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Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

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Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#121

Post by pfg »

rmrfrmrf wrote: post #113
mehta wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure what you mean by "absolute best applications" since the app on ios is fundamentally limited by the APIs that are provided by the OS. I agree that ios has some of the better apps but I don't think presence of Google Now on ios is better then that on Android.

If your definition of a great app is one that has unfettered access to your OS, uh... well, good for you, I guess. Enjoy your MIDI-playing personal USB fan on your Android phone--I'll just be over here getting actual work done.

What makes you think Android apps have unfettered access to the OS? Android's sandbox and permission system is pretty sophisticated and whenever you want install an app you can see exactly what it's allowed to do and then decide whether you actually want to install it.

Are you saying you can't get work done unless some third party makes those decisions for you?

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#122

Post by bsimpson »

driverdan wrote: post #93

After listening to friends rave about Now and reading so many positive comments online I really wanted to like it. I've been using it for a few months and my experience is significantly worse than what others have reported. It always seems to show me notifications for the wrong information at the wrong time. Take directions. I work at a coworking space 4 miles from my home. The hours I'm there vary. Now seems to try…

I quit my job and started freelancing from home last year, but there's no way to delete a work address in Google Now (only to change it).

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#123

Post by commandar »

keso wrote: post #89
blhack wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a similar "whoa" moment a couple of weeks ago. Google alerted me that I should leave for Santa Barbara "now". Which was really, really weird for me, since I was already halfway there (from Phoenix). Apparently, it had read through my emails, seen a receipt for sigur ros tickets from ticketmaster, figured out where I was, and already calculated how long it would take me to get there. That is insanely awesome .

I don't know if Google Now is that clever. If you had an event in a calendar which had something in the "Location"-field it took the location you should be at from there. Still it is a "whoa" moment. :)

I've had it recognize order confirmations for concert tickets to a show a couple of hours away, parse them, and automatically create a notification with navigation at an appropriate time to leave.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#124

Post by bjustin »

umsm wrote: post #120

Let's talk about privacy: Does it exist? Is this something to worry about?

It sure does! Google can only scan your email, calendar, etc. if you let them. Use outlook.com or Fastmail or iCloud or another alternative if you don't like the agreement Google requires.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#125

Post by bsimpson »

driverdan wrote: post #93

After listening to friends rave about Now and reading so many positive comments online I really wanted to like it. I've been using it for a few months and my experience is significantly worse than what others have reported. It always seems to show me notifications for the wrong information at the wrong time. Take directions. I work at a coworking space 4 miles from my home. The hours I'm there vary. Now seems to try…

I had plans in G+ to go to the Exploratorium at 2:00 on Saturday. I finished brunch early, so I arrived at 1:30. Google Now interrupted me at 1:45 to remind me to go to the Exploratorium.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#126

Post by chrisrhoden »

gee_totes wrote: post #101
sahaskatta wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't work too well on the first day. Use it for a few days and it will begin to learn your habits.

Not if you continually use public transportation. I go all over the place in NYC, and there doesn't seem to be a way to get the directions to default to public transportation. Having driving directions and traffic wait time when I don't have a car is kind of useless.

I always use public transportation in Boston and configured it to show directions as such the first day I had it last fall. It's probably more useful if you use it this way because there are usually multiple possible routes to take and it gives a very good indication of when to walk out the door.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#127

Post by lucian1900 »

bsimpson wrote: post #122
driverdan wrote: post #93

After listening to friends rave about Now and reading so many positive comments online I really wanted to like it. I've been using it for a few months and my experience is significantly worse than what others have reported. It always seems to show me notifications for the wrong information at the wrong time. Take directions. I work at a coworking space 4 miles from my home. The hours I'm there vary. Now seems to try…

I quit my job and started freelancing from home last year, but there's no way to delete a work address in Google Now (only to change it).

You could maybe change it to be the same as your home address.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#128

Post by DigitalJack »

mcintyre1994 wrote: post #74
DigitalJack wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have Siri on my iphone (a 4), but I always thought the benefit was from composing text messages and such... This is just search isn't it?

I believe on an Android phone it integrates all Google voice actions (I may be being unfair to say it obsoletes Siri for iOS as some actions may be unavailable for iOS), which include texting/calling etc. It's not just for searching though, no. It basically acts like Siri, in that it gathers cards of information, but it does that without you asking using a wealth of data Google hold.

Right, but in the context here, on iOS, it's just search as far as I can tell.

Re: Google Now on your iPhone and iPad

#129

Post by pullo »

talisMal wrote: post #36
tambourine_man wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 expec…

With google forking webkit, it will be good to have safari back on windows. I could not understand their decision to quit safari development on windows. Integrate and share data between a good safari desktop browser on windows and an iDevice would be nice.
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