My summary of the event, meh!

The Pixel phone looks good, but so far I haven't seen anything that makes me want to dump my Nexus 6P. I wonder whether Google Assistant will replace Google Now on existing Android phones? The Verge says it is not replacing Google Now on Nexus any time soon. I guess Google is starting to act like typical hardware companies that hold back features to push one to upgrade. 

For me the biggest issue with the Pixel phones is the price, $649 as the starting price of the 5-inch model and there is a $120 price increase for the 5.5-inch model, for a $769 total. This is much higher than the Nexus market has been paying. Is Google Assistant worth the price premium? Is the camera really good enough to justify the higher price? Pre-order now, ships October 20. 

Google is still working on WiFi routers. The new hotness in WiFi is multiple access points to improve coverage in a home, which is an approach that has existed forever in enterprise implementations. As I see it, the biggest selling point of the Google's new router is the lower price to implement multiple access points.

Google Home looks cool, but I already own an Amazon Echo and have a Dot ordered, so I am not sure I am willing to switch from that investment. I do like Google Home's integration with Chromecast. Design for multiple devices. $129 price is good, pre-order today, shipping on November 4. 

What would be really, really cool is if Echo could control Chromecast. Here in lies the single biggest problem with IoT, it is all about lock in. I have three different IoT hubs (Hue Bridge, SmartThings, and Logitech Harmony) while there should be one "generic" hub that can control multiple brands of devices.

(BTW, I thought Google changed the branding of Chromecast to Google Cast, what happened?)

I fear Google Home may be too late. People who have bought in to smart homes have likely already invested in Echo, and the size of the "intelligent assistant appliance" market is a big unknown. A great number of people are not comfortable with an always on, always listening device in their home. 

Of the hardware devices Google announced, the one with the most appeal is the Chromecast Ultra. But here too, there is the problem that I already have a Chromecast on all the TVs and a monitor in my house. The second generation Chromecast works just fine on my 4K Samsung TV, and I have yet to encounter 4K content that compells me to switch out for the Ultra. 

The rumors were wrong about tablets, Google did not announce a new tablet to replace the Nexus 7 that was so popular. We also didn't hear anything about a new operating system from Google.