Happy Monday.
Tech that is always listening
Fresh on the heels of the news that XBox One will always be listening, comes a rumor that the upcoming Moto X will also have passive listening capabilities. Add this to the long list of technology that feels invasive and creepy for consumers, but will be extremely useful for work.
Since the rumor slipped that Google Glass would passively listen for commands, I’ve been thinking that interaction would be perfect for enterprise users. One failing of Siri and Google’s voice features is that they are too purposeful, i.e. you have to remember to use them and make them part of your flow. Although the same is true for passive listening devices, you are removing barriers, i.e. picking up the device and opening the app that you plan to use.
Back to enterprise users, imagine you’re a mobile worker, like live in your car mobile. I think you’d find a passively listening assistant that can do stuff for you while you’re driving to be very helpful. This is why so many cars offer hands-free features for phones and why Apple is interested in the car dashboard. But this solution one-ups those integrations by skipping the car integration.
Creepy for everyday consumers, but useful at work.
IFTTT for iPhone
One of my favorite services, IFTTT launched an iPhone app. When I first saw the headline, I skipped it because I don’t carry any iOS devices. Love IFTTT, don’t really care about iOS. At some point, I skimmed the coverage.
The reason this matters is that IFTTT didn’t just create an app to manage your recipes on your phone, they built recipes tied to phone actions in three standard iOS apps, Reminders, Photos and Contacts.
This type of automation has always been a differentiator for Android, e.g. apps like Llama and Tasker, and it’s great to see it come to iOS, albeit in a watered-down version. Check out this review of Tasker if you want an overview; it does pretty cool stuff.
Smartphones are huge parts of our lives, and automation based on their activity and sensors is an easy way to chart what you do and tie together various services.
OK Maps
I still don’t have the new-and-improved version of Google Maps, but this seems important. To save a map offline, type “OK Maps” into search. Keep that one in your back pocket.
Chromebooks defy analysts
Despite the gutting of the PC market by tablets, shipments of Chromebooks have grown and taken market share.
