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Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

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Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#31

Post by pavanky »

zmanian wrote: post #24

I'm a bit surprised that the iphone version of Google Now beat the Chrome version of Google Now. In my mind, Google Now is about carving out a space on devices where they can actually show high value contextual advertising outside of search. Their pitch to advertisers will be much stronger if they have a foothold on every device. I'm also surprised that this was released before Google I/O. Between near confirmation t…

> I'm also surprised that this was released before Google I/O

I haven't been at the Google I/O but it wouldn't be surprising if they did not want to have anything to do with a competitor mentioned at their conference.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#32

Post by pavanky »

fratis wrote: post #5

I have a question for our Android-using brethren who've had the opportunity to play with Now. I've read a bit about it over the past few weeks, and I've been excited about a port to iOS, but now that I have it, I'm not sure how or if it'll fit into my life day-to-day. At first brush, all I see is a weather widget. I know there's more to it, but where exactly does the magic happen? What have you done (if anything) to…

I don't drive or travel much. But the few times it has been insanely helpful is if you do travel and have no idea about places to visit / see while you are there.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#35

Post by cargo8 »

zmanian wrote: post #24

I'm a bit surprised that the iphone version of Google Now beat the Chrome version of Google Now. In my mind, Google Now is about carving out a space on devices where they can actually show high value contextual advertising outside of search. Their pitch to advertisers will be much stronger if they have a foothold on every device. I'm also surprised that this was released before Google I/O. Between near confirmation t…

I'm not surprised at all. The mobile market is a much more compelling _user scenario_ than desktop, both in terms of the user-need and the user-interface. On mobile, the user-need can be satisfied much better with additional sensor data that aren't common in computers today. The user-interface, too, is why it's a much more compelling mobile offering than a desktop offering (collating all that information in mobile between multiple apps would be annoying, not so much with a multi-tabbed browser or multiple windows)

Besides, Google has been killing it on iOS recently.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#36

Post by talisMal »

tambourine_man wrote: post #21
lawdawg wrote: post #2

Glad to see this coming to iOS, the more users, the more feedback Google will get on how to improve the service for everyone . Hope Apple can try their hand at creating some cross platform applications as well.

Hope Apple can try their hand at creating some cross platform applications as well. iTunes? QuickTime?

Never on Linux, not on Android, nor has Apple shown any indication of supporting Windows RT. If anything, Apple's abandonment of Safari for Windows indicates that they can't wait to support their platform solely. Even their retail store app, which is used to sell hardware products as little downside of being cross-platform, is iOS only. That's just cutting off your nose to spite your face behavior we've come to expect from Apple.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#37

Post by proexploit »

kenjackson wrote: post #7

If I have to launch the app is it really Google Now ? Or do I not need to launch the app?

On Android, it's accessed much the same way as Siri and so is truly "Google Now" on that platform. On iOS, you made have to launch an app but I don't think it would make sense to change the name to "Google Very Fast" or similar. Perhaps the name also refers to the speed of getting information when you're already in the app.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#38

Post by nirvanatikku »

zmanian wrote: post #24

I'm a bit surprised that the iphone version of Google Now beat the Chrome version of Google Now. In my mind, Google Now is about carving out a space on devices where they can actually show high value contextual advertising outside of search. Their pitch to advertisers will be much stronger if they have a foothold on every device. I'm also surprised that this was released before Google I/O. Between near confirmation t…

IMO you're assuming that folks would use Google Now on their desktop browser more than their smartphone. I wouldn't assume that. The data collection they'll get as a result of iOS is FAR superior (+ a bit more relevant for the current cards they're offering).

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#39

Post by cheald »

fratis wrote: post #5

I have a question for our Android-using brethren who've had the opportunity to play with Now. I've read a bit about it over the past few weeks, and I've been excited about a port to iOS, but now that I have it, I'm not sure how or if it'll fit into my life day-to-day. At first brush, all I see is a weather widget. I know there's more to it, but where exactly does the magic happen? What have you done (if anything) to…

Make sure you have search history turned on in your Google account - that's when the magic happens.

Also, I'm not quite sure how the iOS experience will be compared to Android - on Android, Google Now can proactively push data to users via the ridiculously powerful notifications system, and the intents mechanism lets it hook into the other parts of the phone seamlessly. iOS' notification center is distinctly less advanced, and it obviously has no intents mechanism, so it may feel less "magical" than it does on Android, simply because it'll require more user proactivity to bridge that gap.

Here's a list of all the cards that Google Now might show you: http://support.google.com/nexus/4/answer/2839499?hl=en

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#40

Post by dpcx »

kailuowang wrote: post #10

I've used personal assistant like products before. But google now is the only one I keep going back to. Personal context is critical for a working personal assistant - you need to know the whereabout, the calendar, the habit, the preferences about everything. That's the power of Google streamline of products. Google better not be evil.

> Google better not be evil.

Given their history, that's an awful big statement to make.

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