Google says voice search even snappier on Android
By Nicole Kobie in Editorial
Posted in Uncategorized on
Google’s searching by speaking tool has been available on BlackBerry and the iPhone for months now, but as Google makes its push into mobile with the Android OS — and rumoured Googlephone — the search giant is stressing that it’s own system runs the app the best.
At an event at Google’s London offices last night, mobile manager Hugo Barra showed off the Google voice search app and SatNav running on a Motorola Droid. And it is pretty shiny.
Rather than type your search out on tiny keys or unresponsive screen, just speak your search — Barra looked up pygmy marmosets (which look adorable) and photos of Barack Obama with the French President at the G8.
He also showed how the API lets you drop speech recognition into any app with a “line of code,” showing off how it works with Spotify.
The idea is that you can speak more quickly than you can type, so with speech recognition you can search in seconds rather than um, more seconds.
The Google Maps Navigation is also incredibly sexy, letting you have a satnav on your phone, with fantastic features like on-route searches to help you find a burger joint on the way, for example, or real time traffic data generated by other maps users.
If Barra was just trying to show how slick these apps are, he’s convinced me. I can imagine these pair of apps are the sort that after a week of using them you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them.
But what Barra failed to do was show why I have to use either system on a Google phone, one running Android. These apps work just as well on an iPhone or on a BlackBerry, too.
Indeed, his argument that the cloud is what makes all this possible hurts Android even more. Because it’s all served over the web, as long as other OSes don’t mess up the apps, it all works just as well on another phone.
This is why Apple likes its walled garden, and tries to keep apps like iTunes off rivals like the Palm Pre. To compete in the mobile space — and on handsets, if a Googlephone is indeed set to arrive next year — Google can’t depend on apps; it has to have an OS (or handset) that competes as well.
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[…] IT PRO: Blogs: Nicole Kobie: Google says voice search even snappier on Android www.itpro.co.uk/blogs/nicolek/2009/12/04/google-says-voice-search-even-snappier-on-android – view page – cached , Google’s searching by speaking tool has been available on BlackBerry and the iPhone for months now, but as Google makes its push into mobile with the Android OS […]
Comment by Justa Notherguy - December 5, 2009 on 4:19 pm
> Indeed, his argument that the cloud
> is what makes all this possible hurts
> Android even more.
Are you kidding with that ludicrous statement? One thing is certain: either you didn’t ask the right follow-up questions or you simply have no idea what you’re talking about.
Google’s Voice Search is not just about the cloud; its about APIs. And, since Ggogle sets the API, this gives Android-powered - or, more specifically, Google Experience - handsets a clear advantage over competing devices.
But, hey, don’t take my (academic) word for it. Check out Droid reviews…especially those on on iPhone fan-sites. Even the most obnoxious Apple slamboys will admit that Voice Search works far better on Android phones.
You figure Apple will come up with native APIs for a better Voice Search? And. assuming such a miracle, what happens if Google changes re-codes? That’s what happened to the (unofficial) Google Voice app for jailbroken iPhones.
Trackback by - December 6, 2009 on 6:42 am
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by IT PRO Magazine: Why Google can’t depend on apps in the mobile market http://tinyurl.com/y9d3o6a…
Comment by E.L. Lotecka - January 2, 2010 on 10:43 pm
Nicole, a month has passed now. Did you check the facts as given by Justa Notherguy? Pleaz.
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