Original title: Xiaodu at home smart speaker video review, smart speaker with screen is really amazing

foreword

I have been paying more attention to the smart speaker category, and now smart speakers have been fully integrated into my life.

About a year ago, Amazon released a smart speaker with a screen Echo Show, and domestic smart speaker pioneer JD.com – Ding Dong also released a smart speaker with a screen at CES earlier this year, Ding Dong PLAY, but it actually became a product and officially launched in China. It is the "Xiaodu at home" that you want to experience today.

Smart speakers should not have a screen, which used to be a very popular discussion after Amazon released the Echo Show. Many technology media came out to post articles, with praise and criticism, and it seemed that the criticism was greater than the praise. But whether the experience of having a screen is good or not, please follow me.

unpacking

The packaging of "Xiaodu is at home" is quite simple, and the pure white hard carton is printed with hot silver. The product name on the front is marked as jointly produced by Baidu and Xiaoyu at home.

On the back of the box is some necessary information for product packaging, and there is no excess.

Open the heaven and earth cover, and what you see directly inside is the main body of the fuselage embedded in the blister packaging.

Take out the main unit, and there is a small box below to put the transformer.

Transformer output power 12V 2A.

exterior display

Xiaodu has four body colors to choose from at home, and I chose a bright "Rock Red".

From the front, Xiaodu’s appearance at home is quite similar to that of the Echo Show, except that the position outside the screen is completely wrapped in fabric material, which is more visually gentle

The side and back are quite different from the Echo Show. It feels a bit like a traditional cylindrical speaker with a screen on the front. There is a power switch on the top. Since the screen is a touchscreen, there is no need to add too many buttons, and most operations can be performed directly on the touchscreen.

There are silicone foot pads at the bottom, and there are Micro USB ports and power ports in the semi-circular hollow position.

The weight of the whole machine is not heavy, 0.834 kilograms, about one and a half catties.

Town Building Map

After unpacking, even if you enter the real experience evaluation process, put a map of the town building before that. This picture is not to brag about how many smart speakers I have, but to show that I have indeed experienced and tried most of the smart speakers on the market. After a long time of use and experience, I have learned about the current mainstream technical level of the smart speaker category, and can objectively evaluate the quality of a product. The following review and experience are based on my experience of using the vast majority of smart speakers on the market.

boot configuration

Press and hold the top power supply for three seconds to turn it on, and the boot screen shows the product name, "Xiaodu Smart Video Speaker at Home", jointly produced by Baidu and Xiaoyu at Home.

Due to the screen, it is much easier to connect to Wi-Fi. You don’t need to open the APP anymore. You can directly connect to the Wi-Fi network like operating a Pad.

After the device is successfully connected to the network, the APP will be installed and the device will be activated by scanning the code through the APP.

When you open the APP for the first time, there will be some introductions to the selling points of this product.

Xiaodu used Xiaoyu’s user system at home, because I have used Xiaoyu at home before, so I can log in directly.

After logging in to Xiaodu Home, you need to bind your Baidu account again to get Baidu-related services. After the binding process is completed, there will be a short introduction video to watch.

After the APP logs in and scans the code, the binding process is completed. The first user to bind is the administrator of the device. After the device is activated, there is also a short demonstration video and asks if one call is turned on. To turn on this function, the mobile phone can also see the screen shot by the device without the need to answer the device, similar to the function of remote monitoring.

I forgot to take a comparison of the size of the reference object before, so I added it here. I think the volume is more suitable.

practical experience

Several icons on the main screen represent skills introduction, calls and messages, Wi-Fi connection, time, air quality, family member avatars, etc.

Xiaodu used "Xiaodu Xiaodu" as the wake-up word at home. After waking up, all the content Xiaodu heard at home would be converted into text and displayed at the bottom of the screen. Through this information bar, users could intuitively see whether Xiaodu accurately recognized the user’s voice content at home.

With a screen, the information that can be conveyed has an extra dimension. In addition to voice broadcasts, most of the information will also be converted into images and displayed on the screen.

When listening to music, not only can the album cover be displayed, but also the lyrics can be scrolled to display, which is very cool.

Now that he had a screen, he could play videos. Xiaodu was at home and fully connected to the iQIYI platform. All content on iQIYI could be retrieved and played directly on Xiaodu’s home. If he was not an iQIYI member, he would normally watch a 60-second advertisement.

Xiaodu is equipped with a seven-inch screen at home with a resolution of 1024 × 600. The picture quality is relatively average, which is enough for video calls, but it is not recommended to use this device for a long time to watch video content. However, in some scenes, it is quite convenient to have this small screen to watch the content. For example, watch the explanation when cooking, and watch the tutorial when accompanying the child to do crafts. In addition, Xiaodu supports DLNA video output at home, and can voice-demand content and complete the screen projection.

The way to log in to iQIYI is to click Member in the upper right corner to skip the advertisement when an advertisement appears. At this time, the QR code will appear on the screen. Use the iQIYI APP and scan the code to associate the account relationship.

You can make video or voice calls directly at home through Xiaodu. If the other party is already a family member, you can directly initiate a video call or voice call over the Internet without a separate charge. If you just dial a normal phone number, you will need to pay the call fee. Each device comes with 60 minutes of free phone calls, which can be paid later.

actual experience video

Let’s play a practical video. It can be seen that Xiaodu’s recognition accuracy and reaction speed at home are both excellent.

APP

In terms of the APP, users who have used Xiaoyu at home can see that this is basically Xiaoyu’s APP at home, with slight modifications in some small places. But that’s fine, after all, Xiaoyu has been on the market for a long time, and the App has been polished for a long time.

The app is divided into three tabs, namely Voice Skills, Family Interaction, and Discover More.

Language skills are mainly used to explain the functions of this device and related voice commands. Just look at the long picture below.

Before Xiaoyu was at home, his main focus was family care and company, so the function of this family circle was also simultaneously translated to Xiaodu at home.

Family interaction includes audio & video calls, family member management, smart capture, and family albums. For relevant settings, you can see the screenshot below, and the following video will also show you the actual use effect.

Discover more about some settings for devices and permissions. Among them, the child protection function is very intimate. You can set which users can be on-demand, and force a break after 30 minutes of video playback.

Smart speakers need some smart home linkage functions, and Xiaodu’s smart home functions at home can only be regarded as a little bit of water. Devices that can be connected are on the right side of the picture below. There are some devices connected through Broadlink in my home that can be bound to an account and controlled, but the control is limited to basic functions, and there are no customization and scene-related settings.

A summary of Xiaodu’s experience at home

Advantages:

1. With the screen, the content that can be displayed has expanded a lot. In addition to seeing iQIYI videos, you can see lyrics when listening to songs, spelling when asking English, and corresponding pictures or even small videos when checking the content.

2. In addition to being more informative, it also reduces distrust of voice devices. (Here I want to explain what distrust there is with devices that did not have a screen before. For example, if I ask a long mathematical calculation, I believe that as long as the speaker can understand it, it will be correct. But I am not sure if a long mathematical calculation speaker really heard it correctly, and the result reported to me in the end is really what I want to calculate. And with the screen, you can intuitively see the complete calculation formula I said on the screen.)

3. The APP has been relatively mature and has stable functions after being polished by Xiaoyu at home before.

4. Focus on building relationships in the family circle, share photo albums and videos, and bring family members closer together.

The price of 599 does have a significant impact on the market for congeneric products.

Deficiency:

1. As a smart speaker, sound quality is a weakness.

2. I didn’t find the function to disable the microphone. I don’t know if it’s really not there or if it’s hidden too deeply.

3. Smart home is a touch of the water.

The author of this article, Jiguo Trainee Experience Master: Regeneration Fairy

This article is originally written by Jiguo Trainee Experience Master Regeneration Fairy

　　The new car as a whole adopts a hard-edged off-road vehicle shape, with a square outline and clear three-dimensional lines, highlighting a good sense of power. The black package is used under the front bar, forming a strong contrast with the body. The C-shaped daily line on both sides of the front is very recognizable. It is worth mentioning that the dark blue G318 also provides the original roof rack spotlights, which can provide more abundant ambient lighting during crossing or camping. On the side of the body, the dark blue G318 adopts the design of front low and back high, and the waist line and roof line form a cutting surface, bringing a strong sense of power. At the same time, the new car adopts the classic six-spoke wheel hub, and the combination of off-road tires enhances the overall fashion sense of the new car. The length, width and height of the new car are 4915/4998 * 1985 * 1885/1960 mm respectively, and the wheelbase is 2880 mm. The dark blue G318 rear is themed with the "Space Gate". The main body is formed by the tail window glass and the black parts below, and the two sides of the volume are extended to meet to form a lifting structure. The C-shaped energy crystal tail lights echo the headlights, and the shape of the tail light group is more three-dimensional and powerful. The new car adopts the "small schoolbag" common to hard-core off-road vehicles. It can be judged by the door handle design that the car will adopt a side-opening tailgate structure, which greatly improves the loading capacity.

　　The dark blue G318 is equipped with super range extension, equipped with front and rear dual motor four-wheel drive, the total power of the system is 316kW, the full load mass is 2800kg, and the ton power reaches 112.86kW/1000kg; in terms of expansion, the dark blue G318 provides a wealth of original expansion parts, including luggage racks, headlights, electric pedals, backpack bags, spare tires, etc. The new car has towing qualifications to meet the needs of users for outdoor towing, and is also equipped with in-situ U-turn function to achieve a very small turning radius through rear wheel reversal. (Source: Changan Deep Blue)

The author thinks that Great Wall Motor’s fire in the domestic automobile market is mainly due to the Haval H6 car. I have asked many friends, and they all said that Haval 16 didn’t know much about Great Wall Motor before it was listed in the domestic automobile market. It was only after Haval H6 started to catch fire that Great Wall Motor was re-recognized. Great Wall Motor’s car-making technology is also getting higher and higher. With the good start of Haval H6, Great Wall Motor is going further and further on the road of building cars.

SUV is a mainstream model in the domestic automobile market, and Haval H6, a subsidiary of Great Wall, has also occupied the first place in the list of compact SUVs for a long time. After Haval H6, Great Wall Motor has introduced some SUVs, such as Haval F7 and Haval H9. When it comes to Great Wall Motor, many people have the first impression that SUVs are very powerful, but everyone has forgotten the fact that the Great Wall is also very famous in the pickup truck industry, especially the Great Wall Gun.

In fact, the Great Wall Gun was launched before Haval H6, and it is also a very famous car in the Great Wall family. In the pickup field of the domestic automobile market, the Great Wall Gun has always had a high reputation and sales volume. However, since the listing of Haval H6, we rarely heard about the Great Wall Gun, so many people questioned whether the Great Wall was immersed in the benefits of SUV and forgot the Great Wall Gun. I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to worry about the Great Wall Gun at all. At the same time that Haval H6 has been upgraded, the Great Wall Gun has also been upgraded. With these two models to impact the domestic automobile market, it will definitely set off quite a wave.

To put in a digression here, the fuel truck has a very mature technology in the domestic automobile market. The new Great Wall Gun launched by Great Wall here is not a fuel version, but a new energy version. The 2021 new energy version of Great Wall Gun was launched in September. This is a pure electric pickup truck. I believe it is the first time that many people have heard that pickup trucks are powered by new energy. The Great Wall Gun may be the first to eat crabs in the industry.

The body size of the Great Wall Gun is 5602×1883×1884, and the wheelbase is 3470 mm. As a pickup truck, the space advantage is very great, and the cargo box size is 1520×1520×538 mm, and the loading capacity is very strong. As a pickup truck, it is necessary to achieve convenient loading. The rear door is opened by a horizontal door. This design.

Personally, I think the new energy version of the Great Wall Gun is more upscale than the fuel version, especially its interior. The configuration in the car is more complete. The center console is designed in a symmetrical way. The air conditioning outlets in the center are long and flat, and the shapes of the air conditioning outlets on both sides are also very characteristic of the Great Wall. The embedded touch LCD screen and color instrument panel in the center enhance the grade sense of the interior. Some people say that it would be good if all the physical button functions below the display screen were concentrated in the display screen, just like Tesla, but in my opinion.

In fact, looking at many pickup truck models in China, the design is similar, and the only difference is its details. The new energy version of the Great Wall Gun is equipped with a thick silver guardrail, and there are pedals under the door, which can facilitate passengers to get on and off. The author likes the taillights of the Great Wall Gun best, which are very scientific and technological when lit at night, and the grade is still very high.

Although the new Great Wall Gun is a new energy version, it is absolutely unyielding in terms of power, with a maximum horsepower of 204 horsepower and a peak torque of 300 Nm. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that this car has a cruising range of 405 kilometers and its battery is a ternary lithium battery, which is also the most common battery type of new energy vehicles at present.

To tell the truth, in the pickup industry, the author only recognizes two models, one is the Great Wall Gun, and the other is the Ford Raptor. Although the development routes of these two models are different, the Great Wall Gun takes the fashion sports style, while the Ford Raptor takes the domineering cross-country style, but if you look at one model alone, it is still very good. If the two models are relatively compared, it is really hard to say which model will win, only that they have their own advantages.

　　Do you still remember the news that on April 30th this year, thousands of swimmers in Ciqikou went swimming in the river despite the police’s dissuasion, resulting in casualties (see version A03 of Chongqing Evening News on May 1st)? When these unfortunate incidents are still fresh in our minds, the Marine Police Corps of the Municipal Public Security Bureau released the Disposal of Dangerous Waters and Drowning Police yesterday. Chongqing Evening News reporter found from this report that August is the month with the most drowning incidents in a year. Ciqikou, Chaotianmen and Niujiaotuo waters can be called desperate waters, and 80% of the drowning people are veteran swimmers.

　　Chongqing Evening News reporter Zhu Juan Yellow River

　　Two men were physically exhausted and drowned

　　At 6 o’clock in the afternoon on the 24th of last month, Tan Dingchuan, a policeman of the patrol detachment of the Marine Police Corps, patrolled a barge on the Yangtze River. He saw a soaked man hanging from the railing of the barge in panic and shouting for help. Tan Dingchuan immediately ran to pull him onto the barge. Looking down the man’s line of sight, Tan Dingchuan found that there was another man holding the anchor chain of the barge with both hands. Under the impact of the raging river, his body was hidden and ups and downs on the river. Because the man was clinging to the anchor chain with his hands, he could not be rescued on the boat. Tan Dingchuan and his colleagues had to drive an assault boat to the anchor chain, and Qi Xin worked together to pull the man into the boat and successfully rescued him.

　　It is understood that the two men are friends, and they agreed to swim in the water from Caiyuanba Bridge. Due to the rapid flow of the river, they were physically exhausted and drowned. Fortunately, they were rescued by the police, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

　　The number of drowning people is the highest in August every year.

　　Chongqing Evening News reporter learned from "Disposal of Dangerous Waters and Surabaya Police Situation" that from 2010 to 2015, the drowning incidents in the main city waters were characterized by high incidence in summer. From July to August every year, the number of people who go to the riverside to cool off and swim in the water increases sharply. In addition, schools and colleges have summer vacations, and the drowning alarm is significantly higher than other months. After September, the drowning police began to decline, and the number of drowning police in winter was the lowest in the whole year. Taking 2015 as an example, the drowning incident began to climb in July, and the number of drowning people was the highest in August, and the drowning data began to decline in September. Last August, there were 47 drowning incidents in which 62 people drowned, of which 23 were rescued and 39 were dead or missing.

　　The police said that the reason for the frequent drowning in August was that it was hot and rainy all month, students were on holiday, and the base of swimmers in the river was large. In addition, August is in the flood season, the water flow is unpredictable and the undercurrent is turbulent. If you are not careful, you may drown, and even the veteran can’t escape.

　　Nine dangerous waters in the main city of Liangjiang

　　Statistics from 2010 to 2014 show that most drowning incidents in the main city occurred in the waters of docks and bridges with large flow of people and relatively concentrated personnel.

　　The wharf waters with more drowning alarms are: 87 from No.3 to No.9 Wharf in Chaotianmen, accounting for 22.48% of the total drowning alarms in the wharf waters; There are 53 main docks in Beibei, accounting for 13.7% of the total.

　　The bridge waters with more drowning alarms are: Niujiaotuo Jialing River Bridge (including Yu ‘ao Bridge) with 41 cases, accounting for 25% of the total drowning alarms of all bridges; There are 22 Beidong Bridge in Beibei, accounting for 13.41% of the total; 16 cases in huanghuayuan bridge, accounting for 9.76% of the total; There are 12 Shimen bridges, accounting for 7.32% of the total.

　　According to the introduction of the Municipal Marine Police Corps, eight water police stations in the main city have summarized nine dangerous waters in the two rivers of the main city based on the analysis of the hydrological environment in their respective jurisdictions for many years, namely: Ciqikou — Shabin Road and Zhongdukou — Hanyu Road, Beibin Road, Daxigou, Chaotianmen and Nanbin Road — Haitang Creek and Yemao Creek — Marble Stone and Dragon and Phoenix Temple — Large wharf and coral dam — Chuqimen reminds the public not to go into these waters easily.

　　Eighty percent of the drowning people are "water craftsmen"

　　Data of drowning in main city waters from 2010 to 2015

　　From 2010 to 2015, students and migrant workers accounted for a large proportion of drowning people in the main city waters, and the rest were crew members, fishermen, patients, mentally abnormal people and swimmers.

　　Interpretation: The relevant person of the Marine Police Corps of the Municipal Public Security Bureau said that during the rescue, the police found that 80% of these drowning people can actually swim. Just like the two rescued men mentioned earlier, their water quality is actually not bad. "Because people who can’t swim generally don’t get into the water; Even if it is underwater, it is usually protected by a swimming ring. " Therefore, the police reminded the veteran swimmers that if they want to swim in the river, they must be equipped with safety equipment.

　　Nearly half of 1237 people drowned in 6 years.

　　Interpretation: The police said that the reason why swimmers are less likely to survive after drowning is because the two rivers are fast flowing and there are many underwater undercurrents, and people are likely to be quickly swept away by the river after drowning. In addition, after receiving the alarm, professional rescue and salvage personnel and ships often need some time to get to the scene to carry out rescue, so the chances of survival of the missing person are small. Even if the scene is lucky to be rescued ashore, the mortality rate is high.

　　(Source: Disposal of Dangerous Waters and Drowning Police)