Does Android's Voice Actions Compare to Siri? (Highlights Only)

This video is an attempt to debunk some of the rumors, unfair comparison's and myths about Android's voice command capabilities:

I don't own the iPhone 4S, so unfortunately I can't do a side-by-side comparison. But I have read a lot about it and seen many of its features in videos as well. So I feel quite familiar with its capabilities. Overall I am impressed with Siri, so much so that I believe it is the best in the market in regards to speech to text communication. But the question is how much better is it?

There have been numerous videos made comparing Siri's capabilities vs. Android's, but none of them that I have seen have been fair comparisons. Most of them seem to confuse "Voice Actions" applications with the common Voice Search built into most Android devices. The Voice Search app in Android is for just that: Voice Search and will do nothing else but search Google with your voice. To compare Siri with this would be ludicrous.

Here's a very popular video that has been floating around that does just that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6nSz-kvspE
Notice that this video not only uses the Voice Search app in Android designed only for Google voice searches, but it also focuses on a lot of the silly Easter egg nuances built into Siri, as if Android would have those same Easter eggs built into its platform. Also note that thousands of people have already seen this video as well as other similar versions making the same unfair comparisons. I am sure that many seeing these videos will accept it as fact and move on. But that's why I've decided to make this video.

I have found several apps (third party apps, not the stock Android Voice Search) that do things similar to Siri. The most popular apps are Voice Actions by Pannous (or also called Jeannie), Vlingo, SpeakToIt Assistant, and Edwin. But for this video, I have chosen to focus on the app that I think is most similar to Siri and that is Voice Actions by Pannous, or Jeannie.

The app can be found free in the Android Market. There is a paid version as well for $2.99. I paid to help the developer, but I couldn't see a difference between the paid and free versions in my tests. So you decide.

Voice Actions' main features:
Composes email
Composes text messages
Updates Twitter/Facebook status
Schedules events in your calendar and set alarms
Does complex math equations
Calls you by name
Draws you a picture
Pulls up facts and pictures of things like who is the 44th President of the US and when was he born
Makes sounds if you say "what sound does a duck make?" (I'm pretty certain Siri doesn't do that.)
Tells jokes much like Siri with personality as well
Sings songs upon request (I don't think Siri does this either)

This video is not intended to convince anyone that iPhone or Android is better. I think it is mostly a matter of preference anyway. This is merely my attempt to set the record straight in regards to voice command technology. In my opinion Siri is best, but I don't think Android is as far behind as most people now seem to think. Hopefully this two-part video will demonstrate this to you.

Please give me a thumbs up if you like my video! Thanks. Follow me on Twitter @AndroiPad or @scottfsanders

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Siri
• iPhone
• Android
• Human Voice Mobile
• Voice Actions
• Voice Commands
• Pannous
• Jeannie