Google Home launched in India for Rs. 9,999
Google has finally launched its voice-enabled smart speakers Google Home and Google Home Mini in India for Rs. 9,999 and Rs. 4,499, respectively. They are powered by the Google Assistant and can perform tasks like setting up reminders, controlling music and controlling smart home appliances on voice commands. The product, which is currently Flipkart-exclusive, will also be made available at 750 offline stores.
Google Home can play music, answer queries, cast videos
The smart speaker features two microphones and four LEDs. Apart from playing music, it can answer Google Search queries, cast videos, locate your phone, and offer weather and news updates. For latter, Google Home has partnered with NDTV, Times of India, Aaj Tak and Dainik Bhaskar. The Google Home has interchangeable bases with several color options.
Google Home to support Gaana, Saavn integration
Further, Google has added streaming support for Gaana, Saavn, Netflix, and YouTube. Users will be able to link their Saavn and Gaana accounts with Google Home for streaming ad-free music for the first six months. This will come in addition to the default Google Play Music integration. Google Home can also be connected to other Bluetooth enabled speakers.
Amazon's Echo speakers also offer Saavn integration
Google Home was first launched in the US in 2016 for Rs. 8,500 and the Google Home Mini was launched last year for Rs. 3,200. Last year, Amazon also launched its own Alexa-enabled Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Plus smart speakers in India for Rs. 9,999, Rs. 4,499, and Rs. 14,999, respectively. Notably, Amazon's Echo speakers also offer Saavn integration.
Google Assistant to get support for Indian English
Google is reportedly planning to add support for Indian English to Google Assistant to aid Google Home's India launch. Recently, the Google Assistant became officially available in Hindi.
