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Does anybody here actually USE Google Now?

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phil75231

Well-Known Member
Howdy folks,

Do any of you actually use Google Now? All I tend to see are people saying it's a waste of battery life so they turned it off. Is it really useful? Is it cool? Are you impressed?

I'm on verizon, so I don't have it yet. I don't want to root or flash.
 
I use it all the time, much more useful than S-Voice for me. Scores, weather, nearby places, tracking packages, flights, song identification, etc. I actually deleted a few apps off my phone because of it. One of the most impressive things about it is it's speed. I'm looking forward to seeing what future updates bring, and we don't need to wait on a full OS upgrade like Siri. It's not perfect but it's only going to get better.
 
i love google now its very useful as stated above. I use it mainly for flight details and it seems in the latest update it has added features like search by camera in musems, approx monthly walking and biking information. It will remind u of birthdays. It also shows events nearby.
 
Not very useful to me. Navigation is poor and does not necessarily give me the best route to work. I still have it on, but may turn it off soon.
 
Stuntman said:
Not very useful to me. Navigation is poor and does not necessarily give me the best route to work. I still have it on, but may turn it off soon.
Click to expand...

I was wondering about the navigation part of it. I use Waze anyway and don't see that I'm going to stop any time soon, so that's not a big deal. I currently live in Houston, Texas, so I take a different route to and from work every day anyway to keep it interesting. :o)

(Vancouver is a gorgeous place, by the way. I grew up in Seattle and lived ten years in Anchorage, I have been to Vancouver many, many times.)
 
The primary benefit is it's a Google app consolidator. Instead of launching a bunch of separate apps, they're integrated into one package and launch when you want to access their features. It's like having your most used Google apps and services on standby.

Downside is that it really needs to be on and using battery to be effective. While I can't foresee using it all the time, it has it's strong features when on-the-go and in unfamiliar places.
 
I love that if I do a Google search or look at a map on my laptop it appears as a card on my phone
 
I love it but it doesnt recognise Scottish football teams (who do i complain to?)
Also i never get any News cards.... does anyone? How?

Oh yeah theres an update today btw, more cards and commands
 
Rigmaster said:
The primary benefit is it's a Google app consolidator. Instead of launching a bunch of separate apps, they're integrated into one package and launch when you want to access their features. It's like having your most used Google apps and services on standby.

Downside is that it really needs to be on and using battery to be effective. While I can't foresee using it all the time, it has it's strong features when on-the-go and in unfamiliar places.
Click to expand...

What would i look for in say Gsam to see how much power Now is using mate?
 
phil75231 said:
I was wondering about the navigation part of it. I use Waze anyway and don't see that I'm going to stop any time soon, so that's not a big deal. I currently live in Houston, Texas, so I take a different route to and from work every day anyway to keep it interesting. :o)

(Vancouver is a gorgeous place, by the way. I grew up in Seattle and lived ten years in Anchorage, I have been to Vancouver many, many times.)
Click to expand...

As a native of Metro Vancouver, I would say that I my knowledge of the traffic patterns in the region are a bit better than Google. Also, I do avoid some major roads on my route to and from work. The minor roads I take tend to be a lower priority for mapping apps. I noticed that Nokia's Ovi Maps really prefer certain routes more than others and some of those routes don't make sense from a traffic point of view. Google Maps is much better at selecting routes that seem more sensible to me.

The point of contention I have with Google Maps and its route selection is that it does not seem to like to take me on some minor roads. It has a tendency to suggest major roads. I think some of the roads are too minor for Google to consider. I do find the suggestions to be pretty good with traffic info. For me, I do use Maps with the navigation view (without a destination) to check the traffic on the roads ahead and then base my route on that info (plus tweets from local traffic radio stations).

The turn by turn navigation is adequate for someone not familiar with the city or that area of the city. Bottom line is that it will get you to your destination. For anyone visiting a city, they won't know that it took a few more minutes than the optimal route.

Rigmaster said:
The primary benefit is it's a Google app consolidator. Instead of launching a bunch of separate apps, they're integrated into one package and launch when you want to access their features. It's like having your most used Google apps and services on standby.
Click to expand...

I find that having your home screen configured properly will do the job for me. The one thing I find a little frustrating is that Google Now seems to try its best to predict what info I need. I swiped away a card to go to work and couldn't figure out how to get it back. Then I realise that it will give me that info when it thinks I'm about to go to work.

Right now it's just my daily commute and the weather that GN shows. I haven't configured it for anything else. With the CFL and MLS season over and the NHL work stoppage, I have no sports teams to follow. Also, I already have a weather and sports app and widget that I use to follow my sports teams and local weather. I haven't seen anything in Google Now that makes it better than The Weather Network app and widget. Score Mobile already alerts me of the status of my sports teams. My calendar already notifies me of any upcoming events.
 
asking both Svoice and GoogleNOw... "call the nearest starbucks"
it understands my words.
but it does not get me a phone call.

it trys to find a name in my contacts that sounds like "starbucks"

both Fail.
 
I'll take a look at Google Now before I leave work to get an idea what traffic looks. I wish it had widget so I could put it on my home screen.
 
Remember you have to have Google now installed for quite some time for it to learn stuff about you so it can start suggesting stuff. So try it for a month or two and them if it's not doing anything for you turn it off. Otherwise don't bitch about it not working as it takes time for it to learn enough about you to be useful.
 
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