This is the first time I've used any Google voice recognition. I use Siri daily (mostly for setting reminders and checking sports scores) and find it works well. I was shocked at how quickly Google was able to convert my speech to text and get a result. It was almost real time. I was considering trying an Android device because I really like the look of Google Now. By letting me try the voice recognition part on my iPhone Google may have got me. Only problem is that I'm so locked into the Apple ecosystem. I think this is becoming a problem and hindrance to competition. People spend so much money on apps, and have to select specific music/video services for each phone OS that it makes it very costly to switch regardless of which phone has the best features and technology.
Only problem is that I'm so locked into the Apple ecosystem. I think this is becoming a problem and hindrance to competition.
No shit. Seriously, this isn't just dawning on you now, is it? This is the exact history of PCs victory over the initial Mac leader originally, and it's playing out in a similar way with iOS and Android today. It's exactly why everyone has been pouring billions into mobile development - everyone wants to be the next MS with a monopoly on the OS, because that's the natural outcome when there are such high barriers to conversion.
It's not just dawning on me but it has gotten worse in the last year or two. Because of the deep integration of iCloud in both OS X and iOS switching doesn't just mean losing the apps I've bought, it means a difficult migration process to different cloud services. It's possible, if a little time consuming, but for non-geeks it'll be very difficult. Not using iCloud in the first place would be the best solution but then I lose the (usually) seamless syncing experience that makes my device so useful.
I tried this app on my wife's iPhone and I swear the voice transcription is _faster_ than my GS3. It looks faster than the Jelly Bean demos you can find on Youtube too. Whatever magic they are doing on iOS, it would be nice if they brought it to Android soon as well. :D
