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Google Now's smartphone is the real deal

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Re: Google Now's smartphone is the real deal

#21

Post by tiziano88 »

TillE wrote: post #12
cryptoz wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The user experience with Google Now varies heavily depending on your usage habits and the type of phone you have. The only thing Google Now showed me for months were outdated, inaccurate weather 'forecasts' that made absolutely no sense (and opening it took more than 30 seconds on my old Nexus S). Boy, was I disappointed. But if you set your Settings to the right items, you enable all your Search History, and everyth…

> enable all your Search History This is something I just can't bring myself to do. I disabled it years ago, along with all the other personalization options. I don't mind giving them my location. I don't even mind them analyzing my mail. But I search for all kinds of crap, and I really really don't want anyone building a profile on me based on that. The manual customization options in Google Now are sadly lacking. I…

I too search all kinds of crap, and I don't mind anyone to build a profile on me based on that, if that's what I like. Some more crap in the future might be relevant for me, and I don't want to miss out!

Re: Google Now's smartphone is the real deal

#22

Post by conroe64 »

TillE wrote: post #12
cryptoz wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The user experience with Google Now varies heavily depending on your usage habits and the type of phone you have. The only thing Google Now showed me for months were outdated, inaccurate weather 'forecasts' that made absolutely no sense (and opening it took more than 30 seconds on my old Nexus S). Boy, was I disappointed. But if you set your Settings to the right items, you enable all your Search History, and everyth…

> enable all your Search History This is something I just can't bring myself to do. I disabled it years ago, along with all the other personalization options. I don't mind giving them my location. I don't even mind them analyzing my mail. But I search for all kinds of crap, and I really really don't want anyone building a profile on me based on that. The manual customization options in Google Now are sadly lacking. I…

What makes you think disabling search history is going to stop them?

Re: Google Now's smartphone is the real deal

#23

Post by w1ntermute »

TillE wrote: post #12
cryptoz wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The user experience with Google Now varies heavily depending on your usage habits and the type of phone you have. The only thing Google Now showed me for months were outdated, inaccurate weather 'forecasts' that made absolutely no sense (and opening it took more than 30 seconds on my old Nexus S). Boy, was I disappointed. But if you set your Settings to the right items, you enable all your Search History, and everyth…

> enable all your Search History This is something I just can't bring myself to do. I disabled it years ago, along with all the other personalization options. I don't mind giving them my location. I don't even mind them analyzing my mail. But I search for all kinds of crap, and I really really don't want anyone building a profile on me based on that. The manual customization options in Google Now are sadly lacking. I…

Just train yourself to use Incognito Mode when you're looking for porn.

Re: Google Now's smartphone is the real deal

#24

Post by 27182818284 »

It is disappointing unless you live in a large city. Even in areas of about 1 million it doesn't know the mass transit, etc. It ends up just displaying weather and being able to answer the age of Abraham Lincoln, but the latter could be found by Wiki in nearly the same amount of time.

Re: Google Now's smartphone is the real deal

#25

Post by commandar »

_neil wrote: post #17
RyanZAG wrote: post #6

Google Now has a lot of promise, but I've been using it a bit since it was first released, and it's never actually provided me with any really useful information. The promise behind Google Now is amazing, but it simply doesn't work well enough yet to be any kind of consideration. Here's hoping they manage to get the actual software in-line with the promise eventually!

I've had the Nexus 4 for about two weeks and it's surprised me a handful of times. You really have to use Google services to get full use out of it though. Like adding locations to events in Google Calendar (and, you know, using Google Calendar in the first place) to get the "you should probably get on the road now" messages. Also things like birthday reminders seem to only work with your friends on Google+. None of…

>And I've yet to see a package tracking card, but it will be cool if they make improvements and stuff like that starts actually working.

Odd. It usually pulls in tracking data within a few minutes of a ship confirmation hitting my inbox in Gmail. The only time I've seen it have trouble is with some USPS tracking numbers or if I place multiple orders from the same vendor in short succession (e.g., I place two Amazon orders a few minutes apart and Gmail thinks they're part of the same email thread).

Shipment tracking has actually been one of the most reliable (and convenient) features of Google Now for me.

Re: Google Now's smartphone is the real deal

#26

Post by commandar »

jordonwii wrote: post #14
freehunter wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would also be nice to be able to tell it "I'm going to my girlfriends house after work". In that situation, telling me there's a traffic jam on my route home isn't useful information at all. I also would love the ability (if it exists, I haven't seen it) to have it use geocoded reminders, like "remind me to get milk when I'm near the grocery store".

I'm actually surprised that location-based reminders aren't already part of Google Now. It seems like a really natural feature given everything else it already does.

I'd have to imagine that's something in the works. It likes to give me transit information heading to work or home, and seems to be fairly smart about it since I don't work a normal 9-5 schedule.

Re: Google Now's smartphone is the real deal

#29

Post by knewter »

ericd wrote: post #19
TillE wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> enable all your Search History This is something I just can't bring myself to do. I disabled it years ago, along with all the other personalization options. I don't mind giving them my location. I don't even mind them analyzing my mail. But I search for all kinds of crap, and I really really don't want anyone building a profile on me based on that. The manual customization options in Google Now are sadly lacking. I…

Its not just training, though... It will update you based on searches you make on an ongoing basis, often in very unexpected but nice ways. To make that work out, I think you really just need to be using Google search day to day.

this. I often will fire off a quick search for a restaurant I'm going to go to or am interested in going to, before I leave. Then the directions are on the google now card for me for the next hour or so, so if I feel like checking the restaurant out I click the card and I get directions.

It's amazing.

Re: Google Now's smartphone is the real deal

#30

Post by Foomandoonian »

bitwize wrote: post #10
Nursie wrote: post #5

"But Windows Phone is entering a dangerous time, one in which its competitors are starting to catch up" Pffft. Really? ROFL.

It's Paul Thurrott. He's like the mirror-universe version of John Gruber who only boosts Microsoft stuff instead of Apple.

Gruber once mentioned that he'd like to have Thurott on The Talk Show. I'd love to hear that.
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