It was unable to understand basic commands such as "Open " without prior setup - in other words, I needed to pre-save all the Web sites I want to visit by voice command. There's a lot to remember in order to use Eva. "Add an event to my calendar" didn't work - I had to say "Create an event." Instead of "Check my calendar" I had to say "What's on my calendar today?" "Find coffeemakers on Amazon" headed me to a map I needed to say "Search coffeemakers on Amazon" to get the right search going. In addition, its natural language understanding is quite limited. The app also offers a list of 112 different help topics. This app is more difficult to use than any of the others - you have to run through a 3-minute training session when you first open it. And it lets you voice-search several sources, not only Google Web.ĭrawbacks: Customization comes at a cost - not only because of Eva's $8.99 pricetag, which is higher than the other apps covered here (although it is reasonable for a robust app), but because of its complexity. The latest update reads all the day's events from multiple Google calendars. Why you might want it: This is the only app I've tested that's customizable, allowing you to assign specific applications or Web bookmarks for personalized voice commands. It also reads text messages while in background mode. It's the only one of all the apps I tested that allows you to customize website bookmarks, so you could, say, assign the name "Android blog" to JR Raphael's Android Power and then tell Eva to open Android blog. Eva uses a female voice for responses if you prefer a male voice, you can use Evan and Evan Intern. It searches multiple sites, including Google, Wikipedia, Amazon, eBay and others. What it does: Eva performs a large number of tasks, such as giving directions and stock quotes, announcing incoming calls, making calls, creating expense reports and managing contacts. Other versions: Eva Intern: Free for 28 days In other words, while some of these may appear limited in their scope, they will probably improve rapidly. Several current Android apps have potential to be well-rounded assistants, although most appear to be works in progress. For example, my Galaxy S II came with a customized widget offering Voice Command which, while limited, does a particularly good job with some tasks such as sending email or displaying weather forecast Web search results. Note: Along with apps from the Android Market and those usually loaded on Android devices, your phone may have additional offerings. Read on to see some of the best options for creating your own subset of Siri for Android - and which apps work best for what specific tasks. I ran more than half a dozen contenders through their paces, testing them for various functions to communicate (make calls, send messages), organize (keep track of appointments) and find information. On the other hand, there are a couple of things Android voice-activated apps do that Siri can't - for example, use "launch " commands and head directly to websites. Unlike iPhone 4S users, though, you'll need to gather together a couple of different apps if you want to issue a wide range of voice commands on your Android device. However, it is possible to get a fair chunk of Siri's functionality. I, too, would like a "personal assistant" that responds to natural language requests such as "Move my meeting from 3 to 4." And I'm sure I'm not alone, as the millions of Google search results for "Siri for Android" attest.Ĭan you create a Siri-like experience on an Android smartphone? Not exactly, as there's no single app baked into the OS that can handle a similarly wide range of requests using free-form natural language. Although I'm happy with my Samsung Galaxy S II Android phone, I've also got a bad case of Siri envy.
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