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Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

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41–50 of 231 posts

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#41
post #3

I honestly did not expect to see Google Now on iDevices. For me it is definitely the "killer app" on my Android phone.

I used to think that but lately I've been considering switching to Android. Google Now is one of the reasons. Giving me the opportunity to really try it might make be switch now. I think it's because Google Now isn't the kind of feature you can just test in the shop and make a decision on. It requires actual use to know if you like it.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#42
post #31
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.

Last year at I/O, one of their big keynote announcements was Chrome for iOS.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#43
post #40

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.

Who thinks Google is evil?

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#44
Funny, if Apple trawled through your email, calendar and search history to pull a stunt like this people would be up in arms.

Guess whether a walled garden is a bad thing depends on your particular brand of fanboyishness.

Personally speaking, the idea of Google displaying things based on my email history, diary and a knowledge of my location makes me shudder, "You're near that motel where you had that quickie last month, want to make a reservation?".

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#45
post #35
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 be…

They really have been doing very well on iOS recently. So much so, most of the stock Apple apps have been replaced by a Google app. It is really making me think about switching to Android.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#46
I fell for Google Now when I booted my old Nexus to test test something, and Google Now had read through my emails and showed me a tracking status for a UPS package I was expecting. I was pretty jealous of that functionality, but never convinced to go back to Android just for one feature. Now, I really have no reason.

It's also pretty telling of something when more iOS devices have Google Now than Android devices do.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#47
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm trying to figure out. I'm assuming it has to use Notifications? update: does not use notifications :(

How does it work on Android? Does it use notifications there?

Yes, but Android doesn't also have strict limitations of what an app can do in the background.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#48
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm trying to figure out. I'm assuming it has to use Notifications? update: does not use notifications :(

How does it work on Android? Does it use notifications there?

Yes, it puts some cards in the notification center on Android.

However, Android push is significantly more flexible than iOS push, if you push information to an iOS app, that information must appear as a notification, and the app can't process it until the user opens the notification.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#49

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.

Don’t worry, your personal information is safe with Google. It’s a company that makes all of its profits from selling advertising, surely that has nothing to do with you.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#50
Has anybody else tried it on iPhone? Mine only shows a wether card, and a map card showing me the way home now; nothing more. I even tried creating event in my calendar (both Google and iOS calendars) but no card is added. Is there a significant sync delay for Google Now to retrieve information?
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