Google Now voice search, cards could be coming to the web

via phandroid.com

Google appears to be readying a Google Now web interface for the company’s Siri-like voice search with Google’s homepage as the intended destination.

It’s no surprise that Google would bring its voice search to the web, as it already offers the service on Android and plans to bring it to iOS (Google Search for iOS currently offers real-time voice search but doesn’t support Google Now cards), and tends to have a cross-platform approach to its services as opposed to Apple’s ownership approach to its services.

Sure, Apple does have limited iCloud functionality on Microsoft’s Windows operating system and allows users to manage iCloud from a nicely designed web interface, but Apple only offers Siri on the iPhone 4S and 5, as well as the iPad mini, iPad 3 and 4, and latest iPod touch, though the upcoming release of OS X 10.9 could bring Siri to the Mac just in time to compete with Google Now on the web.

Google is notoriously more friendly toward offering its services across the more popular platforms.

Many consider Google Now to be more accurate and user-friendly than Apple’s approach to voice search with Siri. Google Now instantly shows text as it is spoken and often delivers results much faster than Siri, which doesn’t show results for many seconds after the user speaks it.

While ultimately a few seconds may not make much of a difference in accomplishing a task, it does effect how efficient voice search is compared to manually accomplishing a task.

The competition between Google and Apple should make for much more comprehensive and reliable voice search products by both companies, something which both companies could greatly improve.