個人數字助理服務上演三國殺

超越智能手機

????蘋果Siri、谷歌Google Now以及微軟Cortana三者的又一關鍵區分點在于它們在手機之外所接入的生態系統。個人助理只有隨時陪伴我們左右，才能真正發揮作用。因此，微軟、蘋果和谷歌正努力使各自的服務登陸更多設備，而不僅僅是手機和平板電腦。

????今年三月，谷歌宣布，Google Now的信息和建議將出現在已登陸用戶的谷歌Chrome Web瀏覽器中。而當時Cortana已出現在必應主頁上。至于Siri將則成為CarPlay平臺的基石，CarPlay使iOS得以登陸汽車儀表盤。這些公司未來將向哪些領域擴張？桌面操作系統和搜索引擎都有可能，此外還有視頻游戲機和電視機。比如微軟的Xbox就已經能通過語音控制。至于新興的可穿戴設備市場，那就更不用說了，其中就包括谷歌的智能眼鏡產品Glass。在有限的小屏上，在恰當的時間顯示合適的信息將是關鍵所在。

????在所有這些渠道中，數字助理充當的只是一個門面。科技公司在幫助我們安排個人生活的同時獲得了海量的個性化用戶數據。這不僅對企業有利，而且有助于服務不斷改善。至少，那些正在宣傳數字助理技術的公司是這么說的。

????IDC研究總監弗朗西斯科?杰羅尼莫說：“關鍵在于在多個平臺間分享數據和相同的性能，不論是筆記本電腦、Xbox，還是平板設備。對用戶而言，重要的是以十分簡單的方式將一切組織在一起，而且能在不同的地方訪問這些內容。在辦公桌上、平板電腦上以及開車時在車里都能獲得同樣的體驗……這一點確實非常強大，而且對用戶極具價值。（財富中文網）

????譯者：項航

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."