How often do you use Google Now? It is one of those apps that you have to consciously force yourself to use for a week or so, and then suddenly everything you do is quicker, easier, and your smart phone gets… smarter. We all know about the features that everyone talks about. Sports scores can be pushed to your phone as often as you want. It’s easy to set up your favorite teams and tell Google Now how often you want to be notified about the score. Weather information, flight info, traffic for your commute and many other helpful features make Google Now the killer app that is going to make Google services continue to be essential for all of us for the foreseeable future.
Today I ran out of milk. Instead of writing out a shopping list I just held down the home button on my Galaxy Nexus, said “Google” and then “the next time I’m at Aldi’s remind me to buy milk.” That was it. Google knows I frequent the Aldi’s closest to my house, and it will know to remind me to buy milk when I pull into the parking lot. In fact, my entire shopping list will pop up on my phone the next time I pull into the Aldi parking lot and as I put each item into my shopping cart I’ll swipe that card away.
This is just the beginning. Google Now on your phone, tablet and desktop computer is just the start. Next we will see Google Now on Google Glass as well as other wearable technologies. Personally, all I really want from a smart watch is a simple web browser, Caller ID, and Google Now. I am actually much more excited about a smart watch from Google than I am Google Glass. People are used to wearing watches, and smart watches are already a proven concept by companies like Pebble.
I would encourage you to read 66 Google Now Commands and check out some of the most popular commands that Google Now uses, but keep in mind that this is an ongoing project. Basically we just need Google to lay a basic AI on top of Google Now and we will have HAL or KID or whatever science fiction sidekick you would like to imagine. Google Now is one of those projects that makes me excited to see what the future holds for mobile technology.