Is it convenient to put a smart speaker in the car? In the case of "Google Home Mini": Masahiro Yamaguchi's smart speaker life (page 1/2)

　The use of cars is expected to increase in the future with the further spread of smart speakers and voice assistants.

　For example, BMW displays weather forecasts and schedules on the dashboard display by equipping all models of BMW and Mini to be released after mid -2018.It is said that it corresponds to operations such as opening and closing.

　In addition, domestic automakers are developing functions such as starting a car engine from home, turning on the air conditioner from home, turning on the headlights remotely, and sounding a horn, these are Alexa.It is said that there are many cases that are realized in cooperation with.

　It is easy to imagine that it would be convenient to search, skip, and adjust the volume using voice assistants while driving.If so, isn't it possible to use the current smart speaker as it is and use it conveniently?That's where many users are interested.

　In fact, if it is a small model such as "Google Home Mini" or "Amazon Echo Dot", it is also suitable to bring it to a car, and if you have left a new product in the future, you will use it in the car.That's a good idea.If you want to introduce a car navigation system that supports voice recognition, 100,000 is so sloppy, but even a part of the function is lucky if you can use it as an alternative.

　This time, I actually tried to bring the two smart speakers two products to the car and test how much the original performance and functions of smart speakers can be demonstrated.First of all, as the first part, we will deliver the trial results of Google Home Mini.

→ Part 2: In the case of "Amazon Echo Dot"

What do you need to use "Google Home Mini" by car?

　When using Google Home Mini by car, the first thing you need is "power supply" and "connection to the Internet".It will not start without these two.

　Google Home Mini is driven by power supply to Micro USB, so if you do not use a standard power adapter, it can be used without any problems if you connect it with a cigar charger or a mobile battery and a USB cable.In fact, if you use it as a cigar charger, a small problem may occur, but this will be described later.

　Connection to the Internet is to use a mobile router or make a tethering connection with a smartphone.In the latter case, a little troublesome is that you have to prepare one of the smartphones used for tethering and the smartphone used for settings.To put it simply, you need two smartphones.

　This is because when setting Wi-Fi settings for Google Home Mini, you need to be connected to the same SSID.The smartphone with the tethering turned on is cut from Wi-Fi, so it will be played even if you try to set it.Even if the tethering is turned off and the SSID is manually input, it will be considered a failure when it is not connected to the cloud.

　Perhaps there is a way to do it well with one unit, but it is probably to prepare two smartphones, including troubleshooting.It is a good idea to use a wizard to use the access terminal as a Wi-Fi hot spot.

What to do with the installation location in the car

　Regarding the installation location, it can be anywhere if the problem of the power supply described above can be solved, but it is desirable to place the Google Home Mini top plate during operation as much as possible instead of placing it on the passenger seat.。

　If you turn on the request starting sound with Google Home Mini user aid function, if you turn on the wakeword (a word to call when using a smart speaker), it will make a short sound, but the inside of the car is noisy.Because it is difficult to confirm whether this has responded to the wakeword that it was launched by the sound alone.If the top plate can be entered in one corner of the view, you can see it visually.

　However, it is annoying that Google Home Mini's fabric design often does not fit the atmosphere of the car.If you forcibly fix it to the dashboard, you will clearly feel uncomfortable.In this area, Echo Dot, whose body is mechanical, will have less discomfort in the car.

　Another thing I want to be aware of is that if the Google Home mini is attached to the dashboard, the cable is placed down, the arrangement of the volume button is left and right, that is, the left side is "up", the right side is on the left side.It will be "Down".

　The volume button of Google Home Mini is not a physical button like Echo Dot, so it is difficult to operate without visual visual visuals, but in addition to this, if the button arrangement turns left and right, it is intuitively confused.I will do it.Even if the wiring is slightly distorted, it is better to set it so that the front of the main unit turns to you.