Jun 14)</ref> In addition to English, it is also gaining support for multiple languages: French, German, Brazilian Portuguese and Japanese soon with Italian, Spanish and Korean coming later.<ref name="ref9"/>
== Main characteristics Characteristics ==
Google Home is a cylindrically shaped device approximately 14.3 centimeters centimetres high, and 9.6 centimeters centimetres in diameter. The top surface of the device has a touch-capacitive control panel and four multi-colored LED lights indicating that it is working. The device consists of two parts: first, the main white-colored body equipped with the control panel, two microphones with far-field voice recognition, and an integrated high-excursion speaker (2" driver with dual 2" passive radiators), and second, the base that can be customized with different colors and finishes to reflect the user's personal style (the default base comes in slate fabric, while the other colors need to be bought separately). The device connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi and cannot work offline.<ref name="ref3"/><ref name="ref2"/><ref name="ref10">PINO, Nick, PORTER, Jon. Google Home review. TechRadar [online]. 2017, Jun 2. Available online at: http://www.techradar.com/reviews/google-home (Retrieved 2017, Jun 14)</ref> It is not battery-powered and thus needs to be connected to a power outlet.<ref name="ref11">WAGONER, Ara. OK Google, give me a portable Google Home. Android Central [online]. 2016, Nov 8. Available online at: https://www.androidcentral.com/ok-google-give-me-portable-google-home (Retrieved 2017, Jun 14)</ref>
The user can activate the device either by pressing the top panel for a couple of seconds or saying the wake word ("OK Google" or "Hey Google"). If done correctly, the four LED lights on the top of the device turn on indicating that it has caught the user's attention and is ready to listen to his or her demands. After that the user can begin issuing commands using plain language. These are received by the device's two microphones, and processed by its software, which then generates appropriate response in [[Speech synthesizers|synthetic voice]] and, if the user asks for more than just some sort of information, performs the desired action.
* Larry Page - co-founder of Google and CEO of Alphabet
* Sergey Brin - co-founder of Google and President of Alphabet
* Sundar Pichai - CEO of Google
* Mario Queiroz - VP of product management at Google, "the man behind Google Home"<ref name="ref14">BERGEN, Mark. Meet the product chief Google picked to fight Apple and Amazon for control of your home. Recode [online]. 2016, Jun 29. Available online at: https://www.recode.net/2016/6/29/12055270/google-home-chromecast-mario-queiroz (Retrieved 2017, Jun 14)</ref>
== Important Dates ==
* 4 October 2016 - : the announcement of Google Home at the company's hardware-announcing event<ref name="ref1"/> * 4 November 2016 - : the release date of Google Home for the United States of America<ref name="ref1"/> * 6 April 2017 - : the release date of Google Home for the United Kingdom<ref name="ref6"/> * 26 June 2017 - : the release date of Google Home for Canada<ref name="ref8"/>
== Enhancement/Therapy/Treatment ==
We have not recorded any public policy that regards Google Home yet.
== Related Technologies, Projects , or Scientific Research ==
There are many related technologies supported by Google Home. These include TV and video streaming devices (Google Chromecast, Google Nexus Player, Nvidia Shield, Razer Forge TV, and Sony Bravia TVs as well as Vizio Smartcast TVs), smart speakers (Google Chromecast Audio, Vizio SmartCast Crave, and LG Music Flow products), smart thermostats and climate control (Nest, Honeywell, Ecobee), smart lighting (LIFX, Philips Hue Bridge), and various other compatible products (Smart Lock etc.).<ref name="ref25">LOOPER, Christian de. Buying Google Home? Here are the best smart home products to go along with it. TechRadar [online]. 2017, Jan 18. Available online at: http://www.techradar.com/news/buying-a-google-home-here-are-the-best-smart-home-products-to-go-along-with-it (Received 2017, Jun 16)</ref><ref name="ref26">LANGLEY, Hugh. These new Google Home integrations will make your house much smarter. Wareable [online]. 2017, Mar 28. Available online at: https://www.wareable.com/google/google-home-august-smart-lock-logitech-harmony-4190 (Received 2017, Jun 16)</ref>
