The Google Home was a joy to have some hands-on time with, however brief it may have been. The problem Google has on its hands with the device is choosing to focus heavily on its built-in AI, or more on supporting additional apps and smart hardware to make it more useful.

Google Home is a worthy rival to Amazon Echo that plays nice with Google software and hardware, but it lacks some key features of its competitors.

Integrates with your Google tools; Controls Google Cast-enabled devices; Booming bass

Limited add-ons at this point; Lacks balanced sound; especially on vocals

Google Home is a great way to show off just how smart Google is, but it doesn't feel like an essential experience yet. That's mainly because it lags behind the Echo in terms of support for third-party services.

Tasteful design; Access to Google's massive knowledge graph; Google Assistant is conversational and context aware; Chromecast integration has the potential to be a killer feature

Speaker quality is only so-so for music; Limited third-party app support compared to Amazon; A handful of expected features aren't available at launch

Google Home is fun device that excels at answering questions from the Google knowledge graph and integrating with Google services and products. Is it better than Amazon's Echo Ultimately that'll be down to personal preferences and the services you need.

If you already frequent Google.com to look up stuff on the Web, why not fill the vast white space on that page with news you read and online tools you need Google Home, a personal Web page service, can wrap together all sorts of content so that you don't have to type long URLs and visit multiple...

Google Home is easy to set up and maintain; organizes feeds within a clean page layout; integrates Google tools and third-party content

Google Home offers only six tabs to organize content; Google tailors search results to your lookups while you're signed in

This compact system fits almost anywhere and has given me plenty of signal from inside wooden cabinets. I do wish the units had a power switch.

Works well with normal set-up routine; Plenty of signal strength in my home; No need so far to change channels; Turns on each morning with no fuss

I'm wondering what if anything Google is learning about me thru this product that of course is a conduit for my Internet traffic

I rated this 5 stars because I did my homework and knew what the existing limitations would be. While google improves the software behind the Assistant that powers this device, the mic is sharp and pics up my voice from a surprising distance.

I would still consider this a novelty item over being terribly useful. Questions must be phrased the correct way and there have been many things that Google Home cannot help with.

The Google Home wasn't the first smart speaker on the scene, but don't let that put you off. While the family of devices is now into its second generation, Google hasn't bothered to update the Home's design; the recently added doesn't really count. The reason is that software is the priority here.

Great design; Decent sound; Reasonable price point; Conversational assistant; Easy setup

Limited smart home compatibility; Speaker isn't very loud; Needs to be plugged in at all times

In many ways, Google Home is amazing. It's the all-in-one J.A.R.V.I.S.-like butler we've dreamt of for years. Well, almost. Its smart home controls are no gimmick - it really will make your daily life just that little bit easier, to the point where using anything but your voice to set the...

Looks classy; yet unobtrusive; You can control your home and music like Tony Stark; Search and translate functionality is brilliant

Could sound better; Play Music doesn't support adding to your library/playlists; You can't add appointments; reminders; or send messages