Smartphones are now the central hub for our entire lives, but as they become ever more complex we could do with a helping hand from time to time.
Meet the digital personal assistants, which are quickly becoming an integral part of our smartphone's interface and something we're slowly getting more dependant upon.
Ask anyone about digital PA's and they'll probably be able to name Siri. Apple's assistant is the most well known, but currently suffers when it comes to providing real time data without external requests.
This is where Google Now succeeds in its ability to provide contextual information. Unfortunately for Google, the purchase of the crowd-funded app Cue will mean that Siri is about to get a lot smarter.
As Cue pulls in data from contacts, Twitter, Facebook and Gmail, it will give Apple a lot of information to make Siri even more powerful than Google Now.
Google Now is going to be given a much greater run for its money, so it needs to up its game. Here's how it needs to go about it.
1. Make use of our multi-device lifestyle
Google Now is already available on iOS and Android, and will soon be built into the desktop via Google Chrome. Google will then take this one step further, with the advent of wearable tech.
Now is already partially baked into Google Glass, and could well come as part of any upcoming smartwatch from the search giant. If Google decides that it is only going to put this functionality into its own smartwatch, it could well be missing a trick.
We suggested in our piece on what Google needs to do when it builds a smartwatch, that it needs support for more than just in house technology. We'd like to see it built into others, like the Sony Smartwatch 2 or Galaxy Gear.
2. Use our alarms and location reminders better
Taking the smartwatch idea one step further, Google could easily make this data far more relevant by using our alarms and reminders a little better.
The traditional alarm clock has now been replaced by alarms on smartphones, and generally at least five out of seven of those are for work. By noticing this, Google Now could see that we are getting up at the same time and going to the same place, even if we only go somewhere once a week.
Imagine the scenario that Now has noticed you wake up at 7am each day, leave at 7:30am and travel to work for 9; it could let you know how long it will take to get there, whether you're going to be on time, and if you'll need a coat on the way.
A pre-set could be built in to let Now know that it is okay to wake you up early if your journey is going to take longer than expected, even with a time frame. 'Set alarm for 7am but wake me up between 6am and 7am should I need extra,' for example.
Incorporating notifications from third party sources like National Rail would only further boost this functionality. We've all been late for work at some point due to rail issues.
Google Now is already half way there, with the ability to show you the next train home, or your driving route with traffic updates - it just needs to be fine tuned.
3. Add support for third party email addresses
At the moment, Google Now can only pull data out of Google's proprietary email system. Don't have a dedicated Gmail account? You can completely forget Gmail cards.
This is a crying shame, as many people still prefer to use other email accounts. If Google could enable it so that it pulled the same data out of a Hotmail or Yahoo account that it does from a Gmail account, it would be relevant for so many more users.
Many people have already signed up to Google services, signing into Gmail or Google docs with a third party email address, yet Now doesn't accommodate.
This could well only be a temporary thing, as the Google Now page says "Gmail cards are currently not available when using Google Now with a Google Apps account."
We hope that this means that Now will soon be integrated deeper.
4. Learn favourite restaurants
We all have preferred restaurants, and we have all been to unfamiliar cities.
Using Google Now's tie in with location services, it could easily suggest nearby restaurants when you're in a new place. Imagine how useful it would be if Google Now could say "you're in a new place, and it's nearly dinner time, here's the nearest outlet of your favourite diner".
The downside of this is that this will prove annoying if you'd been to that place very recently. This is a problem easily rectified; we would happily offer up more information through check ins. The obvious route for Google is to use its own social networking site, Google+.
In the long run, this may prove useful as Google+ looks to become an increasing part of our lives, at least if the guys at Mountain View get their way. However, a much better solution is to pull in data from Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare.
5. Notify us of any deals, discounts or offers
We've all received marketing emails that let us know that we can get 10% off here, or buy one get one free there, but we forget these.
Google already sorts deals via Gmail into a Promotions inbox and this helps to some extent, but we still forget they exist on mobile as the promotions inbox isn't brought to the fore.
Packing in functionality that lets us know we've received these emails, as well as letting us choose to totally dismiss or remind us near the end date would gain Google many brownie points.
We wouldn't stop there, Google Now should go one step further. It could use location data to warn us at certain times when we're in town that we have offers for a nearby restaurant. We don't want to find out that we've eaten elsewhere when there is an offer on in the restaurant next door.
6. Create downloadable packs
One of the major downsides to Google Now is its desire to be connected to the internet to get all the data it needs. This could be solved with the creation of downloadable packs of information.
Google Maps can already be cached, but this is a very awkward process that requires typing "OK maps" into the relevant map. Apps like Here Maps work a lot better. With Google's very impressive mapping system behind it, Now needs to take this further.
It should learn when and where you're going from your emails. Book a trip to Paris and Google will know that you're gone for a weekend, suggesting downloading a pack containing language translation, currency conversion, public transport timetables and locations, maps and local points of interests.
As Google Now will know that you're only there for a weekend, it could then remind you to download this the day before you go, and then automatically remove, or suggest deletion of the data the day after you get home. On devices without microSD, or limited internal storage, this is vital.
7. Tell us when Google learns something
Google Now has some pretty awesome features, things like being able to let you know when you need to leave for a restaurant to make your reservation on time, or let you know when your package has been dispatched.
Unfortunately, it is not always clear as to whether Google is following what you want it to. We like Google telling us when packages have been dispatched, but we'd also like Google to let us know that it is tracking it from the very beginning.
Google should tell us it knows when we are going to dinner, so we can rely on it to warn us when the time is right.
Through deeper functionality by tying in with the likes of Amazon, Ebay, or courier services, Google could let you know from the time that you receive order confirmation that it's following your package.
Surely it can't be long before a lot of parcels are being transported with emails as identifiers, so the likes of UPS and Royal Mail can email you letting you know when they have a package that is destined for you, and where it is.
The added bonus of this is that it makes Google Now's functionality a lot more transparent. In a world where privacy concerns are prevalent, knowing when Now learns something will ease many concerns.
8. Go global, properly
There could be a reason that a lot of Google Now's features haven't made it to different territories, costs and licenses being two of the biggest that we can foresee. Regardless, this is really frustrating for those left out.
Users are now very aware of what is available in other territories, and it is one of the largest causes of piracy. Why should we wait for the latest film when it is already available elsewhere?
Knowing that the US gets things like boarding pass integration, or location reminders is highly frustrating. Maybe there isn't a disaster warning system in place in the UK, as there is in the US, but it's something that could easily be implemented by Google themselves.
If Google is to beat Siri, it needs to show that it is responding to the desire for global availability. Locking features to US only, such as Google Now's voice search, leads both to frustration and use of competitors.
9. Know when I need to go to the shops
This ties in rather heavily with the point we made above. Location reminders are something that are available in the US Google Now app, but something missing outside the US.
If location services became a global feature, it could then tie in with the data that we put into apps such as Google Keep. Keep is a great way if taking small notes, and we use it a lot for taking down shopping lists.
Google Now should notice that we'd written bread and milk into Keep, or work out that because we'd called the note "Shopping List" that we need to pop to the nearest supermarket.
Couple the shopping list with location, and Google can remind us when we're near so we never have to forget again.
10. Allow others to remind us
Google Now should allow collaboration between trusted users and ourselves, in order to create a more relevant experience. The text to 'take the bins out' from the other half can now become even more contextual.
We'd suggest that this is done through the calendar, email or texts. Google Hangouts now also incorporates SMS, so why not take it from there as well?
Preset templates with customisable text fields could make things easier, but Google Now could easily see a text or email that says "Can you please take the bins out when you get home? Xx" and recognise that it should send you that reminder when you get home.
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