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http://www.businessinsider.com/most-android-phones-dont-have-google-now-2013-4?op=1

Google Now, an intelligent personal assistant, is available on more iOS devices than Android devices.

The culprit? OS incompatibility with older devices. Despite Google Now requiring no more than Android Gingerbread, which was first released over two years ago, the majority of Android devices being actively used are using an older version of Android. The manufacturers that made these phones don't update the OS, and while some hackers make updates for older devices, since no one supports the hacks users rarely choose to tinker.

Meanwhile, Apple has released its latest version of iOS for devices that are now four years old, meaning that even that old iPhone 3GS - four generations of iPhones old - can run Google Now.

I think saying that Android sucks may be a bit too much.

A related question: does Siri work on those 4 year old iPhones?

Before I changed my phone a month ago, I didn't care that I was stuck on Android 2.2. I actually installed a custom rom etc. but had no desire to upgrade to the latest versions of the OS because my phone had too little RAM, processor and internal storage to use the latest apps anyway.[DOUBLEPOST=1367327848][/DOUBLEPOST]But yes, I at least agree that the fact that companies 'reskin' the OS and due to that do not support updates for devices that are not so old, and depending on the company the updates come quite late, I a very weak point for Android.

tegid said:

I think saying that Android sucks may be a bit too much.

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Hyperbole, it's what's for dinner!

tegid said:

A related question: does Siri work on those 4 year old iPhones?

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Nope! Siri was introduced with the iPhone 4S (so right now it only works with two models of iphone). Not because of technical limitations (though that's what apple is claiming) but because they need to get people to upgrade and can't justify it on hardware alone.

That's what you have to deal with when you don't control both hardware and software. I'm hoping now that Google has Motorola they'll start pushing updates faster, and maybe light a fire under the other manufacturers butts.

stienman said:

Nope! Siri was introduced with the iPhone 4S (so right now it only works with two models of iphone). Not because of technical limitations (though that's what apple is claiming) but because they need to get people to upgrade and can't justify it on hardware alone.

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That's pretty much what android manufacturers are doing here too. I'm guessing it's harder to deny certain features on android than it is on Apple devices, so they just stop updating the OS.

So I'm told Google Now requires a couple of weeks before it becomes super useful, but right now I'm just finding it kind of empty. I see all the things that it can do and I don't see how much more useful it will be with my life. I strongly suspect that it the way it's designed it will be far more attractive to a freelancer (i.e. most journalists) than to someone with a 9-5 job. So while I understand the praise it comes across as a bit ignorant. Still we'll see what happens in a few weeks.

My phone has Google Now and I actually don't know what it does. I'm slowly turning into my father, unsure of how my own technology works. Sigh.

All I really use google now for is a shortcut to google something. Sure, it's figured out when I go to work and when I come home, and tells me if there's any delays along the road at about the times I usually leave, but I hardly ever pay attention to that.

Apart from that, all I ever used it for was to impress relatives at christmas. "Google! Broncos scores! Google! How far is the moon! Google! What is the longest word in the english language!"

I have a couple of friends who work for a company that got everyone iPhone 3s (I think) a few years back. Man, with the new OS updates, they barely run.

It's definitely not the same product as Siri that's for sure (at least not on iOS). The fact that Now only presents me with information (currently very limited, or no duh kind of things) while Siri allows me to perform actions. A combination of the two would be super useful, maybe I need an Android phone for that.

Google sucks is indeed hyperbole. I think a more accurate assertion would be having to rely on shitty phone manufacturers to support their own product with updates sucks.

Covar said:

It's definitely not the same product as Siri that's for sure (at least not on iOS). The fact that Now only presents me with information (currently very limited, or no duh kind of things) while Siri allows me to perform actions. A combination of the two would be super useful, maybe I need an Android phone for that.

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I have got google now to set the alarm at a certain time for me (Google! Remind me at 8 to get the hell out of bed!), but it can't add items to my google calendar, unfortunately. And of course, you can say "navigate to (destination here)" and that works pretty well.

For older droids, like my old motorola droid (as in the first droid-branded phone ever, the second android phone ever after the G1), I find that vlingo is a pretty capable substitute. You can set the phone to bring up vlingo whenever you hold the search button, and then say things like "Text John Smith I am on the way."

I just installed google now the other day. It's kinda creepy. I was texting my gf to see where she wanted to eat for her birthday, and one of her choices was olive garden. Then I get a notification from Now with directions to it... Guess we're going to olive garden!