Videos: Comparing Cortana & Siri & Google Now

Today, Microsoft released the developer preview of Windows Phone 8.1 and with that, the ability to play with a preview of Cortana, Microsoft’s answer to Apple Siri and Google Now. Both Gizmodo and CNet have released video demos comparing Cortana & Siri & Google Now. I like the Gizmodo…

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Google Now Comes To Chrome For Desktops & Laptops

Google’s amazing predictive search tool, Google Now, is finally being made available to people on desktop and laptop computers using the regular release of its Chrome browser. Until now, it had only been available through mobile devices or to those using beta versions of Chrome. Google shared…

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Expect Labs Offers Free API: Google Now In A Box

Expect Labs, which is behind the MindMeld consumer application, has announced a new developer API. The new API brings the company’s ”anticipatory computing” platform to third parties in the cloud. Use of the API is free. Expect Labs is trying to get it “out there” and…

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Google Now Adds Google Now “Launcher,” Video On Demand Providers, Airbnb Reservations & More

Engadget reports Google has quietly rolled out several enhancements to Google search app for Android, bolstering Google Now features on the Nexus 5 and some other devices. Here are the changes that were labeled “bug fixes and performance improvements” in the Google Play store for the…

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DeepMind Buy Another Google “Moonshot” Of Sorts

Re/code offers some additional insight into the $400+ million acquisition of artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepMind that was reported last week. The people at DeepMind will apparently work with the search team at Google but not exclusively: Or a…

Analyst Gives Both Google Now And Siri A “C+”

Piper Jaffray financial analyst Gene Munster performed his now annual comparison of Google Voice Search/Google Now and Siri to determine which one performed better. Using 800 queries under a variety of “controlled” and “uncontrolled” conditions, Munster and his team tested…

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Google Now Adds TV, Movies, News Topics, Blog Posts, Waze Data, In Store Pick Up Reminders & More

Google announced improvements to Google Now for Android users. The new update brings more Google Now cards to Android users including: Website update card can bring you things like the latest post so you’ll never miss a story. News topic card brings you fresh articles from the web on topics you…

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Nexus 5 First Impressions: A Great, Search-Centric Smartphone

Google shipped out demo versions of the Nexus 5 late last week. People are still receiving them today. I got one on Friday and have been using it on WiFi ever since. (I haven’t tried it on a wireless network and can’t speak to the LTE experience.) The phone immediately sold out of its…

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Google Now Gains Car Rental, Concert Tickets, Reminders While You Search & More

More cards have come to Google’s predictive search service, Google Now, including information to alert you to your car rentals, concert tickets and a way to set reminders related to TV shows, book releases and more, when you are searching. Car Rentals Google posted the news to its Android…

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Google Brings More “Now” To Search With New Quick Answers

Google is bringing more of the capabilities of Google Now to the search box and providing a range of personalized “quick answers” regardless of platform. These new search capabilities focus on “travel and logistics” use cases: reservations, flights, package tracking and…

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Google Scientist: We Want To Be Able To Respond To A Query Like “Book Me A Trip To Washington, DC”

Will the day come that Google can successfully respond when you tell it something like, “Book me a trip to Washington, DC” — walking you through all the queries and answers needed to complete such a complex request? Will the day come when we’re using devices that only offer…

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Google Reportedly Testing Local News Card For Google Now

Google is reportedly testing a local news “card” for its Google Now predictive search product. Quartz first reported on the project, and says it’s currently only being tested internally by Google employees. The revelation came from an interview last week that Quartz did with…

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Google’s Impressive “Conversational Search” Goes Live On Chrome

The “conversational search” that Google demonstrated at last week’s Google I/O conference is now available to users of its Chrome browser, and it’s a significant leap in how we use search engines. I’m 17 years now into writing about search, and I’ve seen all…

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New Google Now Cards Include Voice-Activated Reminders

Six shiny new cards are coming for Google Now, the assistive app for Android and recently iOS devices that offers predictive information tailored to your needs.  The new cards, announced at Google I/O today, are for reminders, music, TV shows, public transit, books and video games. Photo credit:…

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“OK Google” — Hands-Free, Conversational Search Coming From Google

Google has allowed you to speak your search to it on the desktop and mobile devices for some time, but now it’s going to get smarter — talking back to you and continuing the conversation you started. Google shared details at its Google I/O 2013 developer event today and also in a blog…

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Google Search App With Google Now Breaks Into iTunes Top 10

When Google first released its updated Google Search app last October, it never made the iTunes top ten and, last week, wasn’t even in the top 100. But the addition of Google Now helped the app make the top ten in less than a week. Google relaunched its app last October with Siri-like voice…

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Samsung, Intel Invest In “Anticipatory Search” Startup Expect Labs

Expect Labs, which is a small startup in the San Francisco Bay Area, has a very impressive list of investors. Today the company announced a new funding round, though the figures weren’t disclosed. Investors are the venture or investment arms of Intel, Samsung and Telefonica. Telefonica is the…

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Potential iOS Market For Google Now Is 2.5X Larger Than Android “Now” Base

Google Now for iOS and Android are almost identical in their look at feel. And aside from a few “cards,” the same is true of their content. But, there are some differences behind the scenes worth noting: one of them is the fact that with its launch on iOS this morning, Google Now is…

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iPhone & iPad Users To Get Google Now, As It Comes To iOS

Previously Android-only, Google’s “predictive search” tool Google Now is now available for the iPhone and iPad. It’s part of an updated Google Search App for iOS. Google Now for iOS had been anticipated since March, when Engadget discovered a promotional video suggesting it…

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