Yesterday I was able to find a custom ROM for Android 4.1.1 aka "Jelly Bean" so I upgraded my phone.  Along with Jelly Bean you get Google Now which is sort of like Googles answer to Apple's Siri virtual assistent.  In reality Google Now seems like it is a bit more than just "voice commands" and today I encountered one of those extended features.

Before I describe what happened it is important to note that this feature only works if you have search history turned on within google.  Some people have privacy concerns with using search history so your milage with Google Now may vary.  I had not had search history turned on until yesterday so my Google Now experience is limited more than it might be for others who've had search history turned on for a long time.

Today I was talking to some friends, via facebook about Cabelas and Bass stores (these are mega-sized hunting/fishing/camping stores).  A new Cabelas opened not far from where I live recently and is now in direct competition with a Gander Mountain store that has been in the same shopping area for a while.  I was curious about if Gander Mountain was also a national chain so I did a google search for "Gander Mountain" on my desktop.

After the search was completed I noticed a new notification on my phone - Google Now was providing me with directions from my current location to Gander Mountain as well as traffic conditions along the way.  While I'm not trying to get to Gander Mountain the "card" that Google Now showed me was pretty neat and would be really useful if I were trying to get to the store.

Here is a screenshot of the Google Now Card: