MSU Red Cedar Message Board

Love Android. Use a ton of Google's products. I can count the number of times I've used Now on one hand. It's the answer to a question nobody asked. Stop screwing around and make me a car that drives me to work.

Will this give us answers on why all of Bobby Sak's posts were deleted?

FIFY.

Will Google Now tell us what 24/7 is working on now?

Well, nice knowing you guys.

If you search for the latest Android vs. iPhone fanboy war thread ("iPhone blogger trades for GS3" or whatever it was: of which, I posted heavily in), you will see that Google derives something like 97% of their profit from advertising alone. Creating a Google Now app (which I actually think it will be through the Google Search app) just adds more devices using Google to their already dominating 53% market share (other reports are showing 75% of world market share). In second place is iOS with around 36% of the market share. What better way to make more from advertising than the potential of having Google on almost 90% of smartphone devices worldwide?

As far as the "Google's iOS apps are better than an on Android" comment, I still don't see how people can think that is true. The Google Maps on iOS is 95% the same, except for missing some key features of the Android version (terrain, bike transit, wikipedia integration, offline maps, etc.). Searching online, I still haven't come across a review saying the iOS version is superior to the Android version (articles from Wired.com, cnn.com, usatoday.com, etc.).

Really smart and useful app. Use it to check my commute home and it even gives my flight info (delays, arrived at gate, etc.) based on my confirmation gmail message from the airline.

That's quite an outdated statistic, and with how rapidly the Play Store is catching up with Apple, and Apple stupidly cutting out Maps, I'd be surprised if that was the case anymore. Bottom line, Google is making money hand over fist, and has a platform in place that pretty much ensures that will be the case until something extremely disruptive comes along.

Based on what I have seen from Google Now, Windows Phone live tiles provide the same functionality

Here's a few examples from an Android site. You can read the comments about how pissed off users stuck on older versions of Android were when iOS got Jelly Bean's lightning fast voice search but older versions of Android didn't. Think about that, users on 3-4 year old iPhones were getting a Google feature that users on 1-2 year old Android phones weren't getting.

http://www.droid-life.com/2012/08/08/ios-to-get-advanced-google-voice-search-in-coming-days-still-nothing-for-android-users-below-jelly-bean/

http://www.droid-life.com/2012/12/04/beautiful-gmail-2-0-released-for-ios-any-chance-we-see-a-similar-build-on-android/

http://www.droid-life.com/2013/01/18/google-apps-on-ios-and-android-opinion/

Every morning, Google Now tells me how many minutes it'll take me to get to work, and what bus line I should take. I already know this info, I go to my office every weekday and either take a bus, ride my bike or drive, depending on the weather and what kind of meetings I have that day. Google can't seem to predict my mode of transit, and has to be "set" to either driving or public transit.

It would be better if it integrated CTA's bus tracker info and told me how long until the next bus (rather than giving info based on a published bus schedule, which is horribly inaccurate). It would also be better if it searched my calender and looked at where my meetings were for that day, looked at the weather forecast, and told me if I should drive to work, take the bus or ride my bike.

Other than commuting info, it doesn't seem to offer much beyond the weather forecast, which I already get from a widget. It sure seems to chew through my battery though...

It's going to be rolled into the Google Search app, which is free. The Google Now functionality isn't in it yet though. Sounds like it's coming soon though. Download it anyway and try out the voice search, you'll be surprised at how fast it is.

(first app on the list)

http://www.google.com/mobile/ios/

I have a Nexus so I'm getting the latest updates on everything, and I had Jelly Bean on my SIII as well - so I didn't realize you were comparing iOS to older Android OS versions. I don't see how it is all that different from 2 year old iPhones not being able to get last year's iOS benefits such as Siri (4S and 5 only), Apple Navigation (4S and 5 only), Panoramic photo (4S and 5 only), etc. The problem isn't really with Google, either. Google releases the SDK to anyone who wants it, it is up to the manufacturers to then review it and provide updates for their phone models. Don't want to wait for updates? Get a Nexus device, root your phone, or at a minimum - buy a flagship device. Same thing with Apple, you want Siri / Navigation / Panoramic? Better buy at least the 4S, as the 4 won't have these things.

Of the links you listed, it seems all 3 simply say that the iOS version looks better, while the Android version has more functionality. Quote from one of your links:

"Google’s Gmail and Maps Android apps tend to focus on utility over appearance while the iOS apps tend to hide functionality, thereby presenting a cleaner user interface. While Google Maps for iOS looks and feels inspired by the Android app, the cleaner interface is far more inviting to use. While the iOS app emphasizes search and location, the Android app emphasizes utility in general."

As previously mentioned for the Google Maps iOS app - multiple functions have been omitted. So the iOS looks nicer, but has been neutered compared to the Android version.

In any case, do Apple users consider it a positive or a negative that the Google apps are better than the iOS apps?