Siri for Android

A more proper title would probably be A program with similar/improved functionality to Siri for Android. Actually naming the Android program Siri would get you a wolf pack of Apple lawyers on your hiney so fast that you won’t even have time to ask your Siri-surrogate to locate you the nearest criminal defense lawyer

What is Siri? Let’s see what our good friend the Wikipedia has on the subject…
Siri (pronounced /?s?ri/) is an intelligent software assistant and knowledge navigator functioning as a personal assistant application for iOS. The application uses a natural language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of web services. Apple claims that the software adapts to the user’s individual preferences over time and personalizes results, as well as accomplishing tasks such as finding recommendations for nearby restaurants, or getting directions.

Sounds all pretty impressive, right? Well, what Siri & Apple can do, Android & Google can do better/as well/different! They’re currently working on Google Majel. For the Trekkies among you: Yes, this project is named after Majel Barrett, who supplied voice of most onboard computer interfaces throughout the Star Trek series. She also portrayed Nurse Christine Chapel in the original Star Trek series, and Lwaxana Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Fortunately we don’t have to wait until Majel gets released. There are plenty of alternatives already available in the Android Market. Here are some, in no particular order:

So far I’ve only tried iris. myself, but I hope to test Skyvi & Speaktoit soon as well.

For those of you who want to see more about the capabilities of Siri I can recommend S05E14 of the Big Bang Theory. Here’s a bit of it:
(may not be 100% accurate…)

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