Sundar Pichai and Google Now: how Google’s mobile assistant has changed over the years
It wasn’t too long ago that Larry Page, now CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet, announced that Sundar Pichai would follow in his footsteps and take over as the new CEO of Google. Before the big announcement, if you asked almost anyone who they thought would be a worthy successor to Page, most folks out there would tell you Sundar Pichai is the obvious answer – and that’s for good reason. Sundar Pichai has been the Senior Vice President of Android, Chrome and apps at Google for some time, and was just appointed as “czar” of all Google’s major products, including ads, Search, research, Google+, Maps, commerce and infrastructure last year. He’s done some amazing work with Android over the years, which is why his new position as top dog makes perfect sense.
One of the biggest developments Android has seen since the start is the addition of Google Now, the company’s big initiative to feed users relevant information at the right time. Now launched way back at Google I/O 2012 alongside Jelly Bean, which was largely backed by Page at the time. In fact many Googlers have said Now fits in closely with Page’s vision of a future with more intelligent, seamless computing. According to a former Now engineer, “[Page] would open up every single all-hands [meeting] with Google Now.”
Page began stepping away, though, when he began to really focus on the bigger picture. Around this time, according to multiple sources, SVP of search Amit Singhal requested that Google Now should be moved into his division and out of the Android division. But according to multiple sources from Re/code, several Google engineers objected because the service makes much more sense living inside Android as opposed to search. After all, Now is a mobile assistant tailored to particular users, so it makes sense to keep the product inside the Android division.
Pichai ended up approving Singhal’s request to move Now into a new division. Around this time, search began producing less and less revenue as mobile application usage increased, so the company began integrating app indexing into Now to help bring back some revenue. With the move from Android into search, some Now engineers raised their concerns to Pichai. In response to these concerns, Pichai reportedly explained:
Look, I’ve got a lot on my plate. Chrome and Android are my top priorities. Google Now is not on that. I can’t fight that battle for you.
See also: Google is trying to get inside apps – how and why
The newest addition to Google Now is a feature called Now on Tap, which was just announced at I/O 2015 back in May. Now on Tap will be available when Android 6.0 Marshmallow launches to the public, and will be able to give you information when you need it without having to exit what you’re doing. With a simple long press of the home button, Google will scan what’s currently on your screen and pull up relevant information about what it thinks you’re looking for. This will make for easier Google searches, which is, after all, what the company wants most from users.
Don’t miss: Google Now on Tap Demo at Google I/O 2015
It’s no secret that Now on Tap will be huge for Android. But even though the feature is almost ready to roll out to Android devices around the world, Google isn’t the first to come up with this breakthrough software experience. Just four days ago, Microsoft announced that its Bing app for Android was receiving a big update, which would bring a similar feature to Android devices. The new feature, dubbed Snapshots, works exactly like Now on Tap – a long press of the home button pulls up a page that aims to bring you relevant information without making you exit your current application.
Microsoft isn’t the only company jumping on this train. Recently, Apple announced a new feature of iOS 9 called Proactive Assistant that aims to give users relevant information when they want it.
Competition isn’t the only major hurdle the company is facing with Google Now
Competition isn’t the only major hurdle Google is facing on the Now front, though. With the Now shift into search and more competition arising, according to multiple sources from Re/code, “most” of the original team that built Now has departed. Some employees supposedly grew frustrated with the product, and many felt that Pichai did not prioritize the product as much as Page. Additionally, according to more sources, two of the original Now creators left the company in March and several other engineers left at around the same time, which means there’s only one Now founder left at the company. The sources also said “the experience of seeing their product steered in an unwanted direction was too dispiriting.” They went on to say, “Google is a big company. This is how big companies work.”
Whether the general public shares the same opinions as the now-former Now engineers remains unclear, but what’s obvious is the fact that Google is changing, and it always will. These big changes won’t come without their major hurdles, but that’s par for the course for any new CEO taking over a big company like Google. It’s clear that these next few years will be crucial for Pichai and Google as a whole, and the Google that exists today will probably be widely different from the company we see five years down the road.
With all of that said, are you a fan of Google Now in its current form? Or would you rather see the product as more of a personal voice assistant, similar to Siri or Cortana?
Micromax is developing its own Android-based OS for future smartphones and devices
India’s Micromax is currently developing its own forked version of Android for future smartphones and devices. The operating system will reportedly work across platforms such as wearables, televisions and tablets. Micromax co-founder, Vikas Jain, told The Economic Times that the first smartphones with the new operating system will be available by the end of this financial year and will be affordably priced.
International Android smartphone manufacturers seem to be finding that consumers want something different other than Google’s pure version of Android. Manufactures such as Xiaomi, Samsung and Microsoft have already developed their own operating systems to differentiate themselves from the competition, and Mircomax plans to follow the same path.
“We’re excellent with partnerships and we don’t want to reinvent the wheel,” Jain said, while specifying that the company was not breaking away from Android but was working with the globally dominant Android OS to bring a differentiated experience to consumers across all platforms, including wearables.
“Our (Indian) use cases are much different from a US or Chinese customer,” he said. As hardware is becoming a commodity, Micromax wants to start investing in software to differentiate itself. However, the company did not want to alienate its set of consumers and developers, majority of who are on Android, by building an operating system from the ground up.
Micromax feels it is closer to the Indian consumer and has a better understanding of the local market. The company wants to stay in the Android ecosystem to prevent itself from alienating its set of customers and developers. The operating system is currently being developed by the company’ s software team in Bengaluru. According to the report, about 75 people from Nokia’s R&D have been acquired to support this project.
Source: The Economic Times
Come comment on this article: Micromax is developing its own Android-based OS for future smartphones and devices
Cortana public beta is now available on Android
It was reported in May that Microsoft will be bringing its smart assistant Cortana to Android and iOS. The official public beta is now available to all Android users.
An early version of the software leaked last month, however Microsoft made it official today. Although Cortana cannot be activated with the “Hey Cortana” command, it has the ability to replace Google Now when pressing the Android home button. The Cortana app is currently available as a US beta on the Google Play Store.
Source: Windows Blogs
Come comment on this article: Cortana public beta is now available on Android
Street View is finally added into the Google Maps app
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wondered why Street View has never been incorporated in the Google Maps mobile app. Historically, we’ve had to download a separate Street View app that worked in conjunction with Maps. Well, the day they are unified is finally here.
Via its Maps Google+ page, Google has let us know that the Street View functionality now pops up for our location searches.
“Take a look at your destination before you start navigating. Just tap the Street View thumbnail in #GoogleMaps for Android.“
When you pinpoint a location, a Street View preview thumbnail shows up towards the bottom left corner. You can’t miss it. Touch it to view the street and take a digital stroll.
Just make sure that you’re on the latest version of Maps.
Source: Google Maps on Google+
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Intelligent Energy’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology Can Now Fit Inside an iPhone
British power technology company Intelligent Energy has developed an iPhone 6 prototype with a built-in fuel cell that supports hydrogen cartridges delivering up to a week’s worth of battery life, according to The Telegraph. It also demonstrated a hydrogen-powered MacBook Air.
The patented fuel cell system, reportedly poised for its first major commercial deployment in cell towers across India over the next few weeks, creates electricity based on the chemical reaction of combining hydrogen and oxygen, which produces only small amounts of water vapor and heat as waste.
Intelligent Energy also introduced a hydrogen-powered iPhone charger called Upp based on the same technology last year, but its latest breakthrough has seen it fit the fuel cell portion of the technology alongside an iPhone 6 battery pack without altering the size or shape of the smartphone.
Henri Winand, CEO of Intelligent Energy:
To our knowledge this has never been done before. We have now managed to make a fuel cell so thin we can fit it to the existing chassis without alterations and retaining the rechargeable battery. This is a major step because if you are moving to a new technology you have to give people a path they are comfortable with.
The only cosmetic difference on the iPhone 6 prototype is the addition of rear vents allowing a small amount of water vapor to escape. The Telegraph reports the device it saw at the company’s Loughborough, United Kingdom headquarters also had a modified headphone socket for refuelling hydrogen gas, although likely only because it was a prototype.
Intelligent Energy plans to sell a disposable cartridge that will attach to the bottom of a smartphone and provide enough hydrogen-releasing powder “for a week of normal use,” and the company’s corporate finance chief Mark Lawson-Statham vaguely mentions having a “partner” on board — speculated to be Apple, although both companies declined to comment as expected.
Nevertheless, the rumours and clues are overwhelming. Apple has a series of patents around fuel cell technology on public record. In recent research on Intelligent Energy, Zeus Capital analyst Dr Tom McColm wrote that he believes it is working closely with Apple.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are powered by 1,810 mAh and 2,915 mAh lithium-ion batteries respectively.
BlackBerry Passport sports Android in demo video
An Android-powered slider may not be the only phone BlackBerry has pegged for Google’s mobile OS. Following the leaks of a device codenamed “Venice” that’s said to be offered in both Android and BB10 versions, a video of the recently announced Passport Silver Edition surfaced. The square QWERTY handset isn’t running BlackBerry’s software, though, it’s sportin’ Lollipop. In the video from Dudu Rocha Tec., a prototype version of the new Passport is equipped with what appears to be stock Android. It’ll be interesting to see if this phone also packs in some of BB10’s notable features like Venice is rumored to do. BlackBerry hasn’t tipped its hand on Android devices just yet, so we’ll have to wait and see if another model of the silver Passport will be the second model that’ll tempt those who prefer Google’s mobile software. BlackBerry is already working with Mountain View on a more secure enterprise version of Android, and a number of reports indicate that the company is planning it’s own Lollipop (or Marshmellow) phones in the near future.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry
Via:
Pocket-lint
Source:
Dudu Rocha Tec. (YouTube)
Tags: android, blackberry, blackberrypassport, mobilepostcross, passport
Back to School Guide 2015: Picks under $500
It’s that dreaded time of year when lazy summer days with their open invitation to sandals, surf and shirtlessness begin to give way to the crispness of fall, hoodies and the back-to-school doldrums. Ah, but there’s hope on the horizon: You can always buy things to forget the scheduled machinery of life. And, oh, have we got some selections for you — no matter your budget.
We’re not quite at the baller-level of gadget indulgence yet, but this week’s back-to-school selections are certainly well-suited for the money’s-no-object crowd. Slideshow-313012
Tags: backtoschool, backtoschoolguide, bts, bts2015
Cortana officially arrives on Android via public beta
Following a leak last month, Microsoft’s virtual assistant officially arrived on Android. Thanks to a public beta, Redmond keeps its promise to bring Cortana to the Google faithful. As we’ve already seen, you can use Cortana to help with things like answering random questions, setting reminders, tracking flights and a number of other tasks. What you still can’t do, however, is use the “Hey Cortana” voice command to alert the virtual assistant to your needs. That remains a Windows-only feature for now, though Microsoft says it’ll be “continually improving the experience.” Perhaps that tool will arrive later, but for now, head to Google Play to nab the software in its current form.
Filed under:
Software, Mobile, Microsoft
Source:
Google Play, Microsoft
Tags: android, beta, cortana, microsoft, mobilepostcross, software, virtualassistant
Blackberry Passport shown off in video running Lollipop
Last week the Blackberry Venice was shown off in several new leaked images and videos, and this morning we learned that Blackberry may be bringing BB10 features to its Android build. The evidence continues to pile up in favor of a Blackberry Android device, but if you’re still not convinced that Blackberry is toying around with Android, perhaps this latest video will serve as enough evidence.
As you can see, the unique Blackberry Passport is shown in the video above rocking Android Lollipop. Aside from taking us through the UI, not a lot is known about what we are looking at here. While it’s certainly possible that Blackberry is working on an Android-powered version of the Passport, that’s far from the only explanation.
Android-Blackberry hype and speculation won’t slow down any until Blackberry either releases the Venice or publicly denies it is working on Android devices.
For one thing, Blackberry could actually be using the Passport as a testing bed for its Android activity in preparation of the Venice, and not necessarily because they are planning an Android Passport variant. Another possibility is that this is nothing more than the work of an enterprising ROMer and isn’t an official Blackberry-supported Android build at all. In other words, don’t take this one at face value just yet, though anything is possible.
Regardless of what Blackberry is planning internally, it’s pretty obvious that the Android-Blackberry hype and speculation won’t slow down any until Blackberry either releases the Venice or publicly denies it is working on Android devices. Even the latter might not stop the rumors at this point. It is a bit curious that a company many wrote off as dead not long ago is now stirring up some much intrigue. Of course, it could just be that we’re all curious to see if Android can be the company’s saviour. That or we are just feeling nostalgic.
What do you think, would you ever consider a Blackberry Android device? If so, what kind of implementation would you prefer – a bottom-slider like the Venice, a side-slider, a Passport-like design, a traditional Blackberry keyboard device, or a full touchscreen model? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Microsoft releases Cortana public beta for “all” Android devices
After months of hiding, and hoping for being able to find the APK somewhere else, everyone can now jump on the Cortana bandwagon. While this isn’t the final version, Microsoft feels that they have made enough progress to be able to let everyone get their hands on it.
For those who haven’t been aware, Cortana is Microsoft’s version of Google Now and Apple’s Siri, but is the first that is truly available across platforms. Microsoft had announced that Cortana would be available everywhere, but up until now, we haven’t really had an idea of when that would come to fruition.
It seems the time is nearing, as Microsoft successfully released Windows 10, with Cortana in tow. Microsoft also released the companion app for Windows 10 that will help everyone get their devices synced with Windows 10, with ease.
The Cortana app can do most of the things Cortana does on your PC or on a Windows phone. With the app, you can manage your hectic lifestyle by setting and getting reminders, searching the web on-the-go, tracking important information such as flight details as well as starting and completing tasks across all of your devices.
While Microsoft is stating that Cortana will run on every Android device, it seems that I may be the one stuck in left field. I’ve signed up for the public beta, and when I try to install Cortana on my Moto X 2014, there’s a notification that says that Cortana is not compatible with my device.
Regardless of that, maybe there’s a fix in the works to not have to worry about the Moto Display options and Microsoft will get Cortana truly working for everyone. If you are interested in signing up for the public beta, head to the link here, and try out Cortana on your device. Once installed, let us know what you think about Microsoft’s personal assistant in the comments below.
Source: Microsoft
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