What is Google Now? Fundamentally, it is an assistant that makes the smart phone a little smarter. Its value lies in the way it connects the functions and applications that we have installed on the phone to suggest, through cards that appear between notifications, information that may be of interest to the user. In addition, this function operates indistinctly through written searches, through voice commands or, directly, providing data based on appointments in the calendars. It is, to put it in some way, a virtual secretary who helps us from the mobile.
This feature is available from Android version 4.1. That is why Samsung Galaxy S3 users who have updated the system to this edition, will be able to enjoy a service that, on the other hand, involves a series of considerations "" which will be exposed once it is clear how to activate Google Now "". At its core, Google Now thrives on two things: the user's search history and their geographic position. That is why, to begin with, we will have to have both options activated. We go to the System Settings menu and look for the Location Services section. We should keep the GPS and Location and Google search options activated . If we also do it with the Use networks box, the systems will be even more precise.
Once this is done, we go to the home screen. It is more than likely that after the update to Android 4.1, the Samsung Galaxy S3 has installed a floating window (widget) that shows a Google search bar, which presents the little icon of the microphone to use voice commands. Regardless of whether we open the search application using a keyboard or voice, what we will have is access to the internal settings of Google Now, which is what interests us. With the search application open, click on the left capacitive button"" The one we normally use to check the available options of any application "", and select Settings.
After this, click on Google Now. From here we have at our disposal all the service configuration options. The first thing, logically, is to activate it. Just click on the touch spring that we see above on the right for Google Now to start. From that moment on, we can adjust one by one each of the parameters that we want this function to identify as part of the available customizations. From that moment, Google Now will take note of all the search history on the web, as well as on Google Maps, to suggest information to the user in the form of cards.
For example, if we search for a restaurant on Google and we find ourselves in one in particular, Google Now could interpret that we want to go to it. In this way, as soon as the information provided by the company is collated, it will integrate the location data of the establishment and automatically provide us with a card with the route to get to that place, either by car, on foot or by public transport, as well as the Estimated time to trace that distance under a series of conditions and according to the time we do it. In the same way, if we write down appointments on our calendar, and as long as it is synchronized with Google Calendar, this peculiar virtual secretary will provide us with useful information regarding what we have written down.
This service, which is so attractive, as you can see, has a number of drawbacks. To begin with, the constant data processing and the continuous recurrence to online location and traffic networks mean that Google Now causes the battery of the Samsung Galaxy S3 to abruptly fall after the activation of the service. Logically, the more complete the customization of this function, the more effective autonomy will suffer. It is something to keep in mind if the user ever predicts an intense day of work with his terminal.
On the other hand, there is the question of privacy. Once we activate Google Now, the company will store each and every one of our movements made with the phone. And we are not just referring to the GPS location data: these will also be linked to the online search history and calendar data. The privacy debate, the services that use the Internet and the cloud are another matter, and we did not discover the Mediterranean by putting this question on the table when talking about Google Now. However, it is important to take this matter into consideration, since if we decide to deactivate Google Now, the history recorded up to that point will not be deleted.
