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Siri for Android ... no, not really

Summary: Siri knock-offs invade Google Android Market.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By for Hardware 2.0 |

It would be a cold day in hell before Apple released an Android-compatible Siri voice-control app, but that hasn't stopped unscrupulous Andoid developers from making fake versions of Siri and pushing them into the Android Market.

Several have appeared in the official Google Android Market over the past few days. One, called 'Siri for Android' was developed by someone going by the name of 'Official App' was downloaded over 1,000 times before being pulled from the store.

Another app, also now gone, was 'Fake Siri for Android.' This app copied the Siri interface but did nothing other than offer up pro-Android quotes in a computerized voice.

Another Siri knock-off is called 'Speerit' which claims to be 'REAL Siri for Android' and while for now it is Korean only the developer claims to have plans to support English 'later' and tells us 'don't be sad.'

Then there's a whole bunch of apps that are trading off the Siri name in one way or another.

My advice is for you to steer clear of such apps. They don't seem to last long in the app store as Google wields the ban hammer, but others seem to follow. I suspect that more will appear over the coming weeks and months and that hackers could use the Siri name as a way to spread malware to Android handsets.

Be careful out there!

Topics: Apple, Hardware, Mobility, Smartphones

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16 comments
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  • RE: Siri for Android ... no, not really

    I've heard from a buddy, that one (Not sure which) began pushing "Free iPad" messages to his notification area. Some of these have a hidden malicious side to them. Which would be expected as with any fad and Android knock off.
    The one and only, Cylon Centurion
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Siri for Android ... no, not really

    Speaktoit is better than Siri and the real thing. Get it free in the android market.
    larryvand
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Siri for Android ... no, not really

      @larryvand Because it too has a supercomputer behind it doing the heavy-lifting? No? Ahh... so you don't know what you're talking about either.

      If anyone is going to do something "like Siri" it'll probably be Google, or maybe Amazon, or perhaps Microsoft - someone with vast cloud supercomputer resources to throw at the problem. But not some nobody in their bedroom.

      Do you even know how Siri works? (You don't think Siri runs on the iPhone 4S - do you?)
      jeremychappell
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Siri for Android ... no, not really

        @jeremychappell
        What super computer are we talking about?
        You mean like Amazon EC2 or Microsoft Azure which anyone with a credit card can buy processing power on the reall cheap price?

        Now before you judging people, do you really, really know how Siri works?
        Samic
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Siri for Android ... no, not really

        @Samic You didn't go to business school did you? You're going to provide a free service that you have to pay for, to sell handsets?

        Just have a think, imagine you sell handsets, but your new "Siri-like" service is foolishly popular... might be a problem? How big a cheque are you writing to Amazon?
        jeremychappell
        Reply Vote

    • A friend and I played with speaktoit this afternoon.

      @larryvand

      It was 0 for 20 when asking it to do things that Siri got 100%. It is still a long way from baked and, in no way, "natural language".

      For simple things (like opening it to open another app? What is the point of that?) it does well. For any complex natural language, it falls flat.
      Bruizer
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Siri for Android ... no, not really

    Speaktoit is pretty much the real siri competitor for Android at the moment and vlingo is also pretty nice for voice commands and hands free mode.
    slickjim
    Reply Vote

    • sort of really...

      saying Speaktoit or vlingo is a "real siri" competitor is like saying yugo is a real competitor to BMW... but hey... good luck with that....
      honkj
      Reply Vote

    • Yeah right .....

      @Peter Perry can you say "delusional fandroid"??
      wackoae
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Siri for Android ... no, not really

      @Peter Perry vlingo for Android sucks out loud... it's worse than the default voice command used on the iPhone 4 and below. I used vlingo via a bluetooth headset to make a call during a 20 minute drive from work to home and by the time I got home I had to use the touch screen to initiate the call because the voice recognition vlingo has sucks. By comparison using the exact same bluetooth headset and my iPhone 4 I was able to initiate the a call to the exact same contact (synced the same on both devices) before I left the parking deck.

      I may have to give speaktoit a try and hope that it does not suck as bad as vlingo on Android.
      athynz
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Siri for Android ... no, not really

    The results you have pictured are not fakes, have been around for a while now, and some are pretty good if you are into talking to a phone. Siri for Android I'd just a descriptor so that it shows up when people search for it. The "official Siri for Android" was a joke and pointed to google voice controls which had been around from the beginning. I have not heard of any associated malware with this or any other app. I'm not sure what malware some media outlets have been referring to lately.
    gbrowerjr
    Reply Vote

    • really....

      @gbrowerjr quote: " I'm not sure what malware some media outlets have been referring to lately."

      Ignorance does not make the problem go away... if you are an Android user and download apps, you have a greater chance of downloading malware than you are with your PC computer... and PC users have an extremely large chance of downloading malware...

      another quote: " just a descriptor so that it shows up when people search for it ".

      another Android user who doesn't understand the bases of copyright or patent laws, nor has any sort of integrity, how surprising....... malware is attracted to such types.......
      honkj
      Reply Vote

      • really?

        I've downloaded all the apps mentioned, as well as a few others, and none have malware. I download apps regularly and have never downloaded malware. I read the reviews and generally don't downlaod apps with only one or two reviews unless I've reason to believe the app is worthwile.

        Your posts smacks of someone who has only ever used an iphone and has fallen for some fanboy verbiage claiming Android suffers from malware. Get an android phone and use it for a while in the real world before claiming such nonsense.
        pitdroidtech
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Siri for Android ... no, not really

    I don't get the "Siri" craze. What's the big deal? I find it humorous when people talk -at- their phones, and it seems like I'm not alone (from other people's reactions IRL, at least). Maybe I'll get it someday. Right now, it just looks silly, and I don't have any trouble getting my phone to do what I want it to do, and quickly.
    rlorenz
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Siri for Android ... no, not really

      @rlorenz Err, why does this **look** different to talking to someone (human, I mean)? How can you tell they are talking to software? If you think saying something like "remind me to pick up the johnson file when I get to the office" isn't significantly easier than using the touch interface, then you've either got laryngitis, or aren't driving {grin}.

      Siri seems very convenient for a lot of things (though I lack first hand experience to back that up). Are you sure this isn't a case of "sour grapes"?
      jeremychappell
      Reply Vote

    • So if you are driving down the road in an unknown city and need to

      go someplace that you don't have directions to, can you just say "How do I get to XYZ" and, without pressing a button, get directions to there, with turn by turn navigation? Siri lets you do that in iOS 6. There are lots of other things that do make sense at other times. If you like to type into your device, and that works for you, great. Others can't type, at all due to physical limitations. So, conversational operation of their device is an important enabler.
      greggwon@...
      Reply Vote
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