Apple’s Siri Vs. Google’s Now : The showdown

The war between Apple and Google for a very good share in the smart phone market is no more news to those who are Tech savvy or at least care about devices they spend so much on.

(-_-)—-O O—-(-_-)

Recently Google released the 4.1 update of the Android OS nicknamed ‘Jelly Bean’ (I don’t really know why they name things this way…. #Illuminati (˘̯˘ ) ) and Apple introduced the iOS 5. They both have a very innovative feature which allows users to do a voice search right on their device (People like me can now search for  ‘Shokolobangoshe’ ‘Sokoti Alagbede orun’ abbl \\(^_^)// )

So Google named theirs ‘Now’ and Apple named theirs ‘Siri’ (Do you know the meaning of this? No? me neither. #Illuminati -_-), so the main purpose of this feature is suppose to make things easier for the ‘searcher’ or the ‘searchee’ (Is ‘searchee’ even a real word? We delve further -__- )

So the people at PCworld.com decided to put both of them to the test, just to know who delivered on this promise more perfectly. The video below shows:

Just in case you can’t view the video here is an excerpt of it [from PCworld.com]:

Question 1: “Where Is the Empire State Building?”

Empire state of mind 😀

Siri seemed to have trouble understanding this question, while Jelly Bean produced a map that gave us the address of the Empire State Building in New York. For now, Android has the upper hand when it comes to locating famous buildings.

Winner: Android Jelly Bean

Question 2: “Will I Need an Umbrella on Sunday?”

Err…

The first few times we asked this question, Siri gave us directions to the nearest department stores. We believe that it may have been trying to point us to places that sold umbrellas, rather than answering our weather question.

When Siri finally realized that we were asking about the weather, it informed us that it could not predict what the weather would be on Sunday, and showed us a graphic displaying the local weather forecast for the next five days. Android told us that we wouldn’t need an umbrella on Sunday, and also produced a five-day forecast.

Winner: Android Jelly Bean

Question 3: “Show Me Pictures of Mount Rushmore”

Rushmore

Android automatically brought up a small grid of images, while Siri asked if we wanted to perform a Web search. Siri finally showed us what we had asked for, but it required an extra step.

Winner: Android Jelly Bean

Question 4: “Where Can I Get a Taco Around Here?”

Yum

Siri, which pulls its results from Yelp, brought up 20 restaurants in the area that had tacos on the menu. Android presented a map of places that served tacos, but only one establishment was nearby; the rest were spread throughout the city. We have to hand it to Siri on this one, due to the number of results and owing to how close they were to our approximate location.

Winner: Apple Siri

Question 5: “What’s the Capital of Canada?”

Is it Ottawa or Columbia?

Both phones came up with an answer, but Android was faster at fetching a result.

Winner: Android Jelly Bean

………………………………………..

They asked more and more questions, but my aim is not to bore you *coughs*, so You can view the rest here, if you are interested in finding out more.

So what are your thoughts on this fierce war raging between Google and Apple on the smartphone scene, please leave a comment down there 😀

N.B: Please check out also polls here

*logs off*

Presenting the TOP 5 Android Phones

Galaxy Nexus

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

The best Android phone to date, the Galaxy Nexus dazzles with its curved display, sleek design, fast performance, and, of course, the Ice Cream Sandwich update.

Epic Touch 4G

Samsung Epic Touch 4G

The slim and speedy Samsung Epic Touch 4G is excellent for gaming, Web browsing and watching video, but the plasticky design feels a bit on the cheap side.

HTC Evo 3D

HTC Evo 3D

Uneven call quality doesn’t stop the Evo 3D from being the best phone currently available on Sprint.

HTC Rezound

HTC Rezound

If you can deal with subpar battery life, the HTC Rezound is an excellent phone that won’t feel outdated anytime soon.

Tmobile MyTouch

T-Mobile MyTouch 4G Slide

The MyTouch 4G Slide has one of the best cameras we’ve ever tested–and the rest of the phone is pretty amazing as well.

Presented above are the top 5 android applications, you can visit PCWorld for full list and reviews. This is for those trying to make a decision on what to buy, enjoy 🙂

Windows Phone 7 vs. iOS vs. Android

This is just a comprehensive comparison between all the major smartphone OS’s in the world at the moment. Enjoy 🙂

Windows Phone 7 vs. iOS vs. Android

App Store Wars (Google Vs. Apple)

iPad

A mere day after Apple met with lukewarm reaction to a subscription model for media apps for the iPhone and iPad, Google announced a rival approach it says will put more money in the pockets of publishers, and will work across the web and on mobile apps — a one-login system to rule them all.

Google’s One Pass system promises to let publishers set up an easy subscription and paywall system so that a user who buys a subscription via their desktop browser can access the same content on a mobile phone browser or in the publication’s apps. Readers will login via their Google account and pay via Google Checkout.

The announcement is clearly Google’s answer to

Apple’s subscription offering — and as usual Google is competing by being more open than Apple.

Google is also setting up a clear choice for publishers — go with something that works for just the popular iPhone and iPad at a steep price (30% of a subscription bought through an app), or go with a system that works for the web and apps, regardless of what device a reader is using, at a much lower price (somewhere in the range of 10%, according to a company spokeswoman).

Many digital publishers see readers new found willingness to pay for mobile phone and tablet apps as a way to actually charge for content in the internet age, counteracting the decline of revenue that many traditional publications have faced in an age where readers expect and get content free on the web.

Read fully here

 

Oracle Vs. Google, Microsoft Vs. Motorola

Microsoft sues Motorola

Moto

Microsoft filed patent infringement complaints against Motorola and its Android phones in the International Trade Commission and U.S. federal court Friday, indicating that the software giant may hope to use its strong patent position as one way to set its mobile software apart from the competition.

Microsoft said that Motorola’s Android phones infringe nine patents, including some that would appear to threaten most smartphone platforms.Android is the open source OS built by Microsoft rival Google.

The patents appear to include some related to Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, which syncs e-mail, calendar and contacts between a mobile phone and a software-based computer program, according to a blog post written by Horacio Gutierrez, general counsel at Microsoft.

Other patents involve technology that displays signal strength and battery power on phones.

While Google licenses Microsoft’s ActiveSync for use in Android, Microsoft may plan to argue that handset makers that add their own technologies to Android also need a license for ActiveSync, said Chris Hazelton, an analyst with The 451 Group. Motorola does add its own enhancements to Android phones.

“Motorola, of the major Android supporters, is the only one that doesn’t license ActiveSync themselves,” Hazelton said. HTC, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Dell and others all license ActiveSync, he said.

Microsoft could also be using the lawsuit as a way to pressure Motorola into building phones using Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s new phone operating system, Hazelton said. Though Motorola made phones using Microsoft’s operating systems in the past, it now says it is committed to Android.

Motorola may have been unwilling to license ActiveSync because it can be expensive, Hazelton said. “This is not a small amount of money. We’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said. Motorola, which is about to split up into several companies, has been struggling over the past few years.

Read more here

Oracle Sues Google

Oracle Java

Google

Oracle has filed a lawsuit against Google, charging that its Android phone software infringes Oracle patents and copyrights related to Java, Oracle said on Thursday.

“In developing Android, Google knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle’s Java-related intellectual property. This lawsuit seeks appropriate remedies for their infringement,” Oracle spokeswoman Karen Tillman said in a statement.

The suit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco and seeks a jury trial.

Google could not immediately reached for comment on the lawsuit.

Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems’ Java technology whenit bought the company earlier this year. Java is a software environment that allows applications written in Java to run on virtually any computer so long as it has a Java virtual machine installed.

When Google developed Android it included a Java compatible technology called Dalvikwith the phone OS. Dalvik was developed as a “clean room” version of Java, meaning Google built it from the ground up without using any Sun technology or intellectual property, said Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney.

“You can’t just take a Java application from a Sun environment, where it’s licensed, and run it on Android. You have to recompile it to Dalvik,” Dulaney said.

Oracle says Dalvik is a competitor to Java and infringes several of its patents, which it lists in the complaint, and its Java copyright.

It was unclear Thursday if Oracle approached Google to discuss its concerns before it filed the lawsuit.

Oracle’s motivation was probably Android’s recent success in the smartphone market, Dulaney said. “They own Sun now and they want to collect the royalties on the language,” he said.

Oracle alleges that Google was aware of its patents and “willfully and deliberately” infringed them. It also says Google hired some of Sun’s Java engineers. It wants the court to block the alleged infringement and award it damages.

Dulaney said Oracle’s case could be “hard to prove” and that a legal battle could take a long time. “What they’ll have to argue about is whether Google did a purely clean-room Java or if they have someone with inside knowledge of the code,” he said.

Dalvik is one option for writing Android applications; developers can also use HTML 5 and the C language. But Dalvik is used for some of the core Android applications, such as email, Dulaney said.

Read more here

Check Out all the latest Apple’s iPad wannabes

Android Tablet

The Android tablets are coming! Actually, some are already here, but a wider selection of Apple iPad-like slates will have arrived by early next year. So what can we expect? The range of business-friendly tablets, many with powerful video and communications tools, will surprise you.

Blackberry's BlackPad

Despite growing competition from Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android platforms, Research In Motion (RIM) reigns supreme in the U.S. smartphone market. Its market share tops 40 percent, and it’s shipped more than 100 million BlackBerry devices. RIM’s new BlackBerry 6 operating system and rumored Bold 9800 handset will likely debut on Tuesday at a media even in New York City. And the company’s a major player internationally too.

RIM’s lacking in the tablet department, however. Apple’s iPad is a proven hit, and a varied assortment of Google Android-based slates will arrive before the end of the year. But RIM may be gearing up to launch its own tablet in November. According to a recent Bloomberg report, the device will be called the “BlackPad,” feature iPad-like dimensions (including a 9.7-inch screen), and sport Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity.

The competition is really becoming high and hotter in the tablet PC market and Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs has to watch is back on this. The race for a market share is getting tougher, with iPad of course the most dominant at the moment, but for me I think the eventual winner will be determined by the experience that each device delivers to the consumers and not necessarily the pricing. So let me know what you think, and what you think the trend will be like…………..leave a comment

Source: Pcworld