


- #SIRI VOICE ASSISTANT FOR ANDROID UPDATE#
- #SIRI VOICE ASSISTANT FOR ANDROID ANDROID#
- #SIRI VOICE ASSISTANT FOR ANDROID CODE#
And while that means comparing the two is unfair, users are going to make that comparison, and Siri wins hands down.Īnother arena in which Siri wins is speed and reliability, but that may be temporary. Evi is an app to download, it’s not a fully integrated assistant that seemingly lives in the phone. It can call up web searches, Facebook updates, or maps, but it does this largely inside its own app. Evi, on the other hand, seems like it’s in a cage. Texting, web searching, alarm setting, reminder emails, dictation…Siri does it all. Siri is embedded into almost every feature on the iPhone 4S, and I don’t know a single user that hasn’t begun to change the very way they approach the phone because of this broad integration. What is clear, however, is that Siri is just light years ahead in term of practical and successful applications. At this stage in the game it’s too early to say which system of language and data analysis is more helpful to the average Evi or Siri user. Siri, on the other hand, is powered by Wolfram Alpha. True Knowledge also has its own huge database of facts and information, with more than 635 million individual pieces of knowledge that it can use to extrapolate trillions of answers people may ask. As more users take advantage of True Knowledge, the company improves its language skills and (one assumes) Evi will get better as well. True Knowledge has their own approach to language, one that powers their online question answering services as well as Evi. Siri has its own natural language processing originally developed at SRI in Silicon Valley (Apple acquired it a few years back).
#SIRI VOICE ASSISTANT FOR ANDROID CODE#
It’s important to point out that Siri and Evi, while similar on the surface, have very different code running on the back end. As do “what’s your favorite color?”, “how do I get to a cafe from here?”, and “can a square be a rectangle?”. “What sound does a cow make?” works just fine. These mistakes stand out because in general, Evi is eerily good at understanding what is being discussed. Use the word “sound” and Evi may call up web results for rock bands even if the question was “what does my voice sound like?”. However, like Siri, Evi seems to rely on parsing sentences into key words or phrases, and like Siri it sometimes makes errors of association. One can simply ask questions as to another human, and either of these digital assistants will figure out the task the needs to be done by analyzing the sentence. Both Siri and Evi can handle natural language from speakers. Unfortunately, it’s not always able to understand what I mean. A virtual assistant needs to be able to take dictation, and Evi passes that test with flying colors. In noisy environments Evi occasionally let the pick up run longer than necessary (thinking I was still talking) but once it processed the sound it still gave me the exact sentences I had uttered. Even other Nuance-enabled apps haven’t been this good. That’s truly remarkable considering the speed at which I speak and the poor quality of my annunciation. Yet Evi has gotten nearly every single one of my words correct.
#SIRI VOICE ASSISTANT FOR ANDROID ANDROID#
(That licensing is also why Evi costs $0.99 at the Apple store, but is free on Android Market.) Regular readers may recall that I am often frustrated with voice recognition to the point of wishing violence on electronic devices. Evi can answer basic factual questions, guide users to relevant websites, call up requested Google maps, or even find recipes :Īs is reportedly true for Siri, Evi’s voice recognition is powered by Nuance, and it stands out as one of the best and most reliable features of the beta launch. Users simply open the app, press the microphone icon and start talking. Most of the important functionality seems in place, however, as seen in the demo below. Released on January 23rd, Evi is still technically in beta. But it is a quality app, and a sign that we’ve finally entered into the age of practical virtual assistants. So, is Evi a Siri killer? No, not really. Most importantly, it’s already available for most iPhone and Android platforms. Developed in the UK by True Knowledge, the Evi app also understands real language, can find answers, and provide some witty repartee. Yet Siri was exclusive to the iPhone 4S, leaving older iOS and Android users wondering when they could enjoy the benefits of a smart and sassy digital helper.
#SIRI VOICE ASSISTANT FOR ANDROID UPDATE#
Able to understand real human language, Siri could answer questions, send text messages, update Facebook, and even tell jokes. When the iPhone 4S arrived last fall, one of the most talked about, and lauded, features was Siri, the virtual assistant.
