The Complete Lis Of “Ok Google” Commands

I’m a big fan of using “Ok Google” which is a voice activated command to instruct your Android Phone or Table to execute a command. It also works on iPhones and iPads using the Google App.

Last year in August I reviewed some Google Now Commands   On average, I use “OK Google 6 times a day.  Here are some of my typical Google Now Commands in the last day

• What time is the next NBA Finals Game
• Show me my last 10 messages
• Call my wife
• Create a calendar event
• How do you say “sometimes” in Spanish
• How far is it from my house to Cuenca Sunrise Cafe

You can see the complete list of commands here

 

 

 

Weather On Your Smartphone

How quickly can you find the weather on your Android Smartphone. If you’re connected to WiFi or have a data plan all you have to do is say “Ok Google” and then something like “Will It Rain Today”?.

I created a short youtube movie to show you how it’s done

 

Siri vs.Ok Google vs.Cortana

Cortana the new voice assistant for Microsoft smartphones is now available on Android phones and will be available for IOS devices later this year. In Feb. of this year I compared Siri with Google Now

Although Cortana gets high marks on Windows phones, the interface is still in Beta on my Nexus and it was slow and not as accurate as Siri or OK Google. Here are my new findings:

• Different Voices – Siri is the winner
• Immediate  Voice Activation – OK Google
• Sense of Humor – Siri for sure –
• Faster and more accurate findings – Google Now

You can see a good video on he 3 voice assistants here

Google Now Voice Commands

This morning I had an interesting conversation with my tech savvy neighbor. She owns a Google Nexus 5 Smartphone but was unaware of the voice commands that save time and key strokes.

Android phone users can initiate the voice command “Ok Google” and have their phone initiate the following:

• General Searches (find chicken recipes)
• Who invented (the telegraph)
• Post to (twitter, facebook)
• Open an app
• Note to self
• Take a photo
• Call a contact
• Create an appointment
• Show me a nearby Swiss Restaurant in Cuenca
• Flight status of (AA #1120)

Drippler has an extensive list of Goole Now voice commands here

What are your favorite Google Now Voice commands?

Ecuador: Siri vs. Ok Google

For the benefit of the uninitiated Siri is the voice activated search assistant for IOS and “Ok Google” is the counterpart for the Android world. Since I have an iPad and a Nexus 5 I can compare the identical searches.  Below are the searches and results.

• Who is the Foreign Minister of Ecuador – OK Google gave me the correct audio answer and Siri sent me to Wikipedia
• What is the temperature in Cuenca, Ecuador – Ok Google gave me the 5 day forecast and Siri gave me the temperature in Quito
• How many provinces are there in Ecuador – Both assistants sent me to Wikipedia
• How far is it to Fabiano’s Restaurante. Ok Google gave me the distance from my house and the traveling time and Siri was totally lost even though I have Locations Services activated.
• What is the best hotel in Cuenca, Ecuador – OK, Google likes Mansion Alcazar and Siri said” I can’t look for hotels in Ecuador”

Ok, I know these were 5 random questions that were skewed towards my experience in Cuenca. I’m sure Siri performs much better when the questions are U.S. centric. However, I think Ok Google because of its’s association with the apps that support Google Now is a much better assistant than Sir. What’s your opinion?