A couple of months ago I did a detailed comparison for my blog between the 3 apps. I used the same phrases to see how well each app handles the inquiry. Since the original post is pretty long, I'll post just a few inquiries here.
I would love to hear any kind of feedback, recommendations for other voice apps, and some features I might have missed.
Original at: WorldGoesBoom.com
(UPDATE)
AIVC stands for Artificial Intelligent Voice Control. A popular voice-assistant app on Android with lots of functionality. The icon and sounds in AIVC are a pretty much a direct rip-off of Siri.
Assistant has the most generic name out of the bunch. The full name is actually Speaktoit Assistant, but since the actual app is called Assistant, that's what I'll use. Assistant also has the creepiest interface out of the bunch (thankfully it can be changed). It is, however, one of the most popular third-party voice assistants on Android.
Dragon Go, although not as popular as some other virtual/voice-assistant apps on Android, it was developed by Nuance Communications, the same company that "partnered" with Apple to work on Siri.
Evi is less popular than other voice assistants and doesn't really have the best ratings on the Google Play Store. But still worth a shot.
Google's native built-in voice-actions. It was there from the beginning and it improves with every version of Android.
iris is siri backwards! Get it?! How original and creative! Despite the lazy name it's actually a pretty popular voice assistant app on Android.
Jeannie (friend of Siri), another lazy-named voice-assistant. Supposedly it's better than Siri. But since I don't have an iPhone I can't say. Let's see how it is compared to other lazy-named voice assistants.
S-Voice, introduced on the new Galaxy S3, is a direct rip-off competitor to iPhone's Siri. The UI is virtually the same, the functionality, the talk-back feature with a robotic female voice, even the icon is almost identical. The S-Voice app in this comparison is from the Touchwiz UX addon for the Galaxy Nexus. So if the app acts up, it might be an issue with the ported version of the app, not the official one on the Galaxy S3!
Skyvi yet another app with a lazy name. Can't these developers be creative with their app names? It's supposedly "the #1 Voice App on Android". Not sure about that, but it's definitely worth comparing.
Vlingo is one of the most popular virtual-assistant apps on Android. It's a cross-platform app, available on Android, iOS, Blackberry, and Symbian.
AIVC
Well, this app did not quite get that I wanted to visit that site - no results. Second attempt gave me a response of "I've been waiting for you". OK...what the hell does that have to do with IGN? Another attempt gave me "That is a very original thought". I tried "visit ign.com" instead - another smartass response. Well, I tried. Next!
Assistant
First try ended in an app search for "ign call", which it did not find. So it prompted me to search the Play Store. I said no, so it went back to voice search. Second and third tries loaded the site in the built-in window. Saying just the site name resulted in a "I'm not sure what you mean" response.
Dragon Go
First and every attempt actually went right to the site, no matter if I said that actual phrase or simply the site name (ign.com); although it did use the built-in browser window.
Evi
Well it took its time but gave me the result. Almost. I still had to click on the link though. Simply saying the site name, gave me absolutely nothing.
Google
First couple of attempts loaded the site in the browser. However, they were much slower to load compared to Dragon Go. Third time I simply said the site name and it didn't go to the actual site but searched for it instead.
iris
It understood me but responded with "Thanks for that web address". You're welcome, now how about actually going to the damn site?! Last attempt - same thing! Next!
Jeannie
Loaded the site in a few seconds. Saying just the site name also loads it pretty fast.
S-Voice
Well the first result ended up "Going to go". So it went. To go.com. Second try I simply said the name of the site and even though it understood me, it couldn't figure out that I wanted to visit the site. So it presented me with a list of all my apps. Third time, the same as before.
Skyvi
First try it told me "Thanks for that web address". Of course it's too stupid to figure out that I wanted to visit the site. Second try, same thing except it also added "Now update your Facebook. Say: Update Facebook". I didn't say anything about Facebook! Also, after it says that or something about texting or calling someone, it waits for you to say something. Even if I didn't ask to call or text or update Facebook, it'll assume that you did!
Vlingo
First try got me a google search for "go to ign.com". Second and third time Vlingo told me "application not installed"...what application?! Finally saying ign.com got me an actual site in the search. It's a start, I guess.
Conclusion
I'd say this round goes to Dragon Go. It loaded the site quicker than any other app, even though it used a built-in window to display it.
AIVC
It understands but takes a while for it to process it before actually searching.
Assistant
Again I got perfect results in about 2 seconds. Adding "on XDA" got me "x t 8" instead. Close enough, I guess. A search for round Android icons again got me perfect results, fast. I'm actually surprised how fast this thing searches.
Dragon Go
Take one, it got the phrase right but it searched in Amazon by default. Second try I used "Google android icons", Dragon Go again searched Amazon by default. Third attempt - same thing. Two more times I've added "search for android icons on XDA" & "search for round android icons". Both times Dragon Go understood me but it searched Yelp by default.
Evi
Well it gave a site called anroidicons.com, which is not really what I asked for. Second time, same result. Third time searching for "round android icons" gave the same exact result as the previous two.
Google
First try got me the correct results. Second try, same result. Third attempt with "on XDA" got me "on XD 8" instead. Searching for round icons netted me a proper result.
iris
This one gives results pretty fast actually. Although, when I added "round" to the inquiry it did have trouble understanding it.
Jeannie
No problem searching for android icons, but when I added "round", it always messed up! It's either "old" or "lg". The one time that it did understand the word "round", it search for just "round android", without the "icons" part.
S-Voice
The voice recognition seems to work well. It understood perfectly when spoken in a natural voice and normal syntax. However, since it confirms your command before actually searching it, it took longer to get results.
Skyvi
Instead of searching for what I asked, it responded with "Have you tried looking in the Open Directory? That's not something I get asked all the time. I can call your friends. Say: Call John". What the **** what?! I don't care if it's uncommon to ask a voice assistant to search, but so what? Also, I didn't say anything about calling anybody! So I tried "google android icons" and I got another ed response - "Have you ever been to Europe? Tell me your name. Say: My name is human". Yeah...I'll just leave it at that!
Vlingo
Off to a bad start - "and where to buy cars"...WAT?! Take two, I replaced "search for" with just Google, and I got the wanted results. Take three, same result as before. Last one I said that exact phrase and got what I was searching for. Vlingo seems to understand this one.
Conclusion
Google has taken this round as is gave me the actual results I was looking for and did it fast.
AIVC
Understood the first question perfectly and gave me a pretty detailed answer in less than two seconds. I'm impressed! Second question it misunderstood "was" for "is" and provided me with an irrelevant smartass answer. Take two, another smartass answer. Third question, resulted in another useless response. I'm not impressed anymore...
Assistant
Understood me perfectly and responded with "let's check Google". If I wanted to Google it, I would've simply Google'd it! It messed up on the last question, however, second attempt got me the correct result (in Google search).
Dragon Go
Dragon Go understood me perfectly and all questions were answered correctly.
Evi
First question It took its time searching to ultimately give me a link with the wrong answer. For the second question it again took it's time, but at least it provided me with a link to the correct answer. Final question was misunderstood as it searched for "...president of unite beach". Take two, again it gave me a link. Might as well just Google it!
Google
First question went into search and it replaced the "was" with "is" and the top result was wrong. Second and third questions went into search as well but at least the top results had the answer.
iris
Took a few seconds on the first question, but gave me the same answer as AIVC. Second question was much quicker and fairly detailed as well. It had trouble understanding "president" on the third question, but gave me a good answer on second try.
Jeannie
First question it misunderstood me. I did four takes on the first question where the app did actually understand the question, however, it did not search. Or do anything actually. It just froze with the question on the bottom. Second question did actually provide me with an answer. Third question gave me the answer but was a little out of syntax.
S-Voice
Well it gave me the answer but I think I could've found it quicker by actually walking to a library and looking for the answer in the books! Second question, again understood me perfectly, gave me an answer, and did it slower than anything out there. Third question, same exact results.
Skyvi
First question, understood what I said perfectly and gave me an irrelevant answer: "John F. Kennedy was the first president of Roman Catholic faith..." That's not what I asked! For the second question, shockingly, it actually gave me a proper answer. A first for this, so far, worthless voice-assistant! A proper result for the last question as well. On questions 2 and 3, I actually got the result in less than two seconds!
Vlingo
Vlingo gave me proper results for all three questions and did it fast - two seconds tops.
Conclusion
Vlingo is the obvious winner here. It understood me perfectly this time and found the answers faster than the other apps.
AIVC
It understood the question but responded with "Sometimes I don't know a client's real name so I make one up based on their DNS. The whole world?" What the **** is this thing talking about?!...Take two, same exact response! Second question got me another cute response: "Let me guess. 2 meters? The whole world?" Guess?! Let me guess the status of this app after I'm done writing this post, it will be deleted, never to be used again?
Assistant
Google search again, useless! At least it understands the questions.
Dragon Go
Same as before, it understood the question and provided a more-detailed answer (the overall record tallest person and his height and current tallest person and his height).
Evi
Hallelujah! It finally gave me a straight answer! And in just a second! Second question was much slower to give the answer but I got it nonetheless.
Google
It understood the question but searched for it in the browser with no apparent answer in the end.
iris
Gave me the answer to the first question pretty fast (about 3-4 seconds), and gave me a pretty detailed answer. A very basic answer to the second question.
Jeannie
Gave me a pretty detailed answer in a few seconds. About the same for the second question.
S-Voice
Well, for the first question I got "I didn't catch that. Please try again". Take two: I got some radio frequency...I really don't know how to explain that. Last take I finally got the answer! Second question got me an answer right away.
Skyvi
The first question got me a response of "a list of tallest people in the world, living or dead". Except, there was no actual list! Only that incomplete response. Second question, same exact answer.
Vlingo
First question gave me the name in less than two seconds. Second question gave me the answer just as fast. They're both seem to be correct (Sultan K?sen at 8'1").
Conclusion
Jeannie was the best all around. Fast and detailed answers.
AIVC
Gave me the answer right away.
Assistant
Understood me perfectly and gave me a no BS answer in a natural voice withing a few seconds.
Dragon Go
Understood the question and gave me an answer in about 2 seconds. (UPDATE) Dragon Go was using Wolfram Alfa as a calculator. It now requires you to download the app separately before you can use it.
Evi
Asking it using a voice command doesn't work because it uses an asterisk (*) as a multiplication sign, and Evi is apparently too stupid to comprehend that. So manually replacing the asterisk with the word "times" gets you a proper answer. In other words, it's useless!
Google
Browser search again, but at least it gave me the answer.
iris
Another cute response: "I'll come back to that later". Yeah. Sure. Take your time. No rush.
Jeannie
It gave me an answer fairly quickly and it also presented me with a very low-res image of the number in full screen. That works, I guess.
S-Voice
Understood the question perfectly but took its time answering it.
Skyvi
First attempt gave me the all too familiar "Ask the open directory about it". Second try it responded with "What is it to you? Want me to read your text messages? Turn on Speak Incoming SMS in Settings". Wow...I hope whoever programmed this app to give those idiotic responses gets run over by a bulldozer!
Vlingo
It understood the question perfectly, only to give me a no answer found. Thanks Vlingo.
Conclusion
AIVC is the winner here. I got the answer almost immediately.
AIVC
First time with "8am" resulted in an error. "8 o' clock" brought up a friendly time interface. Clicking "set" brings you to the standard alarm interface where you can actually confirm the alarm. Bottom line, it works.
Assistant
Doesn't understand the "o clock" part but does pretty well with AM/PM. Gives you a confirmation menu after your command.
Dragon Go
Dragon Go just doesn't have this functionality.
Evi
Ok, well Evi is simply missing this functionality.
Google
"Set an alarm for 8 o' clock" gave me a menu to choose either AM or PM. If you say AM or PM instead, you can set it right away by pressing Set.
iris
Using "8am" works well. Brings up a basic set alarm menu then brings you into the standard Android alarm menu. Saying "8 o'clock" however, gets you a response of "What is your real name?" What the hell does this have to do with an alarm?!
Jeannie
Both 8am and 8 o'clock work and unlike other apps it does not bring up its own alarm menu, but rather asks for a confirmation. Then it takes you to the standard Android alarm menu.
S-Voice
Understands both am and o'clock. Confirmation is through a voice command instead of a menu. It could not actually save though. Remember, this is a ported version of the official app.
Skyvi
It understands both 8am and 8 o'clock but asks for a location... Why the hell does it need a location for an alarm?! I don't care if the alarm-setting actually works on Skyvi, I'm not gonna turn on GPS just for an alarm!
Vlingo
First two times it understood what I said but it went to a browser search for "set alarm for 8:00". Third time it searched for "call long 488". Not funny, Vlingo!
Conclusion
Even though setting an alarm is supposed to be a function of Vlingo, it simply refused to work. And S-Voice crapped out on this one, probably because it's a port. This one goes to Jeannie.
AIVC
This one did not quite understand the actual Facebook message. There's no Twitter updating, at least not on the free version of the app.
Assistant
After the Facebook sign-in, this thing automatically posts something along the lines of "I like my new assistant, it's very cool". I didn't ask it to post that! Thankfully you can say no before it actually posts it. After that it actually works pretty well, although voice recognition was a little off with a couple of words. Should be the same story for Twitter, except it didn't actually post anything.
Dragon Go
You can sign-in to Facebook and Twitter in Dragon Go as well. Too bad it doesn't actually do s***! You can search for people on Facebook or Twitter, that's about it.
Evi
You can sign-in to Facebook but just like Dragon Go, it doesn't do anything.
Google
I get....nothing! I can't update Facebook even though I have the official app.
iris
Facebook updating works fairly straight forward. Twitter works as well. Voice recognition was off with both of them.
Jeannie
This is supposed to be a feature of Jeannie but it simply refused to work with Facebook. It understands the command but nothing happens. Saying "update twitter" brings up Google Drive... I really don't know how to explain that.
S-Voice
Well I got an error on this one when I had the Facebook app installed. Otherwise after the sign-in it works as it should. Also, it uses Vlingo to update your Facebook status. Twitter had no trouble. Updating works well on S-Voice.
Skyvi
Updating Facebook does so without confirmation. It simply updates it. Although, voice recognition was off. Twitter is supposed to work with Skyvi but I just could not sign-in.
Vlingo
Vlingo got this one right when I tested it with Facebook. Voice-recognition worked well as it recognized most words, and I had no issues updating the status. Twitter updated no problem but the voice recognition was a little off.
Conclusion
S-Voice and Vlingo are the only ones that had no trouble signing in or actually updating the status on both Facebook and Twitter. Even though both had trouble understanding the message.
AIVC
Calls and texts gets you the usual smartass response. Email works...kind of. The person you're emailing better have a common name. If not, you're going to be stuck in an infinite loop of telling this thing the name of the person you're trying to email.
Assistant
Calling doesn't seem to work at all. Texting seems like it's working at first. It understands the command, but doesn't actually get the person's name. Any name. Or the actual message. In other words it doesn't work. After saying "email", whatever follows that is actually the email itself not the person you're trying to email. But you still have to enter the person's name and subject. So you might as well just type in the whole email.
Dragon Go
One of the names got me a Yelp search for "Colt bar near". After a few more tries with different names, there doesn't seem to be a way to actually call people, at least not for me. Texting and email understood what I was saying but it ended up searching for the phrase instead.
Evi
It messed up every single name I tried, save for one! Even then I still had to type out the text. Absolutely useless!
Google
No matter if it's a call, text or email, it works whenever it feels like it!
iris
It kept messing up the names. After a while it said "I am tired of asking for the name, please select it from the list", oh the irony! It understood two very basic-sounding names when trying to call. I couldn't get to texting or emailing because it could not understand the most basic names like Brandon, Billy, Colin... I'm done! Next!
Jeannie
Of all the names, it understood only one. Next!
S-Voice
Calling and texting works on simple names but has trouble recognizing some unique names. Emails get you warm response of "Sorry, I am not able to send email". Why the hell not?!
Skyvi
This app surprised me again! It actually understood more names than any other app when trying to call or text someone. Email doesn't seem to work.
Vlingo
First try, calling my friend Pamir, ended in a search for "paintball gear". Second try with a different person, I actually got the call through. Messaging and emails work the same - it gets the message most of the time but screws up on the names.
Conclusion
Unless all of your contacts are named John, Anna, Billy, or Steven, this particular voice-action is universally useless across all voice-apps.
AIVC
Goes into the stock Navigation app
Assistant
Same as AIVC but with an extra vocal confirmation from the app.
Dragon Go
It goes into Maps instead of Navigation. But that's just a click away.
Evi
It took much longer than the previous apps and it searched for it instead. Even clicking the link takes you to the route planner. Useless!
Google
Works great with the built-in navigation app, provided that you get a quick lock-on on your location.
iris
It understood the inquiry perfectly but instead of actually doing any form of navigation, it responded with "Did you know you can download your own chat robot and create your own robot personality?" No, I did not know that! Nor do I give any **** about it!
Jeannie
Goes into navigation right away.
S-Voice
Straight to navigation as well.
Skyvi
Understood me perfectly and responded with "Do you try to stop people from fighting?" Beyond useless!
Vlingo
Google Navigation as well.
Conclusion
Since most apps use Google's Navigation, Google wins this round. The native app simply works, and works well.
AIVC
Well, it goes into Navigation, which I didn't really ask for. But ok, at least it found a few stores.
Assistant
Google search. No map. No navigation. No use.
Dragon Go
Goes into Yelp search by default. You can easily switch to the map tab, but it should've done so by default.
Evi
It couldn't "find anywhere suitable", so it presented me with a link to yelp.
Google
Goes into browser search. No map or anything.
iris
This one gave me the weirdest response: "what are you wearing?" What in the hell does this have to do with searching for Radio Shack?!
Jeannie
Browser search again...
S-Voice
Web search again!
Skyvi
I'm surprised there was no ed response this time! It presented me with a list of all Radio Shacks nearby, along with tabs to navigate or call each one.
Vlingo
Gives you a list of locations closest to you with an option to call the place. Clicking on any place gives you options to call, show in map, navigate to, and search the web.
Conclusion
For me, Vlingo wins this one since it found a closest place to me, and found it fast. As well as give you some options on further actions.
There are more examples in my original post! Direct link to the post: WorldGoesBoom Appreciate any feedback.
I would love to hear any kind of feedback, recommendations for other voice apps, and some features I might have missed.
Original at: WorldGoesBoom.com
(UPDATE)
AIVC stands for Artificial Intelligent Voice Control. A popular voice-assistant app on Android with lots of functionality. The icon and sounds in AIVC are a pretty much a direct rip-off of Siri.
Assistant has the most generic name out of the bunch. The full name is actually Speaktoit Assistant, but since the actual app is called Assistant, that's what I'll use. Assistant also has the creepiest interface out of the bunch (thankfully it can be changed). It is, however, one of the most popular third-party voice assistants on Android.
Dragon Go, although not as popular as some other virtual/voice-assistant apps on Android, it was developed by Nuance Communications, the same company that "partnered" with Apple to work on Siri.
Evi is less popular than other voice assistants and doesn't really have the best ratings on the Google Play Store. But still worth a shot.
Google's native built-in voice-actions. It was there from the beginning and it improves with every version of Android.
iris is siri backwards! Get it?! How original and creative! Despite the lazy name it's actually a pretty popular voice assistant app on Android.
Jeannie (friend of Siri), another lazy-named voice-assistant. Supposedly it's better than Siri. But since I don't have an iPhone I can't say. Let's see how it is compared to other lazy-named voice assistants.
S-Voice, introduced on the new Galaxy S3, is a direct rip-off competitor to iPhone's Siri. The UI is virtually the same, the functionality, the talk-back feature with a robotic female voice, even the icon is almost identical. The S-Voice app in this comparison is from the Touchwiz UX addon for the Galaxy Nexus. So if the app acts up, it might be an issue with the ported version of the app, not the official one on the Galaxy S3!
Skyvi yet another app with a lazy name. Can't these developers be creative with their app names? It's supposedly "the #1 Voice App on Android". Not sure about that, but it's definitely worth comparing.
Vlingo is one of the most popular virtual-assistant apps on Android. It's a cross-platform app, available on Android, iOS, Blackberry, and Symbian.
Search & web
Basic search and web browsing.
"Go to ign.com"
AIVC
Well, this app did not quite get that I wanted to visit that site - no results. Second attempt gave me a response of "I've been waiting for you". OK...what the hell does that have to do with IGN? Another attempt gave me "That is a very original thought". I tried "visit ign.com" instead - another smartass response. Well, I tried. Next!
Assistant
First try ended in an app search for "ign call", which it did not find. So it prompted me to search the Play Store. I said no, so it went back to voice search. Second and third tries loaded the site in the built-in window. Saying just the site name resulted in a "I'm not sure what you mean" response.
Dragon Go
First and every attempt actually went right to the site, no matter if I said that actual phrase or simply the site name (ign.com); although it did use the built-in browser window.
Evi
Well it took its time but gave me the result. Almost. I still had to click on the link though. Simply saying the site name, gave me absolutely nothing.
First couple of attempts loaded the site in the browser. However, they were much slower to load compared to Dragon Go. Third time I simply said the site name and it didn't go to the actual site but searched for it instead.
iris
It understood me but responded with "Thanks for that web address". You're welcome, now how about actually going to the damn site?! Last attempt - same thing! Next!
Jeannie
Loaded the site in a few seconds. Saying just the site name also loads it pretty fast.
S-Voice
Well the first result ended up "Going to go". So it went. To go.com. Second try I simply said the name of the site and even though it understood me, it couldn't figure out that I wanted to visit the site. So it presented me with a list of all my apps. Third time, the same as before.
Skyvi
First try it told me "Thanks for that web address". Of course it's too stupid to figure out that I wanted to visit the site. Second try, same thing except it also added "Now update your Facebook. Say: Update Facebook". I didn't say anything about Facebook! Also, after it says that or something about texting or calling someone, it waits for you to say something. Even if I didn't ask to call or text or update Facebook, it'll assume that you did!
Vlingo
First try got me a google search for "go to ign.com". Second and third time Vlingo told me "application not installed"...what application?! Finally saying ign.com got me an actual site in the search. It's a start, I guess.
Conclusion
I'd say this round goes to Dragon Go. It loaded the site quicker than any other app, even though it used a built-in window to display it.
"Search for Android icons"
AIVC
It understands but takes a while for it to process it before actually searching.
Assistant
Again I got perfect results in about 2 seconds. Adding "on XDA" got me "x t 8" instead. Close enough, I guess. A search for round Android icons again got me perfect results, fast. I'm actually surprised how fast this thing searches.
Dragon Go
Take one, it got the phrase right but it searched in Amazon by default. Second try I used "Google android icons", Dragon Go again searched Amazon by default. Third attempt - same thing. Two more times I've added "search for android icons on XDA" & "search for round android icons". Both times Dragon Go understood me but it searched Yelp by default.
Evi
Well it gave a site called anroidicons.com, which is not really what I asked for. Second time, same result. Third time searching for "round android icons" gave the same exact result as the previous two.
First try got me the correct results. Second try, same result. Third attempt with "on XDA" got me "on XD 8" instead. Searching for round icons netted me a proper result.
iris
This one gives results pretty fast actually. Although, when I added "round" to the inquiry it did have trouble understanding it.
Jeannie
No problem searching for android icons, but when I added "round", it always messed up! It's either "old" or "lg". The one time that it did understand the word "round", it search for just "round android", without the "icons" part.
S-Voice
The voice recognition seems to work well. It understood perfectly when spoken in a natural voice and normal syntax. However, since it confirms your command before actually searching it, it took longer to get results.
Skyvi
Instead of searching for what I asked, it responded with "Have you tried looking in the Open Directory? That's not something I get asked all the time. I can call your friends. Say: Call John". What the **** what?! I don't care if it's uncommon to ask a voice assistant to search, but so what? Also, I didn't say anything about calling anybody! So I tried "google android icons" and I got another ed response - "Have you ever been to Europe? Tell me your name. Say: My name is human". Yeah...I'll just leave it at that!
Vlingo
Off to a bad start - "and where to buy cars"...WAT?! Take two, I replaced "search for" with just Google, and I got the wanted results. Take three, same result as before. Last one I said that exact phrase and got what I was searching for. Vlingo seems to understand this one.
Conclusion
Google has taken this round as is gave me the actual results I was looking for and did it fast.
Specialized search
In this part I'll cover search questions like names, dates, and math problems.
"Who was the first/twelfth/twenty-first president of united states?"
AIVC
Understood the first question perfectly and gave me a pretty detailed answer in less than two seconds. I'm impressed! Second question it misunderstood "was" for "is" and provided me with an irrelevant smartass answer. Take two, another smartass answer. Third question, resulted in another useless response. I'm not impressed anymore...
Assistant
Understood me perfectly and responded with "let's check Google". If I wanted to Google it, I would've simply Google'd it! It messed up on the last question, however, second attempt got me the correct result (in Google search).
Dragon Go
Dragon Go understood me perfectly and all questions were answered correctly.
Evi
First question It took its time searching to ultimately give me a link with the wrong answer. For the second question it again took it's time, but at least it provided me with a link to the correct answer. Final question was misunderstood as it searched for "...president of unite beach". Take two, again it gave me a link. Might as well just Google it!
First question went into search and it replaced the "was" with "is" and the top result was wrong. Second and third questions went into search as well but at least the top results had the answer.
iris
Took a few seconds on the first question, but gave me the same answer as AIVC. Second question was much quicker and fairly detailed as well. It had trouble understanding "president" on the third question, but gave me a good answer on second try.
Jeannie
First question it misunderstood me. I did four takes on the first question where the app did actually understand the question, however, it did not search. Or do anything actually. It just froze with the question on the bottom. Second question did actually provide me with an answer. Third question gave me the answer but was a little out of syntax.
S-Voice
Well it gave me the answer but I think I could've found it quicker by actually walking to a library and looking for the answer in the books! Second question, again understood me perfectly, gave me an answer, and did it slower than anything out there. Third question, same exact results.
Skyvi
First question, understood what I said perfectly and gave me an irrelevant answer: "John F. Kennedy was the first president of Roman Catholic faith..." That's not what I asked! For the second question, shockingly, it actually gave me a proper answer. A first for this, so far, worthless voice-assistant! A proper result for the last question as well. On questions 2 and 3, I actually got the result in less than two seconds!
Vlingo
Vlingo gave me proper results for all three questions and did it fast - two seconds tops.
Conclusion
Vlingo is the obvious winner here. It understood me perfectly this time and found the answers faster than the other apps.
"Who is the tallest person in the world / how tall is the tallest person in the world?"
AIVC
It understood the question but responded with "Sometimes I don't know a client's real name so I make one up based on their DNS. The whole world?" What the **** is this thing talking about?!...Take two, same exact response! Second question got me another cute response: "Let me guess. 2 meters? The whole world?" Guess?! Let me guess the status of this app after I'm done writing this post, it will be deleted, never to be used again?
Assistant
Google search again, useless! At least it understands the questions.
Dragon Go
Same as before, it understood the question and provided a more-detailed answer (the overall record tallest person and his height and current tallest person and his height).
Evi
Hallelujah! It finally gave me a straight answer! And in just a second! Second question was much slower to give the answer but I got it nonetheless.
It understood the question but searched for it in the browser with no apparent answer in the end.
iris
Gave me the answer to the first question pretty fast (about 3-4 seconds), and gave me a pretty detailed answer. A very basic answer to the second question.
Jeannie
Gave me a pretty detailed answer in a few seconds. About the same for the second question.
S-Voice
Well, for the first question I got "I didn't catch that. Please try again". Take two: I got some radio frequency...I really don't know how to explain that. Last take I finally got the answer! Second question got me an answer right away.
Skyvi
The first question got me a response of "a list of tallest people in the world, living or dead". Except, there was no actual list! Only that incomplete response. Second question, same exact answer.
Vlingo
First question gave me the name in less than two seconds. Second question gave me the answer just as fast. They're both seem to be correct (Sultan K?sen at 8'1").
Conclusion
Jeannie was the best all around. Fast and detailed answers.
"What's 27 times 18?"
AIVC
Gave me the answer right away.
Assistant
Understood me perfectly and gave me a no BS answer in a natural voice withing a few seconds.
Dragon Go
Understood the question and gave me an answer in about 2 seconds. (UPDATE) Dragon Go was using Wolfram Alfa as a calculator. It now requires you to download the app separately before you can use it.
Evi
Asking it using a voice command doesn't work because it uses an asterisk (*) as a multiplication sign, and Evi is apparently too stupid to comprehend that. So manually replacing the asterisk with the word "times" gets you a proper answer. In other words, it's useless!
Browser search again, but at least it gave me the answer.
iris
Another cute response: "I'll come back to that later". Yeah. Sure. Take your time. No rush.
Jeannie
It gave me an answer fairly quickly and it also presented me with a very low-res image of the number in full screen. That works, I guess.
S-Voice
Understood the question perfectly but took its time answering it.
Skyvi
First attempt gave me the all too familiar "Ask the open directory about it". Second try it responded with "What is it to you? Want me to read your text messages? Turn on Speak Incoming SMS in Settings". Wow...I hope whoever programmed this app to give those idiotic responses gets run over by a bulldozer!
Vlingo
It understood the question perfectly, only to give me a no answer found. Thanks Vlingo.
Conclusion
AIVC is the winner here. I got the answer almost immediately.
Technical Functions
In this part I'll cover calling, texting, and emailing, working with other apps, setting alarms, updating social media.
"Set alarm for 8 am/o' clock"
AIVC
First time with "8am" resulted in an error. "8 o' clock" brought up a friendly time interface. Clicking "set" brings you to the standard alarm interface where you can actually confirm the alarm. Bottom line, it works.
Assistant
Doesn't understand the "o clock" part but does pretty well with AM/PM. Gives you a confirmation menu after your command.
Dragon Go
Dragon Go just doesn't have this functionality.
Evi
Ok, well Evi is simply missing this functionality.
"Set an alarm for 8 o' clock" gave me a menu to choose either AM or PM. If you say AM or PM instead, you can set it right away by pressing Set.
iris
Using "8am" works well. Brings up a basic set alarm menu then brings you into the standard Android alarm menu. Saying "8 o'clock" however, gets you a response of "What is your real name?" What the hell does this have to do with an alarm?!
Jeannie
Both 8am and 8 o'clock work and unlike other apps it does not bring up its own alarm menu, but rather asks for a confirmation. Then it takes you to the standard Android alarm menu.
S-Voice
Understands both am and o'clock. Confirmation is through a voice command instead of a menu. It could not actually save though. Remember, this is a ported version of the official app.
Skyvi
It understands both 8am and 8 o'clock but asks for a location... Why the hell does it need a location for an alarm?! I don't care if the alarm-setting actually works on Skyvi, I'm not gonna turn on GPS just for an alarm!
Vlingo
First two times it understood what I said but it went to a browser search for "set alarm for 8:00". Third time it searched for "call long 488". Not funny, Vlingo!
Conclusion
Even though setting an alarm is supposed to be a function of Vlingo, it simply refused to work. And S-Voice crapped out on this one, probably because it's a port. This one goes to Jeannie.
"Update Facebook: I'm testing out some voice apps; so far they are not that useful. Update Twitter: these voice apps are useless"
AIVC
This one did not quite understand the actual Facebook message. There's no Twitter updating, at least not on the free version of the app.
Assistant
After the Facebook sign-in, this thing automatically posts something along the lines of "I like my new assistant, it's very cool". I didn't ask it to post that! Thankfully you can say no before it actually posts it. After that it actually works pretty well, although voice recognition was a little off with a couple of words. Should be the same story for Twitter, except it didn't actually post anything.
Dragon Go
You can sign-in to Facebook and Twitter in Dragon Go as well. Too bad it doesn't actually do s***! You can search for people on Facebook or Twitter, that's about it.
Evi
You can sign-in to Facebook but just like Dragon Go, it doesn't do anything.
I get....nothing! I can't update Facebook even though I have the official app.
iris
Facebook updating works fairly straight forward. Twitter works as well. Voice recognition was off with both of them.
Jeannie
This is supposed to be a feature of Jeannie but it simply refused to work with Facebook. It understands the command but nothing happens. Saying "update twitter" brings up Google Drive... I really don't know how to explain that.
S-Voice
Well I got an error on this one when I had the Facebook app installed. Otherwise after the sign-in it works as it should. Also, it uses Vlingo to update your Facebook status. Twitter had no trouble. Updating works well on S-Voice.
Skyvi
Updating Facebook does so without confirmation. It simply updates it. Although, voice recognition was off. Twitter is supposed to work with Skyvi but I just could not sign-in.
Vlingo
Vlingo got this one right when I tested it with Facebook. Voice-recognition worked well as it recognized most words, and I had no issues updating the status. Twitter updated no problem but the voice recognition was a little off.
Conclusion
S-Voice and Vlingo are the only ones that had no trouble signing in or actually updating the status on both Facebook and Twitter. Even though both had trouble understanding the message.
"Call/text/email -name-"
AIVC
Calls and texts gets you the usual smartass response. Email works...kind of. The person you're emailing better have a common name. If not, you're going to be stuck in an infinite loop of telling this thing the name of the person you're trying to email.
Assistant
Calling doesn't seem to work at all. Texting seems like it's working at first. It understands the command, but doesn't actually get the person's name. Any name. Or the actual message. In other words it doesn't work. After saying "email", whatever follows that is actually the email itself not the person you're trying to email. But you still have to enter the person's name and subject. So you might as well just type in the whole email.
Dragon Go
One of the names got me a Yelp search for "Colt bar near". After a few more tries with different names, there doesn't seem to be a way to actually call people, at least not for me. Texting and email understood what I was saying but it ended up searching for the phrase instead.
Evi
It messed up every single name I tried, save for one! Even then I still had to type out the text. Absolutely useless!
No matter if it's a call, text or email, it works whenever it feels like it!
iris
It kept messing up the names. After a while it said "I am tired of asking for the name, please select it from the list", oh the irony! It understood two very basic-sounding names when trying to call. I couldn't get to texting or emailing because it could not understand the most basic names like Brandon, Billy, Colin... I'm done! Next!
Jeannie
Of all the names, it understood only one. Next!
S-Voice
Calling and texting works on simple names but has trouble recognizing some unique names. Emails get you warm response of "Sorry, I am not able to send email". Why the hell not?!
Skyvi
This app surprised me again! It actually understood more names than any other app when trying to call or text someone. Email doesn't seem to work.
Vlingo
First try, calling my friend Pamir, ended in a search for "paintball gear". Second try with a different person, I actually got the call through. Messaging and emails work the same - it gets the message most of the time but screws up on the names.
Conclusion
Unless all of your contacts are named John, Anna, Billy, or Steven, this particular voice-action is universally useless across all voice-apps.
Maps, Locations & Navigation
Finding addresses, locations, and getting directions.
"Navigate to 714 7th Ave, New York, New York"
"Navigate to 714 7th Ave, New York, New York"
AIVC
Goes into the stock Navigation app
Assistant
Same as AIVC but with an extra vocal confirmation from the app.
Dragon Go
It goes into Maps instead of Navigation. But that's just a click away.
Evi
It took much longer than the previous apps and it searched for it instead. Even clicking the link takes you to the route planner. Useless!
Works great with the built-in navigation app, provided that you get a quick lock-on on your location.
iris
It understood the inquiry perfectly but instead of actually doing any form of navigation, it responded with "Did you know you can download your own chat robot and create your own robot personality?" No, I did not know that! Nor do I give any **** about it!
Jeannie
Goes into navigation right away.
S-Voice
Straight to navigation as well.
Skyvi
Understood me perfectly and responded with "Do you try to stop people from fighting?" Beyond useless!
Vlingo
Google Navigation as well.
Conclusion
Since most apps use Google's Navigation, Google wins this round. The native app simply works, and works well.
"Find Radio Shack"
AIVC
Well, it goes into Navigation, which I didn't really ask for. But ok, at least it found a few stores.
Assistant
Google search. No map. No navigation. No use.
Dragon Go
Goes into Yelp search by default. You can easily switch to the map tab, but it should've done so by default.
Evi
It couldn't "find anywhere suitable", so it presented me with a link to yelp.
Goes into browser search. No map or anything.
iris
This one gave me the weirdest response: "what are you wearing?" What in the hell does this have to do with searching for Radio Shack?!
Jeannie
Browser search again...
S-Voice
Web search again!
Skyvi
I'm surprised there was no ed response this time! It presented me with a list of all Radio Shacks nearby, along with tabs to navigate or call each one.
Vlingo
Gives you a list of locations closest to you with an option to call the place. Clicking on any place gives you options to call, show in map, navigate to, and search the web.
Conclusion
For me, Vlingo wins this one since it found a closest place to me, and found it fast. As well as give you some options on further actions.
There are more examples in my original post! Direct link to the post: WorldGoesBoom Appreciate any feedback.
Last edited:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram