Google to take on Siri with updated iPhone voice search app
Google to take on Siri with updated iPhone voice search app
SAN FRANCISCO - Google showed off enhancements to its voice-based search technology for Apple's iPhone, and said it was testing a new service that will combine its Web-based email with its search engine.
The new version of Google's search app for the iPhone and iPad, expected to be available within a few days, will let users find information about everything from the weather to nearby movie showings by speaking into the devices, matching some of the capabilities offered by Apple's own Siri technology.
Google's new app recites answers to search results in a human sounding voice, similar to Apple's Siri, which some analysts and technology observers believe could make iPhone users less reliant on Google's search service.
The news comes as the relationship between the two companies grows increasingly competitive. On Monday Apple said it would no longer offer Google's YouTube app as a pre-loaded app in future versions of its iPhone.
Google, which unveiled a version of the voice-based search app for its Android software earlier this year, showcased the version for Apple devices at a press event at its San Francisco offices on Wednesday.
The company also announced a test version of a new service that will integrate users' personal emails into searches on the Google website. The service, which Google said will initially be available to 1 million users, aims to make it easier for consumers to access information such as flight schedules or shipping orders.
A truly universal search will "have all the information that humanity has put on the Web and information that's your information," Amit Singhal, senior vice president of Google Search.
The initial "field trial" will work with Google's Gmail, but Singhal said the company was open to working with other email providers.
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The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Keep123 For This Useful Post:
Exactly! Siri after all gets the majority of it's results from Wolfram Alpha and Yelp. Siri is just a fancy UI, it really shouldn't be getting all the attention. It's like if someone said FireFox was amazing because you could use it to search Google.
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The Following User Says Thank You to Keep123 For This Useful Post:
This was the oly reason I was going to buy an android device... And wait a second, what now? How many iPhones gonna have this? >90% (iOS 5). But how many android phones have this, in Jelly bean? ~7-8%? Sorry android... Fragmentation will always kill you.
Time to stay with my trusty idevices
The Following User Says Thank You to Dr Eggman For This Useful Post:
This was the oly reason I was going to buy an android device... And wait a second, what now? How many iPhones gonna have this? >90% (iOS 5). But how many android phones have this, in Jelly bean? ~7-8%? Sorry android... Fragmentation will always kill you.
Time to stay with my trusty idevices
Your confusing google voice search and google now. Google now uses the voice search and adds reminders and a few other features, while this voice search will be more of a search feature with voice and cards. It will be released for all android devices that already run google search.
I was using the Google Search app w/Voice functionality and have to admit it was much more useful than Siri. For those of us with non-Siri devices, I can't see why anyone would want to go Siri save for the speaking and calendar ability.
Apple better have big plans for Siri or else its going to get smoked like Vlingo did before Siri.
The Following User Says Thank You to Heist For This Useful Post:
Your confusing google voice search and google now. Google now uses the voice search and adds reminders and a few other features, while this voice search will be more of a search feature with voice and cards. It will be released for all android devices that already run google search.
Exactly. Even the PC browser can use this special search feature, which only taps a little bit into the same realm as Google Now. Seriously, if Apple and Google were back in good terms, Siri would have been a beast with Google now functionality.
Sadly, they went their separate ways.
Still, unless you are looking for someone to talk back to you, the voice search feature in iOS is plenty sufficient for me.
I'm sure one of the devs out there is going to find out a way to figure out what APIs Siri uses to activate the calendar, voice dialing, reminders, and command services and link this to Google search.
If not, that then they'll at least figure out how to make it activate via a long home button push.
minus the phone integration stuff but who cares
