Guest Post: Google Now Vs. Siri – The Battle of the Virtual Voice Assistants is On! For Now Google Now wins it Hands Down

There was no doubt that Google would come up with its very own Voice Assistant à la Siri, the question was when. Well, after the announcement of the Android Jelly Bean, Google has let the cat out of the bag, and told the world about Google Now – Its very own Virtual Voice Assistant.

When Siri entered the market, the assumption was that it was Apple’s answer to Google’s search functionality, but Siri was more of a virtual assistant with intelligent responses and was way more than a search tool. This is not to say that it does not have ‘search functionality’, but it’s more of a personal assistant that helps you set reminders, send text messages, search for the restaurants and do a whole lot more.

For Apple, Siri was the next big thing, something that reimagined and reinvented the wheel when it comes to offering people the next generation user experience.

Well, guess what, Google Now will be breathing down its neck and for all intents and purposes, it seems to be a notch above Siri, which is still caught up in its beta version.

So, what makes Google Vs Siri a salivating prospect? Well, because whatever the outcome, it is advantage – user.

So, let’s take a look at what Google Now brings to the table, and I must say users have a salivating prospect at hand.

Let me give you an overview of Google Now by way of a few examples.

Say you are attending a business conference in Redmond, but before that you are meeting up with old friends living in the area. Google Now can send you a notification that tells you about the conference that you have to attend and what‘s more the timeframe of this notification will keep in mind the traffic situation, as well. Amazing isn’t it?

Here’s another example of what Google Now can do for you. If you are a fan of the LA Lakers and Google knows this because you keep searching for the latest scores, Google Now will take cognizance of your search data and automatically send you score notifications. Yes, this is as AI as it gets.

Another example of Google Now’s awesomeness (Sorry, but you have some serious competition Now). You are chatting with your friends, and suddenly you need to get some facts straight, for e.g, you are talking about some of the presidential candidates and their age, but aren’t sure, so you ask Google Now, “How old is President Obama?” The question will be answered in a split second.

Siri Needs to Catch up

I have had tons of arguments with die hard Apple supporters who say Siri will be much better than Google Now, after all, it still is in beta. Give it time. C’mon, agreed that Siri is still in Beta, but it is a flagship feature of the iPhone 4S and with the iOS6, it will be coming to the iPad as well. So, it is high time that Apple got its act together, and started taking steps to make Siri faster and better; and I am not talking about more witty back talk or those cutesy jokes. I am talking about better features and better functionality and yes, improved usability. Personality is all well and good, but just having a great personality is not going to help it compete over the long run.

Apple has definitely taken strides in the right direction with Siri on the iOS6, which is going to offer sports scores, restaurant reviews and a whole lot more. Having used Siri, I am still not convinced that Apple and Siri will prove my apprehensions wrong and come up with an amazing improvement as compared to Siri’s earlier avatar.

I hope Apple proves me wrong. Until then, I think the Google Now Vs. Siri has been won fairly and squarely by Google Now, of course that’s my “humble” opinion. I know, there are plenty of scathing comments coming my way. But I stand by my assessment as of now.

Author Bio:
Alicia Carter works with Perceptive Mobile Apps, a company specializes in the development of challenging Android applications and bringing cutting edge iPhone apps. She loves sharing her views and opinions on the latest developments taking place in the world of mobile technology, through her write-ups.