by There’s been a lot of talk lately about how Google Now is Android’s secret weapon in the mobile platform wars with iOS. If Siri is a digital “assistant”—taking your instructions, sending messages, and updating your calendar—Google Now is more of a concierge, reminding you of that next appointment, checking the weather for you, and generally anticipating your needs. No good idea remains unexploited for long, though, and this week brought forth Osito, a free “predictive intelligence” iPhone app that offers many of the most prominent features of Google Now.
Osito wants to tie deeply into your phone’s services.
To do that job, though, Osito ties into a range of information already offered on your phone. You’ll have to give it access to location services and to your calendar; you’ll also want to enable push notifications. It’s not required that you give the app access to your Google account, though you may want to if you do any of your scheduling through Google Calendar. (The company promises to keep all of this data private.)
After you’re tied into the app, Osito offers a number of services: It looks at your schedule, where your next meeting is at, and where you’re located, then gives you a nudge when it’s time to get on the road to arrive on time at that event. If the weather is going to be wet, windy, or in any way unusual during that trip, the app alerts you to that, too. Similarly, if there’s a traffic jam on your route, the app will let you know—offering you new directions and the opportunity to alert any contacts at your destination that you might be late.
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