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The Google Nest Mini is a smashing entry into smart tech. It gives you a mini search engine in your kitchen, office or bedside. It is relatively inexpensive and usually part of deals or promos and have been seen as cheap as £20. Asking for your schedule, to stick your playlist on works a treat. It comes alive though when you sync up with other smart gear and a Google account, flicking the lights on or off in the house for example. Packs a reasonable punch for a mini speaker too.

Taking the leap

Getting into smart tech wasn't an instant thing for me. It took a long time to break away from opening up my door and home to these ever-present, ever-listening gizmos. I saw them more as a gimmick, than a useful device. Yet now, I am only full of praise for these little pill-like speakers that dot around our house. I have four of them. One in the kitchen, hidden behind the television, another by my bedside table, a third in the garage and a spare (replaced by a Google Home Hub, in fact - one I'll be reviewing later). What changed?

It actually started with when we moved home and we arrived to what was a blank canvas, stuck desperately in the seventies with its decor and I wanted to be able to do something flash with the lighting. My research took me towards the fabulous Philips Hue system (again, another thing I will be talking about soon) and enticed by a deal, was offered a solitary lightbulb with a Google Nest Mini second generation in tow. One downside with the Philips Hue system is the price. Lightbulbs are expensive. Think Lexmark printers and ink cartridges. The printer (the hub itself) isn't that expensive, but the ink (bulbs) were nearly as much, if not more than the cost of the printer! So, if you can get a bulb at a modestly cheap price, it's worth it. And it just happened to come with the Mini.

It is though with this dynamic duo, you start to get lured into the smart world, Ironman Jarvis style, by ushering commands and controlling things and your mind opens up to the possibilities of automating things around the house. Let me give you a few examples of how I use mine.

OK Google ...

When I wake up, I can simply say "Hey Google, good morning" and it will run through the schedule for the day, the weather, my traffic on my commute and give me a tailored overview of the headlines from BBC, Bloomberg or whoever floats your boat there and then. Great for getting dresses in the morning. I head to the office at home. "OK Google, turn the fan on". It'll switch on a TP Link smart plug (another review coming for that) that's connected to my tower fan and cool the room down. "OK Google, open my skylight" then opens the Velux window that is about 14 ft above my head and previously was only reachable with a huge stick. When it gets dark, "OK Google, turn on the office lights". That switches on the office lights in the room.

Now you're not talking about life-changing tech here, let's be real. With mobile phones, things are an app away, or I could get my long stick and open the window, press the "on" button on the fan or flick the light switch, but it starts to really fit nicely into your life. Much like how the iPad was mocked as four iPhones being sellotaped together. Remember that? Then it's the neater things, "play my playlist" or entertaining my kids with "what noise does a lion make" again and again. You've got the whole power of Google and its unparalleled search engine working away and retrieving you answers, pulling the strings on your tech and giving you the latest information.

When you hook up a few of these, you get some slightly more interesting options too. You can 'broadcast' messages around the house, or sync music across multiple Nests.

Setup is pretty painless. First, you need a GMail account. Then, the Google Home App. Once you've got those in place, simply plug the device in where you want it and assign it to a room, tell it what WiFi network to link up to and that's it. The Google Home App is another great starting point into the world of smart tech. Once you set up your first room, you are thinking about every room in your home and what could be automated, 'smartened' or voice activated.

A good listener

The main way it works, how it prompts the commands, is it is listening. All the time. This is probably the major concern, or caveat with this technology. There have been plenty of stories of smart speakers having picked up or recorded things in homes not intended to have been recorded. And this is the biggest mindset to overcome for smart tech sceptics. The Mini has a physical switch to mute the microphone should you not want to take changes, but this is of course invalidating the purpose of the tech. Google have gone as far as to say to warn guests if you have smart devices, owing to it recording. It for sure is the biggest hurdle to overcome. Accept it in your life and you get to enjoy the benefits. If you're reluctant, it's a non-starter.

Looks-wise, the Nest is a smart, subtle looking speaker. It's covered in a fabric mesh and comes in a variety of colorus, black, grey, red or a silvery blue. Aside from the mic cut-off switch, there are hidden volume up / down buttons to the left and right of the mini, as well as a mute button on top, useful particularly for music. Speaking of music, the speaker is good, if not mind-blowing, but I didn't find it at all bad, or even tinny when listening to my playlist. On the back is a notch so you can hang it up on the wall with a screw, if you wish. It doesn't look too bad, but you have to deal with the wire leading to the mains (it's not battery powered, I am afraid).

These speakers gave me my entry into Smart tech and I love them. Cheap, full of info and functionality, look good and sound decent too and they take every room a good step into smart territory once set up. Could I live without them? Yes, for sure, but I probably use mine every day. Even if it's just to turn the lights on and off.

WOW 3/5 😮😮😮 Great kit, does some neat things but really needs other smart tech around it to change your world.

Dosh 4/5 💵💵💵💵 Reasonably priced, pretty inexpensive, look for deals or promotions.

Style 3/5 😎😎😎 Looks good and subtle - would sit well on a coffee table, shame it's wired.

Gizmo Total 3/5 ⚡️⚡️⚡ Great entry product into Smart tech.️

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#googlenest #googlenestmini2 #smarthometechnology #smarthomes #smarthome #smarthometech #techreview #smartspeaker #google #nest #gosmart #gosmartorgohome

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