Google Search for iOS gets more conversational

Google is ready to take the fight to Siri with the latest update of its Search app for iOS. The voice search feature for version 4.0 is now more conversational than before. You can ask Google things like “What’s the weather” and it will respond and then you can follow it up with “How about this weekend?” to get more information. The app also has an improved Google Now integration with articles showing up from your favorite news sites and more information about upcoming trips and the like.

Source: Engadget

Google Search adds YouTube recaps to NBA scorecards

Google and the NBA have collaborated to enable YouTube video recaps to appear in NBA scorecards on Google Search. This means you can get quick updates and recaps on postseason games plus the  video highlights. Want to see that Wade to James alley oop dunk, you get the video plus other game information. This will hopefully be the start of a new way to condense and package replayable content for all sports.

Source: Android Police

Google Now helps you find your parked car

If you’ve wondered on countless occasions where you’ve parked your car, Google Now comes with the ability to remember where you left your vehicle. Google’s assistant uses your smartphone’s sensors to track when you left a moving vehicle and remember the last location you stopped at. It isn’t precise and Google admits the parking location cards might turn up even if you were commuting or getting out of a friend’s car. But if you consider having a feature like this as essential, then we're sure you'd ignore this. Of course, you can choose to turn the feature off or customize when the parking location cards will show up. This new feature is available in the latest version of Google Search on Android.

Source: The Verge

Google integrates restaurant and hotel search to Search on Android

Google is looking to help you look for restaurants or book hotels in the US through your Android smartphone. You just need ask Google to “show restaurants in…” and it will pull up search results for you. You can even customize it to the type of cuisine you want or the price range you want it to be in. The search looks like it prioritizes well-rated restaurants. Google said this is meant to make it easier for you to make last-minute reservations.

When it comes to hotel searches, Google also just needs you to type or speak inquiries such as “show me hotels in…” It collects data from various sites and even lets you customize your query to fit your needs.  While it is just currently available in the US, we’re hoping Google brings this to Canada soon.

Source: Google’s Google+ page