Reviews
SpeaktoIt Asisstant – Android’s boost to voice search & command [Beta]
October 17, 2011 | by Andrew Kameka
Android App Reviews, Productivity, Reviews, Tools
Evaluated version: 0.2.3
Pros:
Cons:
Android Voice Actions are nothing new. We’ve been telling our phone to search and change functions since last year, and apps like Vlingo have enhanced those functions even further. However, voice is all the rage now that Apple has introduced Siri, a voice search and command tool that not only provides hands-free navigation, but does it in an interactive way.
SpeaktoIt Assistant is a beta Android app that does some of the same ask-and-answer features as Siri. It’s a virtual assistant that listens to commands and takes action. There’s playful banter with your assistant named Sam, who will provide some canned responses if you say something dirty or ask her to marry you. And when you get serious to ask a question like “How many liters are in a gallon,” Sam will actually locate the answer and respond. Better yet, it can even provide an answer when told to convert 44 gallons into liters (166.56).
Beyond “searching” by voice, SpeaktoIt actually searches for answers and reads them back to the user. Someone asking about the capital of Canada will learn that it is Ottawa. Someone saying define “esoteric” will learn the meaning. On the occasion that the app cannot locate an answer on TrueKnowledge, Wikipedia, or other sources, it performs a Google search that users can browse. Sam, or whatever name you give to your customizable assistant, can perform a number of tasks. It can find a wedding planner or funeral home nearby by saying “Find…” or post a message to Facebook by saying, “Tell my friends…” (You can link to Foursquare, but checkin by voice is not very good at the moment.)
As for commands, SpeaktoIt still has ground to cover. It is excellent for being able to start song playback by searching for music, and users can dictate text or emails to send. I was surprised to learn that SpeaktoIt even supports searching Google Music to initiate playback. However, the app cannot toggle features like WiFi or Bluetooth, and the performance isn’t quite there for this to really take off. My virtual assistant says that it will be able to do that and more soon. For now, SpeaktoIt is a cool toy to play around with and do most of the things that you want. Just don’t say anything too mean or explicit; she’s “not that kind of assistant.”
Thank you RMReborn, Kyle, and everyone else who sent this in
KEY FEATURES
Voice-based search or command for the following features
- Search for answers online and have them read aloud (or search Google)
- Calculate and perform conversions
- Send email or text
- Update Facebook, Twitter, or Foursquare
- Add memos/notes and calendar events
- Translate from English into limited languages
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[...] Comments [...]
My thing is that NOBODY cared about stuff like this until Apple decided it was good. And to be honest from the feedback I'm seeing about Siri this thing actually beats it in some places. Siri has no Foursquare integration or really no integration with anything else because the iPhone doesn't have the intent system. I tried it and asked it to save a note and it asked me if I wanted to use Evernote since I have it installed.
Not sure what you mean by nobody cared. Have you not read any of the articles, blogs, forums, etc discussing Google search and/or Vlingo the past year or so? I have been playing with this today and it's finally getting to where I wanted voice activation to be. Much better than Vlingo or Google Voice Search for me on my Evo 4G.
This is the best app of the Android bunch right now. There's definitely need for improvement, but I like this interface and functionality over Vlingo and Voice Actions so far… btw: "However, voice is all the range now" – should be 'rage', correct?
Yes. Damn auto-correct messed me up.
[...] Comments [...]
[...] Comments [...]
There is also Edwin
how do i change to a male voice?
thats what I'm looking for, too. How to change to male voice
say "change your voice"
how do i get the assistant to remember and call me by my name?
say "change my name"
PhilH "My thing is that NOBODY cared about stuff like this until Apple decided it was good" Unfortunately, nobody still cares all that much, including Apple. By now, voice recognition and command should have been very highly developed, enabling the user to perform ANYTHING INSTANTLY. But the sad truth is that the manufacturers are mainly obsessed with the bubble-headed game users and have shoved productivity to the background. John "This is the best app of the Android bunch right now. There's definitely need for improvement, but I like this interface and functionality over Vlingo and Voice Actions so far… " I concur. Speaktoit is also better than Skyvvy, Iris and Jeannie. But in addition to only fair voice recognition and inability to deal with various vital commands, it is highly inconsistent with speed of reaction; sometimes one needs to wait a minute or more for a response. I watched a demo of Siri, and it is still way ahead of the Android apps. "
when i say – change your voice – sam says ' here you can choose differnet voices for me'. and theres no where to do it…help
so to get this app you just search in your app store?
How do I get her to check voice mail? When I say check voicemail or open voicemail – she doesnt understand. On my EVO 4G, voicemail is one of the best features (vm into text).
two questions: 1. how can you get it to open your email accounts linked to Droid Maxx (it does not read or open mail in any of the other accounts. 2. I would hope that they jazz it up a bit with being able to unblock adult speech (lets face it some times language gets little colorful)
how do I activate the “shake” feature on my droid?