Grokr launches on iOS and tries to one-up Google Now

posted by Michael H. / Dec 12, 2012, 3:01 PM

Grokr launches on iOS and tries to one-up Google Now

The intelligent push wars seem to be starting in earnest as the first real Google Now competitor has launched. The app is called Grokr and is currently only available for iOS, but in addition to bringing you the content you would expect from a Google Now competitor, Grokr tries to one-up Google Now in a few different ways.

As you'd expect, Grokr brings sports scores, weather, traffic, and local results to your iOS device, all without you needing to look for the information first. The key difference between Grokr and Google Now is where the data comes from. Google Now obviously uses the newly implemented Unified Privacy Policy to pull information from various Google services like Gmail, Calendar, and Search to provide you with relevant information.

Grokr connects to your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn in order to generate that same data. So, if you're not a big Google user, this would be a great alternative, and it also gives you interesting headlines and news based on your social feeds, much like Flipboard. Grokr also gives you information about your favorite bands, and movies that you may be interested in, rather than just showtimes based on things you've searched for like Google Now. The app offers push notifications, and the visuals are prettier than the relatively plain Google Now cards.

Overall, Grokr looks like a nice option. It seems to try to predict your interests a bit more than Google Now, and it definitely has an awesome name (we kind of wish that Google Now were actually called Google Grok, but Google is trying to be a little less nerdy these days.) The only real downside that we can see with Grokr is that it is iOS only right now. It would be interesting to see this app going directly head to head with Google Now, especially since it would likely be able to release on a lot more Android devices since Google Now is relegated to Android 4.1+ right now.

If you've got an iOS device and want to give Grokr a shot, just head over to the iTunes App Store.

source: Grokr

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15 Comments

1. natesvlogs

Posts: 40; Member since: May 15, 2012

Grokr is a terrible name

posted on Dec 12, 2012, 3:05 PM 2

5. MichaelHeller

Posts: 2734; Member since: May 26, 2011

I take it you haven't read "Stranger in a Strange Land"?

posted on Dec 12, 2012, 3:40 PM 0

2. nnaatthhaannx2

Posts: 820; Member since: Oct 19, 2011

May I ask why the video is uploaded on your Youtube account?

posted on Dec 12, 2012, 3:07 PM 1

4. MichaelHeller

I fixed that. Copied over the wrong code. Now it's the video direct from Grokr embedded.

posted on Dec 12, 2012, 3:39 PM 0

6. nnaatthhaannx2

"No video with supported format and MIME type found"

posted on Dec 12, 2012, 3:53 PM 0

7. MichaelHeller

Ah, I see, works in Chrome, not Firefox. Let me check the code.

posted on Dec 12, 2012, 4:17 PM 0

8. MichaelHeller

Yeah, Firefox hates embedded MP4s so I'm just switching back to YouTube. Don't know why Grokr couldn't just make an easily embedded video, it's in their best interest anyway.

posted on Dec 12, 2012, 4:29 PM 0

9. MorePhonesThanNeeded

Posts: 645; Member since: Oct 23, 2011

Also Google Now is available to any Android device running 4.1, I have it on my DNA and my GF has it on her SGS3 on T-Mobile. That Grokr name is a bit on the ugly side to even look at. After watching the video I am wondering, how in the hell does Grokr know anything about you to even give you information relevant to what your interests are? I mean LinkedIn, facebook don't actually have that information listed, I just want to know how it will magically figure all this out? It does look pretty good, but I was a little worried with that whole it will give you trending news and such which to me sounds like annoying pop ups in my web browser. Hope it's actually a great app that succeeds on all platforms, nothing better that exposure.