Siri is a wanted woman. And Google's on her trail.
For the last year, Apple's iPhone app has been sucking up all the oxygen regarding voice-controlled digital assistants. Now Uncle Googs is striking back with a sassy-voiced companion of its own for iPhones. And according to the search giant, their assistant has the advantage of knowing what Google knows... basically everything.
A new web video brags that you can ask sophisticated queries like "What does Yankee Stadium look like" and get a page full of photos back. Siri, by comparison, will show you a map and driving directions. Or try "how many people live in Cape Cod" and Google's technology will read you the answer. Ironically, Siri sends you to a Google search page with the same information. You'll have to read it yourself.
Asked "what's a beluga whale," both apps offered up a wiki like platter of data. Google read the top entry and showed links. Siri was silent but offered up a pretty comprehensive data sheet on the giant sea mammal.
When it comes to evil doing, Siri is the clear winner. Finding an escort service? Check. Hiding a dead body? Check. Ask Google's app the same questions and it brings up Youtube videos showing people successfully using Siri. Ouch.
I also told Google's search app that I wanted an abortion (Apple took heat last year for not enabling Siri to help. It's since smartened up the app). But Google might need a few more IQ points to get this one right. It brought up a google search page offering a Huffington Post article (thanks for the traffic) on Republicans who want to criminalize abortion and several sites that explained the ins and outs of the procedure, but only the paid results offered a way to find a provider.
So who came out on top?
In my completely unscientific test run, Google's search app seemed about as smart as Siri. Each shined in different scenarios. But if Google has any real ambitions of being a Siri killer, it better figure out where to hide a dead body.