Richard’s is Closed (also, my Google Home makes telephone calls now)

I mistakenly told my Google Home to make a telephone call this morning–”Hey Google, call Richard’s Fish & Chips.”

This was a mistake, because the Google Home can’t make telephone calls.

Except that it can.

Apparently the Google Home now has a new superpower, which is making free telephone calls in the U.S. and Canada.

So when I said “Hey Google, call Richard’s Fish & Chips,” Google figured out which Richard’s I wanted (it knows where I am, because I told it where my Google Home is located when I first set it up), and placed a call for me.

It also works for “Hey Google, Call Catherine.” And it knew to call her cell phone.

It can’t yet send text messages, it can’t yet receive calls, and its response when you try to call a number it doesn’t recognize is the stock “I don’t know how to help with that” rather than “I don’t have a number for them” or something more specific.

But, it’s still pretty keen. I’m not sure why I’d ever use an actual telephone to call out from the office ever again.

A reminder that the Google Home is now available in Canada: you can purchase one from Best Buy, Walmart, Staples or The Source, or direct from Google.

And remember: once you have yours, be sure to say “Hey Google, ask Farmer’s Almanac about today.”

Comments

Frances's picture
Frances on September 15, 2017 - 17:08 Permalink

Google Home or Alexa, which is a better buy in your opinion? I've read a few articles.

Peter Rukavina's picture
Peter Rukavina on September 15, 2017 - 20:58 Permalink

Right now I’d have to say Google Home, because it’s supported in Canada while the Echo isn’t. So the Echo can’t answer questions like “what’s the weather like?” without having to add “for Charlottetown, Canada” at the end. That said, the Echo is a lot cheaper and, Canada support aside, it works in Canada just fine, and is equally as capable as the Home minus the ability to make phone calls.