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Still Liking Google Now... Cortana just can't compete

Reblogger Roy Kelley
Industry Observer with Retired

WMS App of the Year; “OK Google Now!”

Original content by Bob Crane #1 in Forest Land Mgmt

Still Liking Google Now... Cortana just can't compete

 This past week someone asked in Active Rain's Q&A how were enjoying Siri.

Since I have never used Siri I could only comment on the two competitors to Siri; Cortana and Google Now.

I have tried Cortana several times in the past 7 months, and have not found it to be very useful or accurate.

But after a few years with Google Now on my phone, I am still as pleased with it as I was when I wrote the article below a year ago.

 

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WMS App of the Year; “OK Google Now!”

Last year a giant named AT&T hijacked our phone company and forced us to get new phones, the phones were unremarkable as most things with AT&T are, but they did have one app that made it a little more tolerable.

“OK Google Now!”, quickly became my favorite app of the year as I used it to save tons of time trying to type in dozens of commands into my new phone.

And best of all, it is remarkably accurate!

When I need to know how to find something, all I have to do is say “OK Google Now!” pause then say navigate to Right Trac Financial, a few seconds later I have a map up on my phone and turn by turn directions to Joes office in an instant.

When I need to call someone,  “OK Google Now!”, pause then say “Call Sally Crane”, a few seconds later the phone is ringing and we are talking.

There are hundreds and maybe even thousands of uses for this handy little app, and I am still enjoying the exploration of this little app.

Check it out, you will be glad you did.


Google Now voice commands by trendblog.net

General Commands

  • “Search for [chicken recipes]?”
  • “Say [where is the supermarket] in [Spanish]?”
  • “What is [Schrodinger’s cat]?”
  • “Who invented [the internet]?”
  • “What is the meaning of [life]?”
  • “Who is married to [Ben Affleck]?”
  • “Stock price of [Apple]”
  • “Author of [Game of Thrones]”
  • “How old is [Michael Jordan]?”
  • “Post to Google+ [feeling great]”

Notes & Reminders

  • “Remind me to [buy milk] at [5 PM]”
  • “Remind me [when I get / next time I’m at] [home / work / other location] [to send an email to John]”
  • “Wake me up in [5 hours]”
  • “Note to self: [I parked my car in section D]”
  • “Set alarm for [8 PM]”

Time & Date

  • “What time is it in [Tokyo]?”
  • “When is the sunset [in Chicago (optional)]”
  • ”What is the time zone of [Berlin]”
  • “Time at home”
  • “Create a calendar event: [Dinner in New York] [Saturday at 8 PM]”

Communication

  • “Call [Daniel]”
  • “Call [mum / dad / wife / uncle / aunt …]”
  • “Send [email] to Daniel, [Subject: Meeting], [Message: Will be there in 5]”
  • “Send [SMS] to Philipp mobile, don’t forget to buy milk”
  • ”[Contact name]”

Weather

  • “Weather”
  • “Is it going to rain [tomorrow / Monday]”
  • “What’s the weather in [Boston]?”
  • “How’s the weather in [Portland] on [Wednesday] going to be?”

Maps & Navigation

  • “Map of [Flagstaff]”
  • “Show me the nearby [restaurant] on map”
  • “Navigate to [Munich] on car”
  • “How far is [Berlin] from [Munich]?”
  • “Directions to [address / business name / other destination]”

Conversions & Calculations

  • “What is the tip for [125] dollars?”
  • “Convert [currency / length …] to [currency / length …]”
  • “How much is [18] times [48]?”
  • “What is [45] percent of [350]?”
  • “Square root of [81]”
  • “….. equals”

Sports

  • “How are [the New York Yankees] doing?”
  • “When is the next [Los Angeles Lakers] game?”
  • “Show me the [Premier League] table”
  • “Did [Bayern Munich] win their last game?”

Flight Information

  • “Flight [AA 125]?”
  • “Flight status of [AA 125]”
  • “Has [LH 210] landed?”
  • “When will [AA 120] land / depart?”

Web Browsing

  • “Go to [Huffington Post]?”
  • “Open [xda.com]”
  • “Show me [android.com]”
  • “Browse to [reddit.com]”

Entertainment

  • “Listen to / play [Intro] by [The XX]?”
  • “YouTube [fail compilation]?”
  • “Who acted in [Ocean’s 11]?”
  • “Who is the producer of [Gladiator]?”
  • “When was [Alien] released?”
  • “Runtime of [Avatar]”
  • “Listen to TV”
  • “What’s this song?”

Drive / Nest Integration

  • “Search for [document name] on Drive.”
  • “Set the temperature to [72] degrees.”

Custom Voice Actions (3rd party app control)

  • Flixster: “Show me Inception on Flixster.”
  • Instacart: “Show instacart availability.”
  • NPR One: “Listen to NPR.”
  • Shazam: “Shazam this song.”
  • TripAdvisor: “Show attractions near me on TripAdvisor.”
  • TuneIn Radio: “Open TuneIn in car mode.”
  • Walmart: “Scan my receipt on Walmart.”
  • Wink: “Activate home mode on Wink.”

Many more commands with the app “Commandr

  • “Turn on/off flashlight” / “Flashlight on/off”
  • “[Wifi / Bluetooth / GPS / Wireless Hotspot] on/off.”
  • “Lock phone”
  • “…”

Easter Eggs

  • “Do a barrel roll”
  • “What’s the loneliest number?”
  • “Make me a sandwich!”
  • “Sudo make me a sandwich!”
  • “When am I?”
  • “Okay Jarvis, …” (Instead of “Okay Google, …”)
  • “Who are you?”
  • “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.”
  • “Beam me up, Scotty!”
  • “Tilt” or “Askew”
  • “What is your favorite color?”
  • “Up up down down left right left right”
  • “Tea, Earl Grey, hot” (That’s a tricky one)
  • “Go go gadget [app name]”
  • “When does the narwhal bacon?”
  • “What is the Bacon number of [random actor]?”
  • “What does the fox say?”

 

 

 

 

Also, dont forget to go to our Facebook page and hit like for this article there, and maybe even post it to your Facebook page too!

 

 

row of trees

Bob Crane

 Woodland Management Service

 715-204-9663

 2933 Church St

 Stevens Point, WI 54481

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//

Real estate expertise provided by Bob Crane on ActiveRain

Posted by

Roy Kelley, Retired, Former Associate Broker, RE/MAX Realty Group

Gaithersburg, Maryland  

Gabe Sanders
Real Estate of Florida specializing in Martin County Residential Homes, Condos and Land Sales - Stuart, FL
Stuart Florida Real Estate

Great re-blog Roy.  I saw this post the first time and I do need to try this out on my Android phone.

Jul 15, 2016 09:01 PM
Gita Bantwal
RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA
REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

Thank you for the information. I will bookmark this post and try it later.

Jul 15, 2016 09:04 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Thank you very much for your comments. It is always good to hear from you.

Jul 15, 2016 09:39 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Please be sure to leave comments at the original blog by Bob Crane

Jul 15, 2016 09:42 PM
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

Great reblog, Roy, as I missed the first go-around. Personally, I don't use any of these Siri, Cortana, etc. and not likely to... no patience to set it up or get it working and haven't found it adds much to my life.

Jul 15, 2016 10:59 PM
Kristin Johnston - REALTOR®
RE/MAX Platinum - Waukesha, WI
Giving Back With Each Home Sold!

I too will have to bookmark this one...great stuff Roy!

Jul 16, 2016 12:22 AM
Lou Ludwig
Ludwig & Associates - Boca Raton, FL
Designations Earned CRB, CRS, CIPS, GRI, SRES, TRC

Roy

Thanks for sharing your insight on Google Now . . . . I bookmark the post and I will check out the app.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

Jul 16, 2016 12:50 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Thanks, again, for stopping by. Your feedback is always welcome.

Jul 17, 2016 12:29 AM
Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

Thanks for sharing this Roy!

I hope you and others enjoy this little app.

Jul 17, 2016 07:18 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

We have a sunny Monday morning in Maryland as we prepare for more hot weather this week. Keep cool and have an outstanding week.

Jul 17, 2016 09:04 PM
Jim Paulson
Progressive Realty (Boise Idaho) www.Progressive-Realty.info - Boise, ID
Owner,Broker

The Pixel XL just got back in stock today so I ordered mine.   Can't wait to try out Google Assistant (next generation of Google Now).  I love asking questions instead of typing them.  If you ever get bored, go to your geek friends house and ask Google or Siri to play your music and take over their system ;)

Dec 09, 2016 10:25 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Thank you very much for your comments. 

Have a great weekend and a very productive December.

Dec 10, 2016 07:07 AM