Here in CH virtually everyone receives a modem/router combo for free from their provider (ie. they borrow it to you). They are also usually preconfigured - so you just need to plug them in. Is it the same in the US? I guess at a 199$ price point this will be a tough sell.
OnHub
31–40 of 641 posts
Re: OnHub
#32BRB going to give Google 100% of my network traffic directly from their router. https://31.media.tumblr.com/a71ef8257d0bd0d3a15fe01b4fc4911c...
Re: OnHub
#33I have to say it looks like they may have taken some liberties with the product design a la Amazon Echo. Before I read into the product specifications I was expecting an Echo competitor via Google Now tech.
Agreed. It looks a little like a squatter Echo. Cylindrical, ring of light at the top. But I suppose Amazon will avoid any legal action since it's pretty tough to win a court case with the argument "they copied my cylinder." Hopefully the different functionality of each device will keep any ugly legal battles from ensuing.
But with the a computer embedded in this router along with a speaker and bluetooth and zigbee radios this could be customized to offer a lot of the features that the Echo offers (minus the voice control). I hope that doesn't cause any problems.
Re: OnHub
#34Do they allow you to configure DNS, or do they force Google DNS use like on Chromecasts?
Since it is a full router I'm sure you can change it, but on a side note you can re-direct the chromecast DNS pretty easily too
https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&es...
Re: OnHub
#35Hard to believe there's a huge market for $199 WiFi routers, no matter how sophisticated. On the other hand, even a sprinkling of installations is probably pretty valuable if it allows Google to derive more accurate ISP performance numbers. There's got to be some benefit in having thousands of devices directly connected to the ISP's network on the consumer end 24/7.
I spent $150 each or something like that on my apple routers about 5 years ago, they both are still running strong but since technology has of course advanced so much in the past few years, I would spend that on a router with the hope it lasts the same time.
Re: OnHub
#36The only privacy link I could find on the page was Google's generic privacy policy. Is there more information somewhere? With its "advanced and always-evolving security features", I'm wondering whether and what information Google would be gathering about my local network and my network traffic.
From the Terms of Service linked from the support site https://support.google.com/onhub/answer/6270620?hl=en&ref_to...
"You agree that Google may collect and use technical and related information, including but not limited to information about your computer and/or mobile device, operating system, peripherals, applications, connected devices, network traffic, and data use to facilitate the provision of the Software and Services, including support and other related services."
It goes on to state "The OnHub Privacy FAQ describes the categories of data collected and how you can use privacy settings to change what data is collected by the Services."
But I couldn't find the OnHub Privacy FAQ and https://support.google.com/onhub/search?q=privacy oddly says "Your search - privacy - did not match any answers in OnHub Help".
Re: OnHub
#37Can anyone explain why a Router needs 4GB of storage ? What do they mean by "OnHub has 4GB of storage space, so there’s plenty of room for auto-updates and the latest software features." ? Is software for a router that large ?
The pure router parts? No. But stuff like the home automation features I can see why they'd fit more storage, especially in early versions where they don't know quite yet what they'll want to put in later. (Of course, swappable storage would be even better for that, but has other issues)
Re: OnHub
#38Here in CH virtually everyone receives a modem/router combo for free from their provider (ie. they borrow it to you). They are also usually preconfigured - so you just need to plug them in. Is it the same in the US? I guess at a 199$ price point this will be a tough sell.
Yes, it's the same in the US. ISPs provide a modem/router combo and charge like $7 a month for it. The disadvantage is that the router portion of the unit is usually very poor. AT&T is still giving out modem/router combos that us 802.11b/g, not even n, much less ac. Purchasing a separate router lets you use better wifi technology as well as enable useful features like QoS settings that aren't available on the ISP-provided hardware.
Re: OnHub
#39Can anyone explain why a Router needs 4GB of storage ? What do they mean by "OnHub has 4GB of storage space, so there’s plenty of room for auto-updates and the latest software features." ? Is software for a router that large ?
A 4GB USB flash drive is $5 on Amazon - heaven knows what that translates into for the naked chip, in bulk.
So the question becomes, why not?
Re: OnHub
#40I wonder what sort of ramifications this has for improving indoor location services for Google's connected properties.