Google Home Tips

Jason Howell got his Google Home last week, and after spending some time with it, he's discovered some things that have helped him get more out of it:

• Use "Hey Google" instead of "OK Google" so that your phone doesn't also activate on the command.
• Give timers a name when you set them. Then when the timer rings, you can ask what that timer is for, and it will tell you. This is especially useful if you also had other timers going.
• Use Google Home to listen to podcasts. You can also tell it to skip ahead or back a certain amount of time.
• Expand Google Home's funcationality with If This, Then That. For instance, you can have it ring your phone if you've misplaced it, send tweets, set your Hue lights to a 'party mode', Nest thermostat controls and more.
• Tell Google Home "I'm Feeling Lucky." This initiates a fun 'game show' that will ask you trivia questions.
• Play Mad Libs with it. It will then ask you questions and fill in the blanks.
• If you just want random pieces of information, you can tell Google Home "surprise me."

Google Home can already do a lot, but it's still early days for it and it will probably open up a lot more over time.

Find Jason Howell on All About Android, Android App Arena, and Tech News Today at twit.tv.