Google Now Takes On Siri Without Much Ado

By Valli Meenakshi Ramanathan | July 10 2012 5:42 AM

Even as Apple's Siri was touted as the most able competitor to Google Search, the search giant launched Google Now at the recently-held I/O Conference which seems to have taken over its competitor very quietly but firmly.

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As praises for the new app continue to pour in, gradually news of its amazing performance is filtering in. The USP of the application seems to be its ability to function as a digital assistant without much tutoring.

Powered by the Google Knowledge Graph, the tool compiles information from a host of sources and measures relationships between data. A report published in the Search Engine Journal cites how Google Knowledge is made up of over 500 million entities and 3.5 billion relational facts.

With Knowledge Graph being central to the search function, Google Now can provide more accurate information. And with Google Now being weaved into Android 4.1 aka Jelly Bean and capable of being extracted and ported into former versions of Android, including 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, more users are likely to check out the application and be wowed by its performance.

With Google Now also having access to the handset's GPS information, it can figure out the areas where you spend most of your time. This apart, the app provides information pertaining to weather, traffic, appointments, travel, flights, public transit, places and sports. The application with built-in intuitive algorithm can automatically display relevant information on sensing a need without user intervention. This comes from data collected through search function over a period of time.

Ably supported by Knowledge Graph, the application also stretches the search function to provide relevant information to the users. For instance, if the user searches for information on reaching a coffee shop, the app will show up the closest route to reach the destination and also information about the traffic and the time required to reach the spot.

The voice-powered application may not be available on iPhones but definitely it has taken on Siri. It is known that Apple will not rest quiet until it has introduced enhancements in Siri as featured in the article published in Business Insider but in real-time, Google Now has already made its mark.

With Jelly Bean scheduled to debut mid-July, those eager to check out the app can extract it from developer version of Jelly Bean found in the Android website and play with the app.

As for Android Gingerbread users, well, they have to wait till Google releases updates. It may take a while before Gingerbread users can fully leverage Google Now. The app can be extracted and ported to all devices running rooted Android 4.0, which is well elaborated in the Tech 2 article.