A new voice assistant called Hound was in the internet spotlight recently due its almost lightning speed response for queries. Hound was then put up to the test against the "trusty assistant" Google Now.
The two voice assistants were given at least 16 questions to answer, as revealed in 9 to 5 Google YouTube video. A table shows the difference between Google Now's and Hound's answer.
Query | ||
What time is it in Austin Texas? | "The time in Austin, TX is 11:13 AM." | "It is 11:13 AM in Austin, Texas on June 5, 2015." |
How old is President Obama? | "Barack Obama is 53 years old." | "Showing search results for how old is President Obama." |
Where was Obama born? | (No voice but shows search results.) | "Showing search results for where was Obama born." |
Where was the singer Adele born? | "Adele was born in Tottenham, London, United Kingdom." | "Showing search results for where was the singer Adele born." |
Show me pictures of the Eiffel Tower. | "Seventy pictures for the Eiffel Tower." | "Showing image search results for the Eiffel Tower." |
What is the Google Stock Price? | "Google Inc is Class C 536.35." | "The stock price of Google 537.04 USD, up 0.063% since yesterday." |
What is a hundred and thirty three feet in inches? | "133 feet is 1596 inches." | "1,596 inches." |
What is one hundred divided by six? | "The answer is 16.67." | "16.6667." |
What's the tip for a hundred dollars? | "A 15% tip would be $15.00." | "A 15% tip is $15.00." |
Set an alarm for 5:30 in the morning. | "OK 5 PM, setting the alarm." | "Setting the alarm for 5:30 AM." |
Tell me about restaurants in Austin that have sushi. | (No voice but shows search results.) | "Here are several places that may have sushi in Austin." |
Sushi in Austin Texas (query was repeated) | "Here are the listings for suhi restaurant." | "Here are several places that may have sushi in Austin." |
What is the population of the capital of Louisiana? | "According to Wikipedia, As the capital city, Baton Rouge is the political hub for Louisiana, and is the second-largest metropolitan city in the state, with a growing population of 229, 426 people as of 2013. The metropolitan area surrounding the city, known as Greater Baton Rouge, has a population of 820, 159 people as of 2013." | "The population of Baton Rouge is 229, 493." |
Tell me about hotels in Seattle. | "Here is Red Lion Hotel on Fifth Avenue Seattle." | "Showing ten results in Seattle." |
Tell me about hotels in Seattle that cost less than $200 per night and have at least two stars. | (No voice but shows search results.) | "OK, showing 10 results with more than 2 stars in Seattle, Washington for maximum of $200.00 per night." |
What are some interesting places to visit in Seattle? | "Attractions in Seattle include Space Needle, Pike Place Market, and others." | "Showing search results for what are some intresting places to visit in Seattle." |
Tell me about hotels in Austin, Texas that have at least two stars, costs less than $200 per night, are pet friendly, and have Wi-Fi. | (No voice but shows search results.) | "Showing ten results with more than two stars in Austin, Texas for maximum of $200.00 per night that are pet-friendly, and provide Wi-Fi." |
It should be noted that each voice assistant has unique methods in decoding the questions, especially complex ones.
When the user queried, "Tell me about hotels in Seattle that cost less than $200 per night and have at least two stars." Hound showed a smarter way of searching answers. It put, "Only the hotels in Seattle that cost less than two hundred dollars per night and have at least two stars." On the other hand, Google Now puts the exact phrase that the owner says.
When distance, time, money, and other number-related queries are asked, Google Now puts the exact number, while Hound uses words.
"Overall, there isn't really a clear winner here," said 9 to 5 Google.
This is because each has different strengths as well as weaknesses.
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