Video: Cortana vs Google Now

[dylangrey]

thanks for sharing the video! Now it's time that WP 8.1 gets pushed to all older Windows Phones, it doesn't make sense when they have a great personal assistant (actually I know Gnow too less to form an opinion about it) but hardly anyone is able to use it.
btw how many languages does Gnow support? and Cortana?

 

[JeffDenver]

Sorry about the rant re: hands free in autos... I do feel very strongly on the issue, but will keep that to myself from here on out.

The fact that you feel so strongly about it is exactly why it's a bad idea for you to be reviewing it. You're very biased.

However: I never faulted Google Now for allowing for hands free operation. In the video it kicks in several times when unasked for. That was the mark down.

Given your bias, I have to wonder if you were doing it on purpose. Especially since no one else seems to be having the issue with false positives that you are.

 

[z33dev33l]

I will say that I understand the qualms with hands free because of one instance and one instance only. I had my M8 at my cousins and there were two other Android devices there. If my cousin said, "Okay Google." All of our phones reacted to it. I do wish there was at least some better kind of proximity recognition or something because he just got his phone and uses Google Now religiously.

Outside of that, I didn't use Google Now and didn't like it almost entirely because of it's inability to control my music. It was a solid product outside of that and I certainly wouldn't have faulted it as much as this video did but how they release something that TellMe was doing better in that regard is beyond me.

 

[Davehow]

I will say that I understand the qualms with hands free because of one instance and one instance only. I had my M8 at my cousins and there were two other Android devices there. If my cousin said, "Okay Google." All of our phones reacted to it. I do wish there was at least some better kind of proximity recognition or something because he just got his phone and uses Google Now religiously.

Outside of that, I didn't use Google Now and didn't like it almost entirely because of it's inability to control my music. It was a solid product outside of that and I certainly wouldn't have faulted it as much as this video did but how they release something that TellMe was doing better in that regard is beyond me.

The people spoke and Google listened, we're getting voice operated music control very soon. Gotta give them some credit, MS took 3 years to put those WP basic smartphone features on 8.1 that every other os has had that whole time

 

[salmanahmad]

The players:

• Cortana by Microsoft on a Nokia Lumia 925 (T-Mobile branded) running Windows Phone 8.1 GDR 1 Preview for Developers
• Google Now by Google on a Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 running Android 4.4.2 w/ Touchwiz

The camera: I used the wife's Galaxy Note 2 to film this. Sorry about any lack in quality, I'm not practiced with the device and it doesn't seem to autofocus as well/quickly as my Lumia 925.

The same twenty questions were asked of each Virtual Assistant in turn and the results were scored (by me). The questions were what I felt was a good mix and the sorts of common uses people would ask of their device. For the constraints of this video everything was done on a desktop and there was no actual field use for navigating and geofencing; although those abilities do come up in the demo - I just wasn't driving around town while I filmed. Both devices had been "primed" before hand by filling in the interests and settings.

Here's my BLOG feed if anyone prefers to read a bit more about the history of the two assistants before viewing the video: My Alter Ego

The video itself is about 45 minutes. Hey, that was 20 questions each (40 total) plus responses by the devices, my reactions and scoring the results... I feel this is a fairly thorough test, even if it is off the cuff, and better than a quick 5 - 10 minute shoot.

Hope you enjoy this presentation.... And let the comment war begin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Jg_qb607I

Nice video but like you said that you had hard reset the device, you don't need to hard reset after every update.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[z33dev33l]

The people spoke and Google listened, we're getting voice operated music control very soon. Gotta give them some credit, MS took 3 years to put those WP basic smartphone features on 8.1 that every other os has had that whole time

I hear that all the time but I suppose that comes down to what you consider basic features. I for one thought it was pretty sad that Windows Phone had Netflix for about a year before Android did (Maybe a bit less) and we've been able to control our music collection for some years as well as other very basic things, TellMe just didn't do much talking back. I like media and that's something Android is just now expressing some interest in.They're finally coming out with a couple usable cameras and concerning themselves with things that matter to me but Windows Phone was vested in these things 4 years ago. Windows Phone was about people and media and they executed them brilliantly.

 

[Davehow]

I hear that all the time but I suppose that comes down to what you consider basic features. I for one thought it was pretty sad that Windows Phone had Netflix for about a year before Android did (Maybe a bit less) and we've been able to control our music collection for some years as well as other very basic things, TellMe just didn't do much talking back. I like media and that's something Android is just now expressing some interest in.They're finally coming out with a couple usable cameras and concerning themselves with things that matter to me but Windows Phone was vested in these things 4 years ago. Windows Phone was about people and media and they executed them brilliantly.

I suppose that's one way of looking at it. WP doesn't seem to be executing well against the incumbents from what I'm seeing.

 

[z33dev33l]

I suppose that's one way of looking at it. WP doesn't seem to be executing well against the incumbents from what I'm seeing.

Meh, come to the party late with a name that's already dissuading and see how it goes for you. They should've made it the XBox phone or something of the sort. Windows Mobile was so bad that Windows Phone had a bad rap to start. It's not because it's a lesser OS by any means, just different. For a fan of media, it's phenomenal.

 

[A895]

I hear that all the time but I suppose that comes down to what you consider basic features. I for one thought it was pretty sad that Windows Phone had Netflix for about a year before Android did (Maybe a bit less) and we've been able to control our music collection for some years as well as other very basic things, TellMe just didn't do much talking back. I like media and that's something Android is just now expressing some interest in.They're finally coming out with a couple usable cameras and concerning themselves with things that matter to me but Windows Phone was vested in these things 4 years ago. Windows Phone was about people and media and they executed them brilliantly.

Lol, music is a downside on WP nowadays. And WPs Netflix app is outdated. No sense in talking about the past when it is not relevant at all today.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[A895]

Meh, come to the party late with a name that's already dissuading and see how it goes for you. They should've made it the XBox phone or something of the sort. Windows Mobile was so bad that Windows Phone had a bad rap to start. It's not because it's a lesser OS by any means, just different. For a fan of media, it's phenomenal.

WP has been out for almost 4 years, "being late" is not an excuse anymore. Like I have said in the past WP would be awesome if it capitalized on it's Xbox integration. I feel for basics it is fine, but if you want more functions or latest app or game junky, look elsewhere.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Davehow]

I love the OS. I even ran that popular fake wp8 launcher for a while about a year ago. There's just too many things that keep me on android. App wise, my major bank basically politely told me never for wp8, my favorite and popular fitness tracking app with years worth of progress, official YouTube, mega featured file explorers, my long favored multi device password vault, my preferred VPN app, and numerous others. Did you notice that none of those are popular apps like Facebook that pretty much any OS has? That's because it's the wide choice of specialized user-specific apps where WP falls terribly short. Those are the developers who form the backbone of a truly full app store.

In other ways, I can't use my Chromecast on WP whereas I can on iOS and android. I can't get as much out of gmail as I can on iOS and android. I prefer chrome and Firefox on my windows PC to IE like a ton of others do and those don't have enough sync support on WP if available at all. Carrier availability sucks. App interoperability between 3rd party apps is limited.

Like I said, love the WP ux, but can't take all the limitations. Even then, all those newer smart contextual launchers that have been appearing on android lately are taking care of my dislike for the old grid of icons UI now, and Material design will take care of the rest. If I wasn't so tech oriented I suppose none of that would be an issue.

 

[z33dev33l]

WP has been out for almost 4 years, "being late" is not an excuse anymore. Like I have said in the past WP would be awesome if it capitalized on it's Xbox integration. I feel for basics it is fine, but if you want more functions or latest app or game junky, look elsewhere.

Posted via the Android Central App

And as I've stated, Android entered a market in which there was no iPhone alternative. Windows Phone entered a thoroughly saturated smartphone market. I'll admit, the latest apps are an issue. I know that. Fortunately we get Gameloft games pretty much alongside Android and iOS now which is a huge win but there are apps that simply don't support us. I guess I'm concerned mostly with user experience.

 

[z33dev33l]

I love the OS. I even ran that popular fake wp8 launcher for a while about a year ago. There's just too many things that keep me on android. App wise, my major bank basically politely told me never for wp8, my favorite and popular fitness tracking app with years worth of progress, official YouTube, mega featured file explorers, my long favored multi device password vault, my preferred VPN app, and numerous others. Did you notice that none of those are popular apps like Facebook that pretty much any OS has? That's because it's the wide choice of specialized user-specific apps where WP falls terribly short. Those are the developers who form the backbone of a truly full app store.

In other ways, I can't use my Chromecast on WP whereas I can on iOS and android. I can't get as much out of gmail as I can on iOS and android. I prefer chrome and Firefox on my windows PC to IE like a ton of others do and those don't have enough sync support on WP if available at all. Carrier availability sucks. App interoperability between 3rd party apps is limited.

Like I said, love the WP ux, but can't take all the limitations. Even then, all those newer smart contextual launchers that have been appearing on android lately are taking care of my dislike for the old grid of icons UI now, and Material design will take care of the rest. If I wasn't so tech oriented I suppose none of that would be an issue.

Suppose I'll have to try a Nexus or moto phone next because the M8 UI was pretty dismal and user experience means a lot to me. Ultimately though, I can't use it til they have a better keyboard. I would think they'd have a good copycat or something.

I don't think a lot of your issues stem from a lack though, I feel they come from you investing in a different ecosystem (Aside from a couple apps you mentioned) I can't get a great hotmail experience on Android either. I guess it just comes down to email/ecosystem provider there.

 

[Davehow]

Suppose I'll have to try a Nexus or moto phone next because the M8 UI was pretty dismal and user experience means a lot to me. Ultimately though, I can't use it til they have a better keyboard. I would think they'd have a good copycat or something.

I don't think a lot of your issues stem from a lack though, I feel they come from you investing in a different ecosystem (Aside from a couple apps you mentioned) I can't get a great hotmail experience on Android either. I guess it just comes down to email/ecosystem provider there.

Jeff's going to cry foul on me for this one lol, but I find certain branded androids put higher quality parts in their flagship lines than LG does with the last 2 nexus. Better radios, more LTE bands and other stuff on the technical side of things. I used to buy nexus but stopped this year because of that and because as I've said in other threads, certain brands add features to their phones that I find quite awesome. My personal faves on the market currently for a combination of lightweight near-stock UI, great features, and really fast updates are the Moto-X and Xperia Z2. I also find the quality, materials, performance, and reliability of both to be exceptional. If I were you, I'd hold off a bit because the Z3 and the next Moto are due out this fall. Personally I'm going to upgrade to one of those after android 5.0 is released on both by my carrier and then I'll choose.

I'm also using Aviate currently and the last couple of updates have really polished it

 

[JeffDenver]

And as I've stated, Android entered a market in which there was no iPhone alternative.

Even if all of that is true, it doesn't matter. The end user will not care about the excuses. We could just as easily say "If Android got to the market at the same time as iOS, iOS would not even exist by now". It's all speculation, and all irrelevant in the current context.

Unless WP can come up with a major appeal (I don't just mean a new UI) that the other platforms don't have and can't have, I see no future for it at all. It'll be a slow death just like Blackberry had. There is going to be a limit to how much money MS can throw at it without a return.

 

[JeffDenver]

Jeff's going to cry foul on me for this one lol, but I find certain branded androids put higher quality parts in their flagship lines than LG does with the last 2 nexus. Better radios, more LTE bands and other stuff on the technical side of things.

I agree actually. I think the nexus phones are well built, but I do not necessarily think they are the best built, and I definitely don't think they are perfect. Moto Radios are better. HTC's cases are better. Samsung phones (and, unofficially, Moto phones) are waterproof. The Nexus is excellent but it's not the best.

 

[A895]

And as I've stated, Android entered a market in which there was no iPhone alternative. Windows Phone entered a thoroughly saturated smartphone market. I'll admit, the latest apps are an issue. I know that. Fortunately we get Gameloft games pretty much alongside Android and iOS now which is a huge win but there are apps that simply don't support us. I guess I'm concerned mostly with user experience.

There is some who value UX then they will like it, but for "more", there are better OSs for it. Also, the line that there was no alternatives to iOS needs to stop, at the time iOS was undeveloped, Windows Mobile was out, BlackBerry, and Symbian were also around as well. There was competition, and the iPhone didn't set the world on fire at first either because if how expensive it was and the AT&T exclusivity.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[A895]

Suppose I'll have to try a Nexus or moto phone next because the M8 UI was pretty dismal and user experience means a lot to me. Ultimately though, I can't use it til they have a better keyboard. I would think they'd have a good copycat or something.

I don't think a lot of your issues stem from a lack though, I feel they come from you investing in a different ecosystem (Aside from a couple apps you mentioned) I can't get a great hotmail experience on Android either. I guess it just comes down to email/ecosystem provider there.

I get a fine hotmail experience on Android, I use CloudMagic.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Davehow]

I almost forgot to add one point, I like that my phone and tablet are running the exact same OS and app store. I know MS is getting ready to make this happen as well, but for now it's not.

 

[A895]

I almost forgot to add one point, I like that my phone and tablet are running the exact same OS and app store. I know MS is getting ready to make this happen as well, but for now it's not.

I wish they expanded more games to be on your phone computer/tablet and Xbox. The only one I can think of Halo Spartan Assault and I don't even think saved data moves between them. That would be one feature I would drop Android for.

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