By Google Schemer has been sitting in the Google Play Store for quite some time now, but it’s nowhere near one of Google’s most popular applications. With just 500,000 – 1,000,000 downloads in the Play Store, some folks might not even know what it is.
What is Google Schemer?
Google Schemer is a pretty quirky augmentation for Google’s social experience. Simply put, it’s an app that will help you get ideas on what to do based on what’s going on in the world around you. If it’s raining in your area, Schemer might suggest you stay inside, pop some popcorn, and watch a movie. If you end up at your favorite restaurant, Schemer could urge you to pick between one of several dishes.
Whatever you “scheme” to do, it’s all shared with your friends and family through Google+. Heck, you could even make it a group thing and invite your friends to come “scheme” with you. If you can’t find a certain scheme through searching, you can create your own and “inspire” others to complete them, as well.
The app features a map view that can show you schemes in specific areas, so even if you don’t have an idea of where you’re going before you get there you’ll easily be able to find schemes in that area.
Where else could Schemer be used?
Google has already used Google+ to make Schemer more social, but what if they also used Google Now? Wouldn’t it be the perfect subset of features for a platform that’s already location aware and search driven? Think about it. Google Now already knows what the weather is like right outside your door, and it already knows what your interests are based on your searches and (yes, believe it) email.
Imagine being able to ask Google Now to show you a list of things you could do on a given day, or having it show you a list of schemes that would be perfect for you based on where you are. Later on, Google Now could check up on you and ask if you’ve completed it, and offer to post your accomplishment to Google+ if you have.
What purpose would it serve?
For starters, integrating Google Schemer and Google Now would help to give the service some much needed exposure. Google couldn’t possibly force it on users, of course, but a nudge here and there wouldn’t hurt. The biggest thing hurting Schemer right now is that a lot of people don’t know about it. It’s social, so it’s not fun if none of your friends are hip to it.
It could also be a way to add some productivity features to Google Now without making productivity feel boring and mundane. That would mean the very fabric of Google Schemer would have to change a bit, but I’m sure any such changes would be welcomed by anyone using the service.
Google Schemer is an interesting concept, but unless Google does something to drum up more interest we fear it’s going to go the way of the Dodo bird, Google Reader, et al. Heck, the application hasn’t even been updated to take advantage of the Holo user interface yet. It feels like a forgotten, lost, red-headed step child for the time being, but hopefully Google can find a way to make this old, but unique take on social interesting again.
Take a look at Google Schemer in our quick hands-on video above, and let us know if you come up with any more interesting ways it could be integrated with Google Now (or any other Google services) in the comments section below. And if you’re interested in giving it a try, be sure to download it in the Google Play Store.
It’s funny, I just got my HTC One in the mail the other day and as it was downloading all my apps I thought to myself, “Should I re-download this? I seem to be the only one using it”. Thanks for the article and giving it some light :)
Maybe Google’s advertisers could use it to serve up instant deals based on location e.g. you pull into McDonalds, get a buy-one-get-one coupon right on your screen that can be scanned or NFC’d. Good for business, good for consumer, bad for cholesterol.
You mean like Google Offers?
I don’t think Google thinks as focussed as you are expecting them to. They barely got a half-assed attempt with Hangouts in time and now they’re just sitting on their butt while two other meager upstarts (besides WhatsApp) in the messaging space have crossed 100 million users. Not to mention, Hangouts lags like crazy compared to WhatsApp since launch on two things (compared to say, WhatsApp):
1. Opening the app on a Nexus 4
2. Populating the slide-out tray with emoticons/icons whenever you open that drawer.
But Hangout is good for group video chats. I am aware that you can do the same on Skype, but not everyone has a skype account, while most people have a gmail account.
Thanks. Now that I know what it is/does, I’m no longer puzzled by its lack of popularity.
This is the first I’ve heard of it. o.0
“Google, it’s a nice day. what should I do?”
“you could take revenge on your worst enemy. use that bat in your trunk.”
You win
never even knew this existedbut like Google+, if no one I know uses this, nor really worth the hassle
Well, never heard of it before now, so yeah…
Schemer was fun for a day…then I noticed business after business constantly shoving their products down my throat to a point I could not stand to open the app.
“What’s that Big Al’s Diner?!?! I Need to make plans to come in and try to Big Al’s Burger?!? No Thanks”
haha same here. too many businesses and not enough real people
If you want people to check it out maybe post a link. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.schemer
Thanks for bringing the app some attention. I had no clue of its exsistence. I just installed it, so we will see how it goes.
I dont understand why the link isnt in the post. Thanks for posting it here.
Thanks,
I mean I know you can just go to on your device but I read this on my computer and if you are verified you can push the install to your device from the playstore. That is actually what I did.
I did the same, on my PC, pushed to my phone.
I didn’t want to sound like an old fart, but if you’ve got time when you don’t know what to do, go find yourself a job! Damn freebie generation…
Awwww… grandpaaaaa…
the point i figured is to give you ideas what to do when youre not working. no one can work 24/7 ya know. you must be old and senile if u dont know that.
Some of us have earned our free time, or retired. Now go back to slinging burgers in the old folks’ home.
That is a vicious stereotype there sourpuss. Not all of us in this generation our freeloaders. Have you ever heard the phrase, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree?” Well, if this generation is full of freeloaders, where did the previous generation go wrong? Not to play the blame game or anything but, the way I see it, if this generation is full of freeloaders, something must’ve gone wrong with the last generation. No body passed the torch in other words. I came from a working class family and my parents did all they could to encourage to work hard and better myself. I understand that as a parent, which I am now a parent as well, you can’t force your children to do anything once they’re a legal adult; at least that’s the way I see it. That being said, I know there’s a bunch of lackluster adults out there that refused and still refuse to grow up, thereby being piss poor examples to their children (Sorry for the language but it sickens me the way some parents refuse to raise their children or have a pathetic idea of what it takes to raise a child). I am not the Occupy Wall Street Generation.
And you have my sincere respect for that, John Andrew Stuart!
Thank you Unorthodox.
The end of Bioshock Infinite exploded my brain! You’ll love it, Chris!
like Bonnie responded I’m dazzled that anybody able to earn $6256 in 1 month on the internet. did you see this webpage www.KEP2.com
Wait….. what?
In the hands on video Chris said he wanted to finish playing Bioshock Infinite. I was just informing him that it is well worth it! The end of that game was brilliantly written.
I’m stuck on the final stage. I get too frustrated with it :-/ Great game overall though.
Maybe bump the difficulty down a notch just for the end? It’s worth it. The last 30 minutes were quite intriguing!
Field Trip would be a better feature. That’s pretty awesome if you dig history.
The hands on video just reminded me how much I hate the new google maps app with forced 2-handed usage for zooming. I hate pinch-to-zoom. Can’t do it with 1 hand. The old maps app had a +/- on screen button for zooming.
Am I the only person who uses their phone with 1 hand?
I do and I have a Note 2, I don’t like the maps update either. I was on the highway and had to pull over to figure out the redesign.
I miss the button as well. There is also no way to see alternate routes on the fly. You have to go all the way back and get directions again to see all of the different routes. Sucks
I found a way for 1-handed zooming on XDA devs. Double tap and hold, then slide thumb up/down for zoom control. Still miss the buttons!
Google need to include this in a tutorial. This feature is way too obscure.
You sir are a savior.
I hate new Maps, period. Both on PC and Android.
I would be ever so pleased if someone could tell me the names of the clock widget and live wallpaper apps Chris is using in this video. Though I have a sneaking suspicion they are part of the Moto X’s software.
I can’t see youtube from work, but if it’s round gauges, then it’s a part of all Moto’s phones. You can alsways check One More Clock Widget
Never heard of this app before, must check it out. Whatever Google touches is typically gold.
What phone is that ? A Nexus ? Hope its not that MOTO crap.
yes he has the moto x.
for some reason , I am getting emails about this application….Chris Chavez wants to beat Bioshock infinite from what I read..
what wallpaper is that? I want it :-p
I think that’s the iOS 7 Wallpaper. Let me go take a look. *Google searches iOS 7 Wallpaper*
I think it is… LoL!! https://www.google.com/search?q=ios%207%20wallpaper&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&authuser=0&ei=XacNUrCoEcTm2QWgvoC4Bg&biw=1292&bih=707&sei=X6cNUuDvBees2QWAkIGADw
if you look closely it is a live wallpaper. its probably in the playstore im guessing
It’s just a scheme to get you to sign up for Google+.
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It’s funny, I just got my HTC One
in the mail the other day and as it was downloading all my apps I
thought to myself, “Should I re-download this? I seem to be the only
one using it”. Thanks for the article and giving it some light :)
But it’s crazy enough… it might just work.
Or it’s not a scheme, especially if you’ve already got a Plus account.
google+ is a fail. Just get over it.
Maybe it would be called a feature and not a gimmick if it actually worked.
Your hands looks huge and the phone looks tiny for some reason.
Google invents both application service so that some are even strangers to have other options apart enough to be funny. hahahhahah
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It just reconfirmed what I already knew…. “There’s nothing to do here… Go back to sleep.”, good idea Google.
google, you already control all my data. now you want to control my life, too?