Lost the TV remote again? Don’t worry, says Google. In the future you’ll be able to verbally instruct your TV to turn off and on, change channel, and even flag the next rerun of Seinfeld for you — all using your Android phone as the microphone.
That’s according to a patent the search giant filed a week before Apple launched the iPhone 4S and Siri, the voice-based personal assistant. (Coincidence? Yeah, we think so.) The patent, uncovered by Patently Apple, describes a system of voice controls that connects to Google’s cloud services — meaning if you have no data coverage or Wi-Fi where the TV is, you’re out of luck.
The advantage of doing things that way, however, is that you can turn the TV on wherever you are, and choose something to fit your mood. So you could be pulling into the driveway and asking your phone to prepare a sitcom you can wind down with when you reach the couch. (We’re not sure exactly how much of a labor-saving advantage that confers, but if Google also has a patent that can tell your fridge to prepare a beer for you, we’re all for it.)
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