'OK Google Now' comes to Verizon's 2013 Droid trio

If you’re anything like us, you’ve been wringing your hands jealously at the few thousand Google Glass-enabled humans wandering around commanding “OK Glass” as their bidding is done. We’d like to say that the solution we’ve found is to give everyone a free set of Google’s latest indulgence, Oprah-style, but that’s not the case — instead, Verizon’s new trio of Droid phones enables very similar voice-powered functionality on its Droid Mini, Ultra and Maxx handsets.

Employing Google’s popular (and delightful) Now app, Droid owners can enact a variety of (unnamed) operations, including waking up the Droid by saying “OK Google Now.” It’s also targeted at folks who are prone to losing their mobiles, as the command, “OK Google Now, call my Droid” will do just that. It’s also possible that people nearby will think you’re a crazy person, but perhaps they already did considering you’re prone to losing such an expensive and important device to your life, eh?

The Verizon-created software enhancements don’t stop there, with the trio also getting “Touchless Controls” and “Active Display”; the duo apparently work together to “let users make calls, send texts, get directions, play music, set a reminder and preview notifications hands-free without having to unlock the phone, giving Droid users a whole new way of interacting with their phones.” All three phones are available for pre-order starting today and arrive at Verizon starting on August 20th (the Mini lands August 29th).

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Software, Mobile, Verizon

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Source:Verizon Wireless

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