Another Day, Another Cheap Siri Knockoff. Evi for iPhone 4 and Android Needs Work

By: Hillel Fuld

Here we go again. Apple releases a new product, the rest of the world tries to copy it. It happened with PCs, touch screen smart phones, all in one computers, tablets, and the list goes on. Well, I think it is time we add Siri to that list.

There have already been Siri “killers” on every possible platform, especially Android (Cluzee) and Windows Phone (TellMe). Except Evi (what is with the ridiculous names, folks?) is different, or so I thought.

For starters, it is a cross-platform app available for iOS and Android. But ok, there are other voice recognition apps on both platforms. The thing is, all previous attempts at Siri’s life were predetermined to fail, thanks to tech bloggers around the world. Truth be told, it is not the bloggers’ fault, most of these apps truly do stink.

Except Evi is getting some nice coverage including TechCrunch and 9to5Mac who both praised the new voice recognition technology. And so, being the geek that I am, I did something I do not do often and shelled out $.99 cents (free on Android) for an app I do not need and knew I would almost never use.

Why would I never use it? Well because I rarely use Siri and the only time I do, is to add meetings to my calendar or write a note while driving. Evi can’t do either, but I still had to try it out to see what all the fuss was about.

I now wish Apple was Windows Phone and I could just “return” the app (Windows Phone lets you try apps before purchasing them) because, putting it gently, Evi wishes she was Siri.

TechCrunch points out “Ask “Who was President when Queen Elizabeth II was born”. Siri is unable to provide an answer and suggests performing a web search. Evi determines who Queen Elizabeth II is, when she was born, the dates when she will have been a teenager and then compares this against which US presidents were in office over that time, delivering the results of both serving US presidents during those years. Not bad huh.”

That is cute, it really is, but the first thing a voice recognition solution should be able to do, even before it interprets your voice is actually hear your voice. I have been testing this app for over an hour now and while Siri gets, I would say, two out of every ten things you say wrong, Evi gets the same two things right. Almost everything I asked it, it did not understand and I am not talking about complex questions. Even when it did “hear” me, it gave me irrelevant answers. I asked it what “five times five” was and got the response below.

Like I said, Siri is not perfect, it is the first Apple product, as far as I know that is labeled Beta but in my experience, Evi can join the long and ever growing list of apps that tried to duplicate Siri and failed miserably. Have no fear, there will be more, many more.

In Evi’s defense, it understood perfectly when I told her what I thought of her and even gave me a pretty spot-on answer. See below.

Enjoy the Evi video below and if you are on Android, feel free to check it out, although I cannot recommend you pay for it on iOS.

Please share your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter, Google+, or Facebook where we are always listening.
In addition, to sign up with inneractive and start monetizing your free apps now, click here.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.