http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2017/10/10/the-google-home-mini-is-the-cheapest-way-to-get-into-the-smart-home/

Not content with being dominant online, Google is pushing into your home — with a line of smart devices and speakers that it hopes will grace your shelves and coffee tables very soon. The company handed out the smallest member of its speaker line, the Google Home Mini, to everyone who attended the launch event last week. These are my thoughts after a few days with it.

First things first: The main selling point for the Google Home Mini is its price. As the Google Home Mini itself will tell you — if you ask — it costs just $49. That's $10 less than Amazon's competing mini-hub, the Echo Dot. If you're looking for an easy way into the smart home, Google Home Mini is the cheapest way to do that.