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

　　Qu, a female master of returnees, started a business in China. I didn’t expect that the business was not smooth and the company was difficult to maintain. Once, Qu was sorting out work materials in the study room of a famous university in Haidian District, during which he found that the laptop on the table next to him was unattended, so he extended a thief’s hand. Since then, Zou has committed crimes for more than 10 times. Yesterday, the reporter learned from the Haidian prosecutor that on February 24 this year, the prosecutor approved the arrest of Qu on suspicion of theft. Zou confessed that stealing things is to exchange money and maintain the company’s operations. Jinghua Times reporter Chang Xin

　　> > case

　　People go to eat, computers stay in study rooms.

　　At about 17: 45 on January 16th this year, Dandan (a pseudonym), a student of a famous university in Haidian District, and his classmates left the study room to have dinner in the cafeteria, and put the Apple laptop on the desk in the study room.

　　At about 19: 45, Dandan returned to the study room and found the laptop on the desk stolen. Upon inquiry, it was learned that only a few students were studying in the study room at the time of the incident, and no one noticed that someone had entered the study room and taken away the laptop. Dandan immediately called the police.

　　The police at the Yanyuan police station quickly rushed to the scene. After verification with the school, since January this year, there have been many cases in which articles left by students in the study room have been stolen.

　　Due to the seriousness of the case, Haidian Public Security Bureau attached great importance to it. At 9: 30 am on January 18, a task force composed of the plainclothes investigation squadron of the criminal investigation detachment and Yanyuan police station was set up.

　　> > investigation

　　Borrow students’ computers to leave traces on the Internet.

　　The police seized the surveillance video of the study room and found that at 6 o’clock on January 16, a woman wearing a light coat and a blue hat entered with a white satchel on her shoulder.

　　The woman first walked in the corridor of the study room and sat down when she reached the place where Dandan put her laptop. She turned on her laptop, looked at other students in the room at the same time, and found that no one was paying attention, so she put the computer in her satchel and got up and left. The whole crime time is only more than 5 minutes.

　　The police then inquired about the monitoring of other study rooms where crimes were committed. After a series of cases, it was learned that since January this year, the woman went to the university several times in the afternoon and evening, entered when the students left the study room, and stole the laptops left by the students.

　　The surveillance also recorded a picture that the female suspect had borrowed a computer from a student in the study room. The police managed to find the student and learned that the female suspect borrowed the computer to check things online. According to their online records, the police learned through technical means that the female suspect was Qu, and grasped the woman’s physical appearance through case monitoring. Because of the suspicion that Qu might commit crimes in the school, the task force arranged for the police to stay in plain clothes near the study room.

　　> > arrest

　　Go away after stealing a mobile phone and be caught red-handed

　　At about 18: 50 on January 18, the plainclothes policemen who were guarding found a woman wandering near the teaching building, and then entered a study room. The woman’s appearance was similar to that of the suspect Qu Mou in the monitoring screen, wearing a black coat, a black hat and a black shoulder bag.

　　The police immediately placed control outside the study room. When the suspect walked out of the study room, he controlled it and got a red rice mobile phone from his satchel. The suspect woman introduced herself as Zou. At first, Zou argued that the mobile phone was borrowed from school students to make calls. At this time, a female student walked out of the study room and recognized that the mobile phone was her own. I don’t know when it was stolen by Qu. The police then showed the surveillance video of Zou’s previous theft, and Zou bowed his head and admitted the fact of his theft. Subsequently, the police obtained seven laptops involved in the case from their temporary residence.

　　After the trial, Qu admitted that he had repeatedly entered the study room of the school to steal. The police audited more than 10 cases and obtained 7 laptops and a mobile phone involved. On January 19 this year, Qu was criminally detained by Haidian police on suspicion of theft.

　　> > confession

　　Commit a crime to raise funds for the company

　　Yesterday, the reporter learned from Haidian Procuratorate that on February 24 this year, the prosecution approved the arrest of the suspect Qu on suspicion of theft.

　　According to the prosecutor who handled the case, after the trial, it was learned that the suspect Qu was 31 years old. He studied in France and obtained a master’s degree. In 2015, he returned to China to start a business and start a company. Unexpectedly, the business development is not smooth, and the company is difficult to maintain.

　　According to the prosecutor, on January 1 this year, the suspect Qu Mou came to a famous university in Haidian District. When sorting out the work materials in the study room, he found a Lenovo laptop on the back desk, and the victim went out to work. At that time, there were very few people in the classroom. Qu Mou left this laptop in a black bag that he carried with him in a hurry.

　　After a success, Zou found that this was also the way to make money, so from January 1 to January 18, he committed crimes in the study room of the university many times, stealing Apple laptops, Lenovo laptops, Xiaomi mobile phones and other items.

　　According to Qu, she never looks at the brand when stealing goods, only at the operating system. She only steals from Apple or Microsoft. The first time I stole something, I wanted to use it for myself. The second time, the company ran out of money. I stole a laptop and sold it for emergency. Then I stole it to prepare funds for the future development of the company.

　　In response to this case, the prosecutor reminded that the school is an open place where all kinds of people will appear. There are not only students who study by themselves at school, but also idlers in society. Everyone should ensure the safety of their belongings. If it is a small item such as a mobile phone, you may wish to take it with you at any time. If it is a big item such as a computer, it is best to ask a classmate who is sitting nearby and familiar with it to take care of it.

　　Original title: 2023 Foreign student exchange activities in Guangdong were held in Guangzhou, with nearly 1,000 foreign students from 60 countries participating.

　　On December 18th, 2023, "Charming Guangdong Helps Me Realize My Dream" was held in South China Agricultural University. The event attracted nearly 1,000 foreign students from 60 countries to participate. In the end, three programs, The Road to Dreams by Shenzhen University, Chinese by South China University of Technology, and Youth of Lu Ge by South China Agricultural University, won the first prize of this activity.

　　In the cultural performance, 17 programs from 10 universities in the province appeared in turn, fully demonstrating the youthful vitality and elegance of international students. In August this year, Duo Ruirui, a Russian student from South China University of Technology, went to Pingyuan County, Meizhou City to carry out social practice activities such as research and teaching. In the program, they put what they saw and heard in Pingyuan on the stage, telling their stories about China and the countryside.

　　"In addition to teaching, I took primary school students to play traditional Russian games. Their bright smiles gave me a dream." Duo Yurui said: "I hope to bring China’s experience in building beautiful countryside back to my motherland after graduation and do my bit for the friendly development of China and Russia."

　　Raphael, an international student at Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, has a special liking for China Wushu. He started studying Wushu at the age of 15 and has won many international Wushu competitions. On the stage, he showed the strength and beauty of China Wushu with a flowing performance; The International Choir of Shenzhen University brought "The Road to Dreams" by Shen Wenxie, a Korean student in Shenzhen University, and cooperated with the sand painting performance, telling the moving story of young people from all over the world who formed deep friendship and grew into useful people when studying in China, and expressing the expectation of international youth to jointly build "the belt and road initiative" to help individuals realize their dreams.

　　It is reported that "Charming Guangdong Helps Me Realize My Dream" has been successfully held for six times in the exchange activities for foreign students in Guangdong, and it is an international cultural exchange activity brand for foreign students in Guangdong. The activity takes cultural performances as the carrier to build a platform for overseas students to understand and learn Chinese excellent traditional culture and Lingnan culture, to know China, to tell about their life in Guangdong, and to promote cultural exchanges and integration among countries. (Nanfang Daily reporter Yu Jiamin correspondent Zhu Ling)