Google Desktop Search lets you set an alarm, save a reminder or send a note to your phone

Google has been improving its services over the past few days, and we learned of two new ways the company has integrated its desktop Search with Android devices: finding your phone and sending directions to yourself. It seems the company has also implemented the ability to set an alarm, save a reminder or send a note to your Android device directly from Google Search on your desktop.

To send a note to yourself, you simply search for "note to self," or "send a note." A card appears with a text field to write the content of the note and a device picker so you can choose which phone or tablet to send it to. Once that note is sent, a notification pops up on your selected device with the option to copy the text or save the note. If you tap the latter, you should see Gmail and Keep as the possible options. Alternatively, you can also write everything in the search query as in "note to self to buy bread," and the text field will be automatically populated.

To set an alarm, you can search for a generic "set an alarm," or a more specific "set an alarm for 8:00." In both cases you can edit the time before you send it to your phone. You don't get any card or notification on your device, but you should instantly see a toast message then the alarm icon pops up in the status bar.

Simply search for "set a reminder" on your desktop, and you can type a reminder's text and assign a time or location to it then send it to your devices. It will show up in Google Now's reminders and pop up when it's due.

While these searches are US-only for now, you can use them anywhere in the world with this simple workaround: add &gl=us to your search URL and the cards should show up. To use this feature, you need the latest version of the Google app for Android, Google Now cards and notifications need to be enabled, Web & App Activity has to be enabled in Google Account History. Another requirement is to log in to the same Google account on your web browser and device.

source - Google