How is it on Droids?

[TiLoBrown]

My fiance has started talking about wanting a band. But I'm not sure what it can do in conjunction to Android phones. Will she still get text, email, and call notifications?

 

[ronr9286t]

Yes. I've used my band with both Windows phones and my Note 4. She just has to download the Microsoft Health app from the Google Play store, and remember that the band is paired using the normal Bluetooth pairing process but after pairing, the connection is made through the app. All notifications (that I use) work fine.

Ron

 

[Spartacusds]

I have had it for a week now and it works just fine with my S4 android. Yes, text, email and call notification. Just no cortana nor "Ok Google"

 

[TiLoBrown]

Thanks, I guess we'll start hunting for one

 

[DroidUser42]

Will she still get text, email, and call notifications?

Absolutely.

Windows users get to talk to Cortana - (That's like Siri or "OK Google"). So that's one feature she can't do.

 

[gadgetrants]

Absolutely.

Windows users get to talk to Cortana - (That's like Siri or "OK Google"). So that's one feature she can't do.

...can't...yet...?

Microsoft's Cortana is coming to iOS and Android | The Verge

Or am I just overly optimistic?

-Matt

 

[kenjancef]

...can't...yet...?

Microsoft's Cortana is coming to iOS and Android | The Verge

Or am I just overly optimistic?

-Matt

Ummm... Just a BIT overly optimistic... Especially iOS... I wouldn't think Apple would want competition for Siri...

 

[tgp]

I wouldn't think Apple would want competition for Siri

Not to mention both iOS and Android have an equivalent to Cortana. Siri isn't quite as full featured, but Google Now is. There will be little reason to use it on iOS, and no reason at all on Android.

 

[gadgetrants]

Sorry if I'm starting to hijack, but I'll lay down a $10 bet that IF it comes, Android users will definitely try it -- it's an open question of if it can outperform Google Now, but anything is possible. Case in point:

Microsoft is Building a Cortana App for iOS and Android | Android Forum at DroidForums.net

Even if you subtract out my sugar-coated posts and allow for the fact that it's a short thread, several of the posts are from admins and mods who are supportive. It's a tough crowd to impress.

As for iOS I'm not qualified to predict! :grin:

-Matt

 

[tgp]

Sorry if I'm starting to hijack, but I'll lay down a $10 bet that IF it comes, Android users will definitely try it -- it's an open question of if it can outperform Google Now, but anything is possible.

I would counter by saying that it's more likely to be used on iOS. The reason I say that is that Siri is not nearly as capable as Google Now. Google Now is very similar to Cortana in functionality, but Siri isn't. iOS users have a lot more reason to look for something else than do Android users. Another issue is that being a 3rd party app, Cortana will not be able to integrate with the OS as much as Google Now and Siri on their respective platforms.

But then, switching sides here and going with what you're saying, I can certainly see Android users trying it, for curiosity if nothing else. Android users are a lot more open to different ideas than iOS users in general. iOS users tend to stick to the Apple ecosystem if possible, but Android users are more adventurous.

Overall, Cortana doesn't have an advantage over Google Now. I can't see many Android users using the 3rd party service rather than the native. Cortana doesn't outperform Google Now with each running on their own native platform. How can it even come close on a non-native platform?

And yes, I know that some of you Microsoft fans are going to quote this to say that Cortana is WAAAAYYYY better than Google Now! Whatever, go ahead. But check side-by-side comparisons, or do it yourself. One wins some, the other wins some. Overall, they're roughly equal. I actively use Google Now, Cortana, and Siri. As I posted in another thread, I have and use at least one desktop and one mobile device of all 3 major platforms. I happen to be quite familiar with all 3.

But hey, God only knows what's going to happen. Anything is possible! Maybe Cortana along with Hololens will take over the world, which wouldn't be all bad! :winktongue:

 

[DroidUser42]

Overall, Cortana doesn't have an advantage over Google Now.

You mean besides being a walking advertisement every time you issue a command? I like Google, but not THAT much.

 

[gadgetrants]

Nice analysis, thanks!

But check side-by-side comparisons, or do it yourself. One wins some, the other wins some. Overall, they're roughly equal. I actively use Google Now, Cortana, and Siri.

Any chance you'd indulge a lazy user like me and post links to a few feature comparisons? I have to confess that other than some early and rather vague announcements about Cortana, it's quite a blind spot for me. However, here is a quick...thought...

As someone who lives on a daily basis with Google Now, I have to say it's quite limited (though current rumors of the next version "M" suggest it will address this issue). For the most part it's good for:

- Google searches
- driving directions/navigation
- searching for contacts and starting phone calls
- sending simple text messages
- setting reminders

The browsable side of Google Now is very cool, including user-specific cards like stock quotes, location sensitive restaurant suggestions, weather updates, shipping updates, directions to my parked car, etc. BUT (and it's a big BUT) none of that is voice-controlled (but here is a great list of things that are). And more to the point, almost NONE of the OS's basic phone features are voice-controlled, including:

- turning things on/off like wifi, flash, GPS, etc.
- changing settings like ringer/volume, vibration, etc.
- control of music playback
- and so on

So given I know nothing about Cortana, I'd like to imagine there is a bit more voice-controlled phone integration. I'm probably wrong, but I'm naive. And as for the concern that 3rd party Android apps will have less system-resource access than the OS, I'd have to politely disagree. My experience through the last several versions (Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop) is that if apps like Tasker can pretty much gain access to any phone function, and if Google leaves voice-control open through the SDK, then an app like Cortana could easily do more than Google Now currently does (through voice, I mean). The cool and really interesting part of all this is that if Microsoft wanted to, they could design Cortana to outperform Google Now and Google would not stand in their way -- I've seen half a dozen times that Google has followed the strategy of hamstringing the OS, allowing third-party devs to build more versatile apps, and then Google integrated the same functionality into a later version (not unlike how Apple claims to invent something that Android users have been doing on their phones for the previous 2 years!).

-Matt

 

[tgp]

You mean besides being a walking advertisement every time you issue a command? I like Google, but not THAT much.

True, but who cares? Answer: almost nobody.

Any chance you'd indulge a lazy user like me and post links to a few feature comparisons?

Go to YouTube and search for "Cortana vs Google Now (vs Siri)". Those videos abound there!

- turning things on/off like wifi, flash, GPS, etc.
- changing settings like ringer/volume, vibration, etc.
- control of music playback
- and so on

Google Now does some of those things, but not all of them. It will turn things like Bluetooth and the flashlight on & off, but not wifi for some reason. It does some music control, but I don't listen to music from my phone, so I don't use that feature.

Google Now does quite well at searching your device. I did a couple tests here. What I spoke is in the search field at the top of the page:





I tried to see how much of this Cortana would do, but it kept crashing! :shocked: I'm running the W10 Preview on my 920.

 

[gadgetrants]

OK I knew I could search photos for things like "dog" and "snow" -- but I didn't know the "show me my photos" trick! Thanks, that's pretty awesome!

-Matt

 

[tgp]

OK I knew I could search photos for things like "dog" and "snow" -- but I didn't know the "show me my photos" trick! Thanks, that's pretty awesome!

-Matt

Yes, those are not pictures off the web. They are pictures in our album that I (or my wife) took.

 

[gadgetrants]

Ooops, allow me to clarify: I knew I could search my own photos (the old fashioned way, by typing the query in the photo album), and I knew I could do it by describing the content (like "food"). What I didn't realize is I could initiate the search by voice from Google Now. And I also didn't know about the flashlight and music control -- thanks again!

-Matt