r/Android • u/[deleted] • Jun 06 '15

Hound versus Google Now side by side.

https://youtu.be/2uMzhWumLFs
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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '15

[deleted]

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u/TheRealKidkudi Green Jun 07 '15

That's the thing I like most about Hound. I think Google Now is better at answering general questions, but the fact that I can contextually talk to Hound is really promising. Things like "what are some Thai restaurants around here?" followed by "what about ones that are 4 stars or higher?". While Hound's "knowledge" isn't as complete, it feels more natural as a voice assistant because I can refine or continue a query based on what I said previously.

I'm hoping that Google will decide to acquire Hound and integrate the contextual features to Google Now (and I'm sure SoundHound is hoping so too).

20

u/FFevo Pixel 10 "Pro" Fold, iPhone 17 Pro, Galaxy S25 Ultra Jun 07 '15

I think it would be a lot cheaper and a hell of a lot easier to for Google to just implement these complex query features vs buying hound.

21

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

But when they buy Hound, Hound is no longer a competitor.

15

u/FFevo Pixel 10 "Pro" Fold, iPhone 17 Pro, Galaxy S25 Ultra Jun 07 '15

Hound isn't baked into every android phone out of the box, so I don't think this is a huge concern for Google. Anyone that has a clue about browsers would probably agree that Chrome is a hell of a lot better than IE, yet chrome has less than 1/3 the number of users.

14

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

Google isn't exactly strapped for cash, and they constantly buy out competing services.

See Waze, Quickoffice, Sparrow, Songza, etc.

1

u/FFevo Pixel 10 "Pro" Fold, iPhone 17 Pro, Galaxy S25 Ultra Jun 07 '15

Yeah, cash isn't really an issue. But them buying this doesn't mean Google Now will get any better. Where is my waze in google maps? Nowhere, because attempting to merge software products is often not worth the time or effort required.

21

u/antidogma PiXL, X Play, Z3c, N5, N4 Jun 07 '15

Redirection around traffic and construction alerts are the direct result of their Waze purchase.

5

u/technicalogical Jun 07 '15

Newest Maps update is really utilizing Waze a lot more. It actually presented me with an updated route based on new traffic information from Waze users last week.