Google I/O: Google unveils Google Home, takes aim at Amazon Echo

Google has officially planted a stake in the land of voice activated, smart home virtual assistants. The tech giant on Tuesday introduced the highly anticipated Google Home device, a rival to Amazon's two-year-old smart-home hub Echo, during its Google I/O developer conference in Mountain View. But don't get too excited just yet -- the device won't launch until later this year at an undisclosed price. Formerly codenamed Chirp, Google Home serves as a voice-activated virtual agent capable of connecting to devices around the home (such as the Nest thermostat) and completing basic tasks like playing music or searching Google. The Google Home is essentially a small speaker, cylindrical in shape, equipped with always-on, far-field microphones that can pick up human voice from across the room.