Do you use Google Now?

By iron2000
in Poll Station

 Share

  

46 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you use Google Now?

    • Yup, using it fully
      28
    • Using it with just location sharing
      1
    • Using it with just web history
      1
    • Tried it but turned it off since
      2
    • Not a chance, just using the search function
      7
    • I don't touch that search box at all
      5
    • Rooted my phone and removed the Google Search app
      2

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

LittleNeutrino Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

I use it probably once a day or so. Package tracking is a nifty feature even though it does not give the package details such as where it currently is it just tells you when it should be delivered. In the first week of a month it shows a how far you walked meter however, i have yet to be able to call it back up.

Mentor

Luis Mazza

Posted
Posted

I think it may be useful if you're on a routine with your life, otherwise I don't like the battery to be constantly drained. I like to go for the maps app and check traffic, destination and weather when I want to, not when the phone thinks I want to.

Voice search is neat, though. :)

Grand Master

tsupersonic

Posted
Posted

I think it may be useful if you're on a routine with your life, otherwise I don't like the battery to be constantly drained. I like to go for the maps app and check traffic, destination and weather when I want to, not when the phone thinks I want to.

Voice search is neat, though. :)

After the introduction of Google Now, I haven't noticed any significant battery drain...It's a smartphone, I'd rather it have me tell all these things, otherwise what's the point of owning a smartphone?. If you don't want it, you can always opt out.
Mentor

Luis Mazza

Posted
Posted

After the introduction of Google Now, I haven't noticed any significant battery drain...It's a smartphone, I'd rather it have me tell all these things, otherwise what's the point of owning a smartphone?. If you don't want it, you can always opt out.

As I said earlier... I don't live in a routine with traffic and weather changing and I don't think a smartphone needs to be intrusive: it can be smart and still shut the f*** up. ;)

Grand Master

Julius Caro

Posted
Posted

It is VERY useful, but it obviously depends on many factors. At this point there are so many cards, that most people just don't know about them. Public transit times only work in some cities, not all. So the card showing you the departure schedules of transit stops nearby will not work if you're not in one of these cities.

Same goes for the movies ones. Basically if you're in the US, you're good. Google.com does indeed give me showtimes at my local theater in spain, but they will never show on google now (apparently google now will show you the showtimes if you're nearby, on your movie days, etc).

The flight tracking tool is VERY useful, especially now that it gets data from gmail (Im not sure if it fetches data from calendar too, but that would be great).

Sure, most people are gonna be quick to jump with the skynet comments. But the way I see it, google now or not, they already had that information if you're a google user (gmail, google search, and calendar). So you may as well enjoy them actually using for something that is useful to you.

The one I like the most is the traffic updates to/from home/work (this will require traffic to be enabled on google maps in your area). That way I can tell whether there is any traffic jam and just hold off until it clears out.

Edit: the siri-like search features are pretty much the online google.com interface paired with voice recognition for your query and speech synthesis for the reply. It's the cards that pop up out of nowhere when you need them, right when you need the information, or before you need the information, that are the most useful. (sports results, appointments, flight status, public transit, public alerts, movies).

There are some very obvious examples of cards that pop up after a google search (on a PC or phone where you are logged in with search history enabled):

- news stories based on a previous query. you will get a card with a "a story related to a previous search was just published"

- flight statuses (they show up on google now either because you googled the flight number or because this was read on gmail)

- travel times to a location that you previously searched for on google maps. very useful when you google directions on a computer, then google now picks it up and you dont even have to retype

- concert alerts for your most searched artists (probably works only in the US, never seen this one).

theres an undocumented one, the pedometer, that tracks the distances you've walked and cycled during a month (tho this is probably very experimental, it's based on your location history)

basically google now learns from what you do when you interact with google services (search), from your emails (flight times and package tracking), your calendar appointments, and your location history (based on certain patterns it will realize where home is, where work).

i like the idea of giving your results before you even look for them.

Mentor

nekkidtruth

Posted
Posted

I find that it rarely shows information I want to actually see, despite having set it up correctly. I also find that only when it's connected to WiFi does it display anything more than the weather. It's actually super annoying. Once in a blue moon it might show traffic from where I'm at to home or Work. Doesn't happen often though.

Don't even have the slightest clue what it is.

Been threw 14 Android phones and haven't noticed it or even a search box for that matter.

Maybe I'll look into it.

It wasn't introduced until Jelly Bean so it's doubtful you would've come across it before then ;) http://www.google.com/landing/now/

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing