Hey Android, Are We There Yet?
As smartphone makers began making Android 2.2 available, Google introduced Voice Actions for Android. Now you can talk to your smartphone, and it will talk back.
The first thing I said to my Droid was “Find the nearest Apple Store.” And it did, right in the middle of a mall. I love my Apple products, but I think Android has an advantage over iPhone with voice recognition, and I’ll tell you why.
Isn’t it obvious that phones are made for talking not typing? In fact, Google has found that more people use voice input on mobile devices than on any other platform. There are a lot of things you can do with Voice Actions, but let’s focus on just one popular app. Driving directions.
I’ve used GPS navigation on iPhone, but this is free, easier to use, and more fun. What makes it fun and easy is that there is nothing to type in. You just say your destination using natural language, and with the power of Google search behind it, your smartphone seems to understand.
Google really made a deep investment in voice recognition.
Vic Gundotra, VP of Engineering
Google I/O 2010
Before I tell you why my smartphone seems so smart, let me tell you briefly about the Turing test. The Turing test was devised in 1950 as a way to measure machine intelligence. If you can’t tell whether or not you’re interacting with a human, the computer passes the test.
The Internet Remembers
So, do I think Android is that smart? No. What I think is happening is that we are all making the internet smarter. Every time someone ads a business to Yahoo Local, launches a new web site, posts something on a blog, makes a comment on Twitter, or puts personal information on Facebook without specifying not to make it public, all that gets added to the the memory of the internet. In technical terms, a database.
Google has been devouring information on the internet to help us find things for a long time. All that information gives Google an advantage over Apple because analyzing data is what they do. This is what makes my Droid seem so smart.
You’re Behind the Wheel
Speak your destination.
Are you wondering if voice recognition will work for you? Try it now. Just push the microphone button and speak your destination. Sometimes it will need a little help.
Here’s how it worked for me. Last weekend I needed to go to the farmers’ market. My turn to get tomatoes. I was doubtful that the Droid would understand what I wanted to do. But it did, offering a screen of choices so I could pick the right one. There was nothing left to do but let my little Android buddy navigate. It gave me turn by turn directions all the way.
When I got there, I was shown a driver’s eye photo of the parking lot. The Droid said, “You have arrived.”
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