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Siri Envy? Iris Brings Some Voice-Assistant Features to Android

Posted by timothy on from the backhanded-compliment dept.

Of all the upgrades that distinguish the new iPhone 4S from its predecessors, probably the feature that's gotten the most attention is the voice-based personal assistant app called Siri, which allows a user to accomplish certain tasks almost entirely by voice. A few days ago, as reported by TechCrunch, a team of Android developers came up with an Android equivalent to Siri called Iris (spell that backwards). It took them only 8 hours to have a working, if imperfect, app to play with and submit to the Android Market. This quick video review of Iris says the app is unpolished, but shows promise. For now, it generates some accurate results, and some amusing ones.

56 of 402 comments (clear)

  1. Just like Siri... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Except not at all. Complete misses the point, again.

    1. Re:Just like Siri... by sarhjinian · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's close enough for spec-sheet comparisons, which is pretty much what many Android manufacturers (and more than a few fans of the platform) fall back on.

      Butbubut, it's got Super-Ultra-XVSAMOLED, 4+MEGA LTE-MAX and 2TB of flash. As soon as Fruitcake or Peach Flan comes out, it'll totally crush iOS!! Well, yeah, right now it might be a little buggy, and yeah, the interface hangs on occasion, and perhaps it's limited to 3G until the manufacturer releases an update that your carrier might not actually support, but the potential is there! Honest!

      Disclosure: I have, and really like, my BlackBerry 9900; I've no skin in this game per se, but Apple really does present a cohesive, usable platform with most of the rough edges filed off. Maybe, maybe ICS will have closed the gap, but this kind of relentless focus on user experience isn't really Android's forte any more than Ubuntu comes even remotely close to Mac OS X.

      Disclosure 2: I own both a PlayBook, iPad and LG Optimus Pad. The first and last, despite having box specs that more or less than meet Apple's unit, don't best the daily experience. For example, the PlayBook can play back 1080p; the iPad can maybe manage 720p, but the PlayBook's browser stutters and it's a bastard to type on and it lacks native e-mail. The LG has an even more broken browser (yes, you can get alternatives; they're not much better than stock) and a marginally-better keyboard, and the home screen stutters. How, in this day and age, can you ship a tablet with a subpar browser and mail client, when the 800lb Gorilla in the market nails all the basics perfectly. So they can both play back 1080p and both support Flash? So what?

      Half-assed chasing of Siri is the same kind of thing. Apple doesn't own a big chunk of the market (and a bigger chunk of it's profits) because they have the most powerful, first out of the blocks and/or most open. They're doing it because their stuff doesn't exceed consumers' fiddle tolerance.

      --
      --srj/mmv
    2. Re:Just like Siri... by ghjm · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I have an HTC Evo and an Apple iPad, so I'm well aware of the capabilities and limitations of both Android and iOS. Yes, there are some rough edges on Android, but there are rough edges on iOS as well. Copy and paste doesn't work very well, multitasking is (by design) mostly nonexistent, and there are many missing features. (For example, I would fuck a water buffalo to get Swype on iOS.) Cursor positioning is also better on Android.

      This idea that Apple products are magically easy-to-use and perfectly polished is BS. They are good products, usually with fantastic industrial design, and usually very attractive to look at. But there's no magic to the user interface, and Android is really every bit as good.

    3. Re:Just like Siri... by shadowfaxcrx · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Considering Apple is pushing Siri but explaining away all it's faults by claiming "uh, well, it's uh. . Still in beta," I'd say your entire post is moot.

      Siri is a gimick. It doesn't make the phone any more useful. Neither does Iris. Having a dick-measuring contest between the two is stupid, especially since they BOTH suck right now, and BOTH will presumably get better.

      --
      "I disagree with you" does not equal "flamebait."
    4. Re:Just like Siri... by brunes69 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If it responds more than 25% of the time with a useful response, then yes indeed it is nothing like Siri.

      If it responds with a useful response less than 25% of the time, then yeah it is pretty much the same.

    5. Re:Just like Siri... by netsharc · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah, the first iPhone OS was well thought-of and intuitive, but after that it just relies on the user having to know some secrets to get it to work, e.g., who would've figured out that double-tapping the Home button on the lock screen would load Siri? That to move icons, group or delete apps on the home screen you have to hold them until they wiggle, and to group them you have to drag one onto another? Intuitive my butt...

      Not that Android apps are any better. On some apps, hitting back actually means "go to the previous screen", even if that means leaving that app. But on my music player, if I load it, it goes to the "Now Playing" screen, which is the least useful screen since I can pause or skip songs on that screen, but I can do that from outside the app as well, so why would it show me that screen? Ok this is just nitpicking, it can't read my mind. But usually I open up the music app because I want to load up a different song. So I press the music app icon, I see the "Now playing" screen. Let's see, how do I see all songs? I press the menu button. No such option. I hit back. Ah, there it is. Real fucking intuitive..!

      --
      What time is it/will be over there? Check with my iPhone app!
    6. Re:Just like Siri... by CharlyFoxtrot · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Siri is a gimick. It doesn't make the phone any more useful.

      I used to think this about voice control, then Apple made it work in the iPhone 4 and now I use it a lot. Everything is a gimmick until someone does it well enough.

      --
      If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
    7. Re:Just like Siri... by arun84h · · Score: 2

      Apple really does present a cohesive, usable platform with most of the rough edges filed off.

      Those rough edges aren't just filed off, they're rounded.

    8. Re:Just like Siri... by immaterial · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Exactly. Might as well say "The GUI is a gimmick. It doesn't make the phone any more useful." because you can do things via the command line instead. The command line is in many ways more flexible and more powerful, but for a lot of everyday tasks a GUI is just plain simpler and faster.

      I use Siri all the time, even when I'm not driving/hiding the phone in my jacket. Earlier today, I told Siri, "Remind me when I leave the house in the morning, or by noon, that I need to stop by Mom's house and fix her router." 5 seconds to say + 5 seconds for Siri to process and confirm, and my reminder was set up. I certainly could have done this manually, but Find Reminders app -> Open Reminders app -> Add new reminder -> Add "when I leave the house" geofence criterion -> Add "At noon tomorrow" criterion -> Type "Stop by Mom's house and fix her router" into description field -> Save is unquestionably going to take longer.

      Voice control is far more than just a gimmick.

    9. Re:Just like Siri... by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2

      Apple, at least, gives you a magnifying bubble that makes it possible to select text and place the cursor. On Android it's a total crapshoot.

      Frankly, iOS magnifying bubble is more annoying than it is helpful, because, with the image distorted, it's often rather disorienting. The only thing that's really needed is for the cursor to be above the finger, not under it. For an example of this done right, look at Windows Phone (7.5). That said, even on Android, it varies from phone to phone, because some manufacturers do change Google's default.

      Full multitasking makes sense in a multiwindow environment. It's useless on a device designed around an interface that's single-app-full-screen.

      The fact that all tablets are still single-app-full-screen (courtesy of Apple, since they have set the trend) is, frankly, abominable. There are many reasons to have two apps open side-by-side. Yes, something along the lines of a simple tiling window manager is better on a tablet than full-blown desktop with a windows, but why no-one has offered that so far is a mystery. Now that something similar was demoed as a feature in Win8, I wonder how long it'll take for it to appear in iPad - touted as a major innovation, no doubt.

      Most people wouldn't bother with Swype. I mean, yes, it works, but it would piss off 95% of consumers. It's worse than Graffiti in that it requires you to re-learn something so basic and fundamental that it's practically intuitive.

      Swype doesn't require you to relearn anything, since keyboard layout is exactly the same - the only difference is that you don't raise the finger when going from key to key. Furthermore, it works just as well in "regular tap" mode, so there is no learning curve there - you use it if you want or ignore it if you don't like it,

      That's because smartphone multitasking generally does not work well, that the devices aren't designed for it, that people don't really use it, and that Apple only added it once processing power made it reasonable

      Oh look, someone who had never seen a Symbian smartphone.

    10. Re:Just like Siri... by bloodhawk · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I had a good laugh all week at a few people trying to use the FAIL that is Siri at work, it seems apple forgot that the majority of the world doesn't talk with an american accent. It is less accurate than the voice activation on phones from 4 or 5 years ago.

    11. Re:Just like Siri... by Dr.+Hellno · · Score: 2

      I've been an android partisan since way back, but credit where credit is due: Siri blows Voice Search out of the water. On my Galaxy S II, I can say "Send text to Bob... Hi Bob" and the result is a text to no one with "To Bob hi Bob" in the body. This is a well documented bug. I can say "set an alarm for two minutes from now", which results in being told I need to download a CLOCK from android market. This is another well documented bug (hilariously, it sometimes searches google for the phrase instead, and the first result is a thread on the google forums saying "set alarm does not work").
      Siri isn't a big enough deal that I'd trade in my Galaxy for it, but still, it's a piece of software without a contemporary equal, and there's no point in pretending otherwise.

    12. Re:Just like Siri... by blackest_k · · Score: 2

      voice command so far to me has always been pure entertainment and of no practical use what so ever

      one christmas i set up a nokia 3310 to dial a number automatically the key word was "arse" it was hilarious after 5 minutes sounding like a farmer with tourettes my brother and sister dying of laughter watching me try to get it to dial, it did so.

      A later phone with windows mobile was little better, the american bitch just couldn't understand a british accent and would eventually get in a huff and quit. Funny as anything to observe the conversation but no use really.

      I did sometimes get voice command to work playing mp3's but you needed to know what songs were available cool when it went to plan not so when it failed, Even on a PC it was always a struggle to get programs like dragon naturally speaking to work with any kind of accuracy. Perhaps one day voice control will be reliable but i am yet to be convinced. Still it is always good for a laugh for 5 minutes any way. i will have to test iris :)

             

      --
      Blarney Quality Restaurant, Plants
    13. Re:Just like Siri... by uglyduckling · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Really? Then you probably haven't used it in any practical way. Yesterday I asked "what's the circumference of a circle of diameter 3cm?". Try it. Now think about the practical applications, particularly when it moves out of Beta and it supports a decent hands-free way of addressing (cue Scottie "Computerrrr..."). I already use Google and Wolfram Alpha for practically any query when I'm at a computer, having an effective interface to do the same thing when I'm doing a practical task is amazing. I realise Apple didn't invent it, but as usual they've made it practical and widely available.

    14. Re:Just like Siri... by phillymjs · · Score: 2

      Siri is a gimick. It doesn't make the phone any more useful.

      The hell it doesn't. I have practically outsourced my short-term memory to the Reminders app in the last week. Anytime I need to remember something-- particularly when I'm in the car-- it's incredibly easy to hold down a button for 2 seconds and tell my phone "Remind me to [activity] at [time] and/or when I [leave/arrive] [location]". I would never use it that much if I had to set those up manually.

      Voice Control in the iPhone 3GS was a gimmick. Siri added utility to my iPhone from day one, and it's only going to get better with time.

      It's also only a matter of time before Siri moves into Mac OS X. Mark my words, in the near future one of the F keys on Apple keyboards will be a Siri button (though you'll also have the option for always-on listening and have to address the computer by name to indicate a command).

      ~Philly

    15. Re:Just like Siri... by netsharc · · Score: 2

      Well, thats just because you're an ignorant idiot who either can't read or hasn't actually owned an iPhone so you really don't have any clue what the fuck you're talking about :)

      And you're a very pleasant individual yourself, sir! (smiley face).

      And what if the user, just like the majority of computer users, just hits OK to close whatever dialog box that popped up? "Well then it's their own fault!", I suppose Mr. Superior I'm-Not-An-Ignorant-Nor-An-Idiot would say.

      --
      What time is it/will be over there? Check with my iPhone app!
  2. Why not just wave your arm in the air... by AugstWest · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...and shout, "Me too! Me too!"

    1. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by ichthus · · Score: 2

      Like Apple did when they introduced Siri? ...cuz, Android had voice recognition and commands long ago. Admittedly, Siri is superior... now. But, DON'T EVEN.

      --
      sig: sauer
    2. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by DesignShark · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's more like, "We can replicate your revolutionary new technology in 8 hours, big woop."

    3. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 5, Informative

      Siri is much more than voice recognition. However, it was not developed by Apple. It was a 3rd party application created out of a bigger AI product, and was originally going to target all the smartphone platforms. Apple simply bought the firm and the technology, and shut down development for other platforms.

    4. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by sarhjinian · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Apple didn't shout "Me too!". They quietly demonstrated how well it worked.

      There are people who are going to think Apple did it first, just like they do with GUIs, smartphones and tablets. The onus is on the whole rest of the industry to start delivering products and services that work as well as Apple's do so that Apple can't keep using that strategy. Currently, the whole rest of the industry seems content to look like chumps and, yes, "Me-too"-ists.

      --
      --srj/mmv
    5. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by CaymanIslandCarpedie · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'm still forced to have BB for work, but my wife has android. She has had a few voice apps and not sure which one she is currently using, but I think it may be called something like vlingo (or at least one of them was). She now does just about everything by voice. When she is in the car she turns on a setting and whenever she receives a text the phone announces who sent the text and reads it to her, etc, etc, etc.

      Haven't seen Siri, but seems Android has "had some apps for that" for some time.

      --
      "reality has a well-known liberal bias" - Steven Colbert
    6. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by cgenman · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Android voice recognition is equivalent to voice commands. "Open Internet Explorer... Highlight Search Box... Type 'weather, return.'"

      Siri is a heck of a lot more interesting. Siri is a first grasp at understanding intent. "Is it going to rain tomorrow?" "Text my wife that I'll be there in 5 minutes." "Remind me at 6PM tomorrow to call the doctor." "How do I get home?"

      Now, it's not perfect. Siri is damned slow, when it runs at all. And it works a lot better in the sorts of quiet places where you probably shouldn't be talking into a phone. And it was bought by apple, rather than being initially developed by them. But it's interesting in that it forms relational databases about the world around you, and starts to correlate bits of information. It's not just voice recognition, it's meaning recognition.

      --
      The ______ Agenda
    7. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by aristotle-dude · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Like Apple did when they introduced Siri? ...cuz, Android had voice recognition and commands long ago. Admittedly, Siri is superior... now. But, DON'T EVEN.

      Are you sure about that? Apple released Voice control with the iPhone 3GS on June 19, 2009 and demoed it on Jun 8, 2009. Google followed with Voice Commands in Froyo (2.2) about a year later but supporting only a fraction of the languages supported by the Apple feature.

      Siri is more advanced than Voice Control/Voice Commands in that it understands natural language, can remember things like who your wife is, where your work is and where home is and then follow commands in the future when you mention those things. It also is able to follow the context of a conversation. So if you ask about London, England in the previous question and then ask "What's the weather like today", Siri infers that you are asking about London instead of where you currently are unless if you say "What's the weather like here?".

      Siri is the off shoot of work at DARPA with SRI international on the PAL/CALO project. PAL stand for Personal Assistant that Learns. Good luck implementing AI in a couple of days.

      --
      Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
    8. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by PNutts · · Score: 3, Funny

      Siri is a heck of a lot more interesting. Siri is a first grasp at understanding intent. "Is it going to rain tomorrow?" "Text my wife that I'll be there in 5 minutes." "Remind me at 6PM tomorrow to call the doctor." "How do I get home?"

      We told SIri, "Eat shit" and she listed local restaurants in order from worst to best.

    9. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by hedwards · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And so is the equivalent that Google Voice Actions provides, apart from not being able to set appointments, I don't see anything that Siri can do that Google Voice Actions can't. The only major difference I see is natural language support with Siri, but it's still limited to the same basic list of tasks and comes with the downside of having to figure out what's being said and match that up to a particular command rather than just identifying the command.

      Looking at the list of Siri features, I'm not seeing anything that makes me want Siri.

    10. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by hedwards · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Those are all things you can do with Google Voice Actions. Admittedly you're restricted in terms of how you phrase it, but it's dishonest to suggest that any of that stuff doesn't work with Google Voice Actions.

      Siri is ultimately at a disadvantage for taking that route, because ultimately it has to have much better comprehension of the spoken words as it can't count on matching just most of the command before worrying about what to do with the input. Basically it's the difference between Palm's Graffiti and whatever you call the MS Win CE version that was much more flexible in how the user drew the letters.

    11. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by CharlyFoxtrot · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It doesn't matter if you're the first to do it, what matters is if you're the first to do it well and are successful at it. Ford wasn't the first to make cars, and yet he's remembered as the father of the modern car industry. The dustbin of history is filled with failures who were there first ( and Apple nearly went in that dustbin once.)

      --
      If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
    12. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 2

      What? Seriously. Who uses the english like that?

      Siri rocks because of how it does those things. If I can't use natural language then that is the real disadvantage.

      --
      Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
    13. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by Keen+Anthony · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Good question about younger generations. Just accept that the younger generation can never full grasp history because they will only ever learn about the products that either made it or that became legendary despite failing. That's why living it firsthand is such an awesome thing. That said, I'm tired of people with that Tourette Syndrome-like need to point out that Apple didn't invent X or Y. Apple is constantly the first to deliver new technologies as stock as opposed to a third-party tacked on upgrade. Regarding Siri, I truly don't give a damn if Apple didn't create the technology behind it. From all I've read, Apple hasn't attempted to conceal the fact that the tech comes from elsewhere, and I know of no Apple fanatics who are declaring that Apple invented it. What I have seen are Apple haters claim that Apple lovers are constantly making such statements. Apple merely has masterfully integrated that technology with a good product, and then shipped that product out to customers at a price that makes the product very accessible. And because Apple excels at doing this, Apple creates new markets and reduces the risks for the guys who follow. That is pure genius. And I say this as I look a Moto Xoom and wonder to myself: $800? How the hell did Motorola expect to sell any? Now, I don't know if I can ever use Siri. For me, there's something eerie about talking to a computer device and having it talk back. No thanks. I'd stick to good old Virtual Girlfriend Teri!

    14. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by Man+On+Pink+Corner · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Probably 33% of Siri's utility right there, completely overlooked by everyone.

      That remaining 67% is pretty important, it turns out. Google's voice-search app has been available for a long time on the iPhone as well, but it doesn't know what to do with Remind me to pick up lettuce at the grocery store or Wake me in two hours. (Also, and sadly typical of Google these days, its usability has degraded over time due to Google apparently hiring a team of monkeys on meth to maintain it, but that's neither here nor there.)

      I could point to several posts I made when the 4S was announced (on other forums with other account names) mocking the idea behind Siri and speech recognition in general. I got my phone a couple of days ago, and I am singing a different tune now. Siri is unquestionably more useful than a simple voice-search app.

      Siri is not "awesome" by any means... but, because it has a ridiculously good speech recognizer, and because its back end runs on a central server with every single instance of attempted usage available to the developers for refinement and curation, I believe it will indeed reach the "awesome" level eventually. Search is nowhere near the most important part of a system like this.

    15. Re:Why not just wave your arm in the air... by am+2k · · Score: 2

      Dude, seriously, "she"?

      Yes PNutts, don't anthropomorphize her, she doesn't like that.

  3. "How is Iris like Siri?" by tomhudson · · Score: 4, Funny

    You asked "How is Iris like Siri?"
    "One moment ... I don't know."

    "How is Iris different from Siri?"
    You asked "How is Iris different from Siri?"
    "One moment ... Iris is backwards."

    "Should this have been posted on slashdot?"
    You asked "Should this have been posted on slashdot?"
    "One moment ... That is what idle.slashdot.org is for."

    "Do I look lame talking to my phone when nobody's there?"
    You asked "Do I look lame talking to my phone when nobody's there?"
    "As opposed to the rest of the time?"

    1. Re:"How is Iris like Siri?" by Culture20 · · Score: 2

      "Siri Envy?"
      You asked "Are you envious of Siri?"

      "We are here to talk about you, not me. Is it because of your mother that you ask me about are you envious of Siri?"

  4. No, Siri-ously by xkr · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This reminds me of when the Chinese tried to copy a 747. They made it out of wood, and got the center of gravity wrong. Is it a plane?

    In the youtube demo, it missed every question.

    --
    I will create a sig when innovation restarts in the U.S.
  5. Re:Jeez by Nidi62 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Does Android do anything original?

    Because Siri is original? And so is a black rectangle with rounded edges?

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  6. Re:Speaking of missing the point... by bmuon · · Score: 2

    I think the ones that missed the point were the developers and reporters. The whole point of an AI helper is that it behaves as if it were alive, and there is absolutely no way you can accomplish that in 8 hours of work. It's the details that matter for the life-like experience, not the general idea.

  7. Re:Jeez by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 5, Informative

    Siri was developed from technology created at the SRI in Palo Alto. It was a company which used technology spun of from CALO and PAL, two major (and intertwined) research initiatives funded partially by public funds. Siri spun off and began developing for iOs, Android and the Blackberry.

    Apple simply bought Siri and shut down development for Android and the Blackberry. The core technologies remain available at https://pal.sri.com/Plone - it is not a matter of Apple having developed anything original at all.

  8. A few hours? by __aazsst3756 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    mmmmk.

    The real Siri grew out of one of the largest artificial intelligence Darpa funded projects ever. Then SRI raised 24 million to continue development. Then Apple bought the company and threw a lot of man hours refining it further.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siri_(software)

    And they successfully copied it in a few hours? Should fit right in on the Android app store.

    1. Re:A few hours? by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The core technology is available for download from SRI's website. Siri had exclusive licensing within a domain, but that was with the understanding that it would be cross-platform in the smart-phone sector. If Apple doesn't restart development for Android etc., it may make an interesting case whether they can keep exclusivity on non-iOs platforms.

  9. Re:Its stupid like Siri is stupid. by DJRumpy · · Score: 2

    You should probably tell that to the people who have been working on voice recognition for decades. There is an obvious want/need for it, and only now is the processing power available via either the net or locally to make it worthwhile. This has been the geek dream for years to be able to talk to their computer (star trek). Claiming it's a non-story smacks of a little envy. I have no doubt that the Android developers will eventually get something more workable and similar to Siri, but this is not it.

    The demo looks more like pre-alpha.

  10. Re:attention editors: by RoFLKOPTr · · Score: 2

    do you even north checking if things like links work?

    It's not like anybody clicks those things... so why bother?

  11. Very much a work in progress by general_re · · Score: 4, Funny

    Some sample queries I fed Iris:

    Q: Where can I get a cheeseburger?
    A: The bank.

    Q: What's the weather like in (my town) tomorrow?
    A: Now in (my town) the temperature varies between low points of 26C and highs of 36C (79F and 97F). The conditions are light rain showers during the day. The day after that the temperature will vary between 26C and 37C (79F and 99F) and the conditions will be sunny weather.

    (It didn't rain today, and despite the impressive range of temps - way to cover your bases, Iris - it still muffed the highs for today and tomorrow.)

    Q: What time is it in Hong Kong?
    A: October 23rd 2011, 8:24:52 HKST

    Q: Where is the nearest Wal Mart?
    A: Probably Washington. It's a state border.

    (I live on the east coast.)

    Q: What's the population of Canada?
    A: The population of Canada is approximately 33,100,000.

    Q: How far is it from Chicago to New York?
    A: 1,145.16 kilometers (711.57 miles).

    Q: Where can I get a recipe for cheesecake?
    A: En la esquina, con minifalda.

    (Yes, it really said that in Spanish.)

    So, yeah - a work in progress. It had no trouble recognizing every single question, it just fell down on many of the answers.

    --
    ABSURDITY, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.
    1. Re:Very much a work in progress by aristotle-dude · · Score: 4, Funny

      Some sample queries I fed Iris:
      Q: Where can I get a recipe for cheesecake?

      A: En la esquina, con minifalda.
      (Yes, it really said that in Spanish.)

      So, yeah - a work in progress. It had no trouble recognizing every single question, it just fell down on many of the answers.

      Oh, man that was awesome. Thanks for making my day.

      En la esquina, con minifalda. English:"In the corner, wearing a miniskirt."

      --
      Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
  12. Actually by Superken7 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually, if you really want to see anything that comes close to Siri, it's speaktoit. It's available for free from the Android Market and is very similar to Siri.

  13. ....and it still is useless. by brunes69 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think anyone in the media talking up Siri has never actually tried to use the thing. It hardly every understands what you want the first time without clarification, it doesn't work without a constant network location, it can't read back any answers to queries (just pops stuff up on the screen)... its pretty much useless as a real voice control solution. And yes, I *DO HAVE IT* unlike some reviewers.

    1. Re:....and it still is useless. by Smurf · · Score: 2

      I don't understand the hype - Android had awesome voice actions before iPhone did.

      Actually, no. Apple introduced Voice Control with the iPhone 3GS in June, 2009.. Android had some incipient voice commands capabilities since the beginning, but they were only marginally useful since Donut in September, 2009, and only became really useful (to the point of and surpassing the old iPhone's Voice Control capabilities) with Froyo.

  14. Re:Vlingo does it better. by BasilBrush · · Score: 2

    Yes, it's been out on Android for a year. Which means it was behind all the other phone platforms for availability of Vlingo.

    BlackBerry Jun 2008
    iPhone Dec 2008
    Nokia May 2009
    Windows Mobile June 2009
    Android March 2010

    The difference with Vlingo is the processing is done on a web-service. So you need a data connection, if you have a limited data plan you'll use some of it, it doesn't integrate as well with the built-in apps as Siri does.

    As to which is better, that takes someone do do a side by side review of the two. Which I'm damn sure you haven't.

    http://www.google.co.uk/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=siri+vs+vlingo&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&ei=jG2jTrXUDNK78gP96cDKBQ

  15. Voice Actions by Space · · Score: 4, Informative

    I have been using an app called voice actions on my Android phone for several months. It does text messaging and email quite well. It seems they recently renamed it to Jeannie. Check it out instead of this useless app. Market link

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    I Don't Work Here
  16. Re:Vlingo does it better. by King_TJ · · Score: 2

    Most of the people trying to compare Android apps to Siri have clearly never really used Siri first.

    I was experimenting with several of the so called "competitors to Siri" for Android just the other night, and Vlingo was one of them (as well as a free app called Edwin that came highly recommended).

    First off, Google Voice Search: Did a good job recognizing my speech but can't even speak back any replies, so NOTHING like Siri in that respect. Additionally, poor integration in some cases. (EG. If I ask it "Where are some Italian restaurants near me?", it fires up a Google search for "some Italian restaurants near me" and many strange results come back - as one might expect from such a query. It has no clue I have a copy of the Urbanspoon app installed on my phone, which woulds have been a FAR better program to pass the Italian restaurant search query to, if it was designed more intelligently.)

    Edwin: At least it can speak replies after I ask it things, but its recognition was notably worse than Google Voice Search. Integration was lousy. I could tell it to send an SMS and it would open up the "Messages" apps on my phone, but it wouldn't let me instruct it WHO to send the SMS to or let me dictate its contents. It only knew how to act as a program launcher for the stock app, basically -- which is utterly useless if I was driving and wanted to send an SMS hands-free or what-not.

    Vlingo: Somewhere between the above two in voice recognition skills. Again, integration is only half-baked though. Very limited vocabulary it understands too, so you have to study its built-in help to see what you can say to it -- or else constantly get "I didn't understand that." type replies back. Also, has advertising in the free version so really, you have to pay for this to get a fully working and non-annoying edition.

  17. don't get it by Tom · · Score: 2

    Another bunch of freaks who just don't get it.

    The polish and the fact that the Apple stuff is finished when it hits the street is what makes a good part of it's appeal. Don't confuse "finished" with "perfect", it isn't. I have a couple remarks on what could/should be improved. But I've not gotten the impression of getting a half-finished DIY product as with Linux or Android (don't get me wrong, for some things, that's exactly what I want. But not for my phone).

    8 hours can give you a prototype. It'll take at least a couple weeks before you can consider it "done".

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  18. Re:Jeez by Tom · · Score: 2

    it is not a matter of Apple having developed anything original at all.

    No, but it's a matter of Apple polishing it and turning a voice-recognition prototype into a personal assistant. The true strength of Apple has never been revolutionary innovation. It has always been turning innovation into great products. The first Apple computers didn't do anything that was not available elsewhere - but "elsewhere" meant either a hefty bill, several times that of the Apple machine, or it meant DIY.

    Same for their recent successes. The iPod didn't invent the MP3 player, but it took the market by storm because it took the technology available and turned it into something lots of people wanted.

    Same with the iPhone.

    Same with Siri now. Yes, I consider that seperate from the iPhone. I'm sure that once it has served its purpose as a driver for iPhone 4S sales, it will find its way into other Apple products. I'd love to have Siri on my iMac.

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    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  19. Recognises words, that's about it. by Bitsy+Boffin · · Score: 2

    I just installed it...

    ME: what is the weather like in Christchurch tomorrow
    It Recognised: what is the weather like in costume tomorrow
    It Replied: There is no weather

    Tried again...
    ME: what is the weather like in Christchurch tomorrow
    It Recognised: what is the weather like in christ church tomorrow
    It Replied: I don't know I don't live there.

    ME: where is the nearest bank of new zealand
    It replied: Hell if I know.

    ME: where am I
    It replied: Where Am I? is the abumn by Mike Johnson published November 7th 1994

    Me: what is my current location
    It: You have no brother.

    Me: what time is it
    It: (gives correct time, but in UTC, not local)

    Me: how long is it until 4pm
    It Recognised: how long is it from 214
    It Replied: How long is a day?

    Me (replying to question): Yes
    It Recognised: kids
    It Replied: Kids is the school and non-business organization, in Northside Independant School District

    Me: Remind me at 9pm to go and buy milk
    It Recognised: remindme at 9 pm to go in hawaii
    It Replied: I have two pets.

    Me: What time is it in Tunguska
    Recognised: what time is it in english
    Replied: it is 4:40 in England

    Me: Where is siberia
    Replied: Wherever you make it I guess

    Me: How do I get to blenheim road
    Recognised: how do I get to clean a micro
    Replied: By plane.

    Me: Give me directions to jelly place
    Recognised: give me directions to chelsea place
    Replied: it's a garage

    Soooooo... yeah, the developers of this seem to have done little more than wrap around google voice search to provide rather abstract one liner spoken responses. An amusement. Nothing more.

    --
    NZ Electronics Enthusiasts: Check out my Trade Me Listings
  20. Siri,Are you kidding me? Android Rules! by dontgetshocked · · Score: 2

    Android,i.e. Google has long had this feature and even now has the worlds best speech recognition person working for them.The list is pretty good of software out there for speech recognition for Android.There is Vlingo (my favorite) ,DriveSafe.ly Pro,FlexT9,ChaCha,Voice Actions,Assistant and much more.We did it first and will continue to do it best Just like Microsoft Apple buys up other companies and uses there technology instead of there own and says,hey look at us,we are cool,(Not) ! Just saying!

  21. Re:Jeez by Tom · · Score: 2

    Siri was a good way along. But to become a real PA, it needed more integration. Here's a Siri review of the App Store version:
    http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/04/siri-iphone-personal-assistant/

    As you can see easily, it integrated with a lot of websites, but little on the phone itself. But that's exactly what you want in a PA - make calls, set reminders (real ones, not the "send me an email" kind of the original Siri app), interface with contacts, calendar and all the other data you already have on there.

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    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  22. Re:Vlingo does it better. by BitZtream · · Score: 2

    Siri also requires a data connection to function.

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