Google Now Launcher Android App Review
When the JellyBean OS was launched, many of the users wondered whether it is just a polishing of its predecessor, Ice Cream Sandwich. Google Now Launcher however is a new feature added to the new OS, and it is hard to emphasize how much of a difference it makes until you actually use it for couple of weeks. The launcher essentially builds on voice action systems adding support for natural language queries to providing a passive mode in which the app will display contextually relevant info through the notification system, and everything in between. You can get Google Now Launcher as a free download from Google Play Store.
Features
It is practically impossible to tell in detail about all the features of Google Now Launcher Android app. But to start with, the voice control interface records and interprets the user’s voice, parsing full sentences of natural speech into commands. It responds by talking back to the user and displaying relevant info on screen. Users can use the speech interface to dictate email or text, search in Google, perform a unit conversion, get travel directions etc. The range of supported commands is similar to or even better than iPhone’s Siri. It is even possible to send an email by just typing ‘send email to Alice that I’ll be late for dinner’. The app will display a card with said sentence typed, and now you only got to hit send to dispatch the email.
The passive information mode, on the other hand, uses a wide range of data, including user location, search queries and schedule to display useful info on a preemptive basis. For example, if the user has a meeting scheduled in calendar, Google Now Launcher app will offer directions to the location and an estimate of how long it’ll take to arrive at the location in current traffic conditions. Further, Google Now takes advantage of user’s search history to suggest sports team scores or updated flight information. You can ask passive questions such as who invented the bulb or the current Prime Minister of India. It Google Now Launcher seems to reply on Wikipedia to find answers to your queries (Siri uses Wolfram Alpha). If it fails to answer a query, it instead lists the Google Search results page for the queried phrase. The design has certainly improved. The status and navigation bars are now translucent, so your wallpaper pops from every pixel, and is even visible when you expand your apps drawer. The intuitive wall paper picker let you quickly select an image from your device or the cloud.
Conclusion
Google Now Launcher app for Android provides useful information at your fingertips, automatically. From your primary home screen, swipe right to access Google Now cards that give you just the right information, at just the right time. You can use voice commands to type email, fire up the map or a chat application, or simply search a term. Passive questions are reliably answered. It also provides useful info on a preemptive basis, by analyzing your search queries, location and even planned schedules. The design is user friendly. Overall, Google Now is Google’s answer to Apple’s Siri. It is precise and makes the life a lot easier for the users.
Category: Free Android Apps
