Yeah the biggest problem with siri is how slow the whole process is. I preferred even the old Google voice search over her. I
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Enhanced JellyBean Google Voice Search (40+ Questions that will blow you away)
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Watching the comparsion videos really shows how chatty Siri likes to be. Google voice search just returns the information quickly.
The reason it's faster is because it's integrated with Google. Even then it's only a one or two second difference. It also depends on your WiFi connection / cell service.
It doesn't matter why it's faster, just that it is. You don't need to take everything in such a competitive way.
Nobody is saying that the programmers at Google are geniuses and the Apple ones are idiots because the Google one is a little bit faster, just stating a fact: it IS faster.
The answer to everything and life is 42?
At least Siri would have thrown out a slick or logical remark.
As others have pointed out, "42" is a clever answer also; it's a "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy" reference.
In any case, I tried it with Siri:
Me: What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything?
Siri: A movie
Me: What's the answer to life the universe and everything?
Siri: I Kant answer that. Ha ha!
Me: What is the meaning of life?
Siri: I don't believe there is a consensus on that question?
Me: What's the answer to the ultimate question?
Siri: Shows me a WolframAlpha page with 42 as the result.
So it took me a few tries but I finally got Siri to make a "Hitchhiker's Guide" reference too.
I'm taking it in a competitive way, I just pointing out that it's not a major difference. S Voice is another story...
S voice has major problems: -
1. It's slow as molasses.
2. It's rubbish at speech recognition (especially telling the different between "mum" / "mom" sounds, which Google speech recognition understands fine)
3. When I connect my bluetooth headset, then disconnect and reconnect, S Voice won't work until I reboot.
Did you even watch the video that the OP posted? It shows pretty much the opposite of what you're claiming. He showed it doing almost all of the same device control commands that Siri understands, including sending text messages, making a phone call, playing a particular artist, creating a calendar appointment, plus some more that Siri can't do like disabling wifi and putting the phone into silent mode and bringing up turn-by-turn directions. In addition, it showed that many other queries that Siri would handle by just doing a Google or WolframAlpha search and displaying the result, are instead handled directly by having it actually read you the answer immediately. Siri in iOS 6 may well be a match for this, but I would say the current Siri resorts to static searches a lot more often than Google Now, based on this video.
Actually, Google Now doesn't support change device settings yet. It even tells you device features aren't supported yet, or something along those lines.
The Android voice tool could already play artists, send text messages, start turn-by-turn directions and make calls, the main thing this adds is a static Google search. Disabling Wifi, and going into silent mode, have not been implemented yet, but that doesn't seem to be what people are excited about anyway, and it seems gimmicky on a platform where people pride themselves on being able to put those buttons on their homescreen for 0.2 second access.
Dodge, Siri is actually reading some Wolfram Alpha responses now. Not the long ones but shorter ones like equation results, birth dates, occupations, ages, currency conversions, etc.
She'll go "here you go:" then read the result. Not sure if this is for all Siri's but it's doing it for me on iOS 6 beta 2 and I know she didn't do that before.
She'll go "here you go:" then read the result. Not sure if this is for all Siri's but it's doing it for me on iOS 6 beta 2 and I know she didn't do that before.
But in practice it proves to be practical and useful. Just yesterday I was able to say "call california pizza kitchen in Tempe Arizona" and it just dialed the phone number and I was able to place a pick-up order while driving. At work I needed an exchange rate and was able to retrieve that information..all without looking at my phone.
Many people called Siri gimicky, some still do, but others find many uses from them. This is just another step moving forward that will provide us with uses that we are probably not even aware of yet.
If you ask Siri "call the Drake Hotel in Toronto" like in the JB video, Siri gives you a list of Toronto hotels and you have to tap one to call it.
Thats awesome but I was just stating that google voice search is not gimicky in practice.
My personal opinion is that they are both awesome pieces of software and I hope they both continue to advance.
Whether one is better than the other is subjective and depends on the user IMO.
Yawn
Yet another voice demo full of static utterances.
No delegation
no multi part utterances
No linking of multiple services (add to my calendar and then email confirmation to Johnny Appleseed)
In effect you've shown me voice dictation fed into Google Search or Wikipedia and the resultant answer.
At this point I don't Think Siri or Google Voice search is ready and judging from the piss poor demos that are offered as something "Amazing" I'm wondering if you guys even notice the difference. Your too Gobsmacked over features that were available 5 years go..just not as fast nor shiny.
Yet another voice demo full of static utterances.
No delegation
no multi part utterances
No linking of multiple services (add to my calendar and then email confirmation to Johnny Appleseed)
In effect you've shown me voice dictation fed into Google Search or Wikipedia and the resultant answer.
At this point I don't Think Siri or Google Voice search is ready and judging from the piss poor demos that are offered as something "Amazing" I'm wondering if you guys even notice the difference. Your too Gobsmacked over features that were available 5 years go..just not as fast nor shiny.
Does Siri know when you have "left" to remind you to pick up some milk? Or does it just remind you to pick up milk in a certain time you tell it to?
And how does it know when you get to your Dads without you telling it what time you will be there?
I really dont know so its a serious question.
LOL
Downrank me all you want but this demo was BORING. I know of few "Assistants" that handle request in such a serial fashion.
The first rule of demoing product is having an ideal testbed. You should know what features to look for that will separate the products.
You should have a list commands/utterances that have varying levels of complexity. That way you can actually test the limit of the technology rather than bore your watchers to death with the same thing done 50 times.
Downrank me all you want but this demo was BORING. I know of few "Assistants" that handle request in such a serial fashion.
The first rule of demoing product is having an ideal testbed. You should know what features to look for that will separate the products.
You should have a list commands/utterances that have varying levels of complexity. That way you can actually test the limit of the technology rather than bore your watchers to death with the same thing done 50 times.
The idea is that it has to provide a better experience than what's currently available. If Siri defaults to a google search or a lot of questions I might as well do that in the first place.
Google gives me a direct, spoken answer, almost immediately. They won't let Apple win at search, no way.
Actions isn't their priority, but I'm sure theyll work on it over time.
Yes. You can tell Siri to remind you when you leave a location or arrive at one.
It uses geolocation. You need to put an address in your "dad" contact.
Likewise, I'm sure it'll use geolocation for the milk example.
I see. I like that. I dont know many addresses though to type in for that purpose.
Same here. Geolocation reminders are possible on Android but they're not as user friendly nor supported in any voice assistant that I know of.
Smart Actions can do location based reminders and some of the things Siri does and you only need to set it up once, it remembers. Not voice based but big deal
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.motorola.contextual.smartrules&hl=en
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.motorola.contextual.smartrules&hl=en