个人数字助理服务上演三国杀

超越智能手机

    苹果Siri、谷歌Google Now以及微软Cortana三者的又一关键区分点在于它们在手机之外所接入的生态系统。个人助理只有随时陪伴我们左右，才能真正发挥作用。因此，微软、苹果和谷歌正努力使各自的服务登陆更多设备，而不仅仅是手机和平板电脑。

    今年三月，谷歌宣布，Google Now的信息和建议将出现在已登陆用户的谷歌Chrome Web浏览器中。而当时Cortana已出现在必应主页上。至于Siri将则成为CarPlay平台的基石，CarPlay使iOS得以登陆汽车仪表盘。这些公司未来将向哪些领域扩张？桌面操作系统和搜索引擎都有可能，此外还有视频游戏机和电视机。比如微软的Xbox就已经能通过语音控制。至于新兴的可穿戴设备市场，那就更不用说了，其中就包括谷歌的智能眼镜产品Glass。在有限的小屏上，在恰当的时间显示合适的信息将是关键所在。

    在所有这些渠道中，数字助理充当的只是一个门面。科技公司在帮助我们安排个人生活的同时获得了海量的个性化用户数据。这不仅对企业有利，而且有助于服务不断改善。至少，那些正在宣传数字助理技术的公司是这么说的。

    IDC研究总监弗朗西斯科•杰罗尼莫说：“关键在于在多个平台间分享数据和相同的性能，不论是笔记本电脑、Xbox，还是平板设备。对用户而言，重要的是以十分简单的方式将一切组织在一起，而且能在不同的地方访问这些内容。在办公桌上、平板电脑上以及开车时在车里都能获得同样的体验……这一点确实非常强大，而且对用户极具价值。（财富中文网）

    译者：项航

Beyond the smartphone

    Another crucial differentiating factor for these digital assistants are the ecosystems they're plugged into beyond the mobile phone. A personal assistant can only be truly useful if it follows us everywhere. This is why Microsoft, Apple, and Google are working to bring their respective services to many more devices, and not just phones and tablets.

    In March, Google announced that Google Now's information and suggestions would appear in the Google Chrome Web browser for users who were signed in. Cortana, meanwhile, has already appeared on the Bing homepage. As for Siri, it's set to be the cornerstone of the new CarPlay platform that brings iOS to automobile dashboards. Where can these companies expand next? Desktop operating systems and search engines are likely candidates as are video game consoles and television sets. Microsoft's Xbox can already be controlled by voice, for example. And that's to say nothing of the nascent market for wearable computers, of which Google's Glass is a part. On small, limited displays, presenting the right information at the right time will be crucial.

    In all of these channels, the digital assistant serves as a facade. In exchange for helping with our lives, technology companies receive endless streams of personalized data about us. That's not just good for business, it's also useful in helping the service continue to improve. At least, that's the argument given by companies that are promoting digital assistant technology.

    "It's about sharing the data and the same performance across multiple platforms, whether it's a laptop, Xbox, or tablet device," says Francisco Jeronimo, research director for IDC. "What's important for me as a user is bringing everything along the way in a very easy way, and having the content available in different places. Having the same experience at my desk or on a tablet or in the car when I'm driving ... that's really powerful and extremely valuable for users."