So I was one of the happiest person alive last night when I finally got myself an android phone that runs on the latest Android Jellybean that comes with the feature I blogged all about in my last entry – Google Now…

In case you don’t know what Google Now does, here’s a video showing just 40+ of the gazillion amazing things it can do!

Cool leeehhhh…

The torture…
Of course I immediately unboxed my new toy, got the device configured and hooked up everything to move my entire social life over to my new beloved phone and then it happened…

My Google Now looked like this!

I could only do “Voice-based” Google search and it didn’t show me weather report, no traffic conditions as shown in my last blog – it was just a PLAIN BORING search box and it didn’t SPEAK… I was at the peak of depression… Noooo…

The solution…
So after hours of meddling with the phone and growing an extra pimple at the cheek, I finally found the problem. It was the language issue!

When I first set the phone, it asked me what language did I speak – I selected :

“English (Malaysia)”

To get Google Now to start talking and have ALL the features enabled, you MUST select “English (US)”

Step 1 – Set your Language & Keyboard to “English (United States)”

Settings > Language & Keyboard (some manufacturers call it locale) > System Language

Problem is, you may have all the types of “English” in the world but no “English (United States)”

At this point, I was plucking every strand of hair I’ve got in my nostril… Then I found this!

This app from Google Play can set your phone’s system language to literally ANY language available in the Android world and YES, it’s got English (United States)

Just select it & voila you’re half way there! At this point, your Google Now will look similar to this joyyyy!

Step 2 – Ensure Google Now speaks English (US)

Open Google Now > Tap the 3 dashes at the bottom right > Settings > Voice > Language > English… > English (US)

Step 3 – Ensure your Google Account’s Search History is “ON”

By default, this feature is turned on. Some people may have turned if off. As some features on Google Now works better by tracking your searches on Google, it’s best to enable Search History.

How to enable search history?

Goto http://www.google.com/history & sign in with your Gmail account (or create one)

In Google History, click on the “gear” icon on the top right and click settings…

Ensure that Google History is turned on – if you see the “resume” button – make sure you click it to enable Google History.

Step 4 – Enjoy!
That’s it Enjoy Google Now and start talking to your phone all day long!