A lot has been said about Apple’s Siri, including some interesting remarks by Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak. There are those who love it and those who, how can we put it, those who aren’t so keen. But everyone agrees that voice control and “talking” to our mobile devices is the future.
For Android users, there are a number of different apps available and the new kid on the block is Robin. Designed for drivers, the main functionality of Robin revolves around navigation, traffic, parking and gas (petrol) prices. But its makers, Magnifis, have also added in some knowledge about Twitter, reminders, and even the occasional joke.
Robin is currently in Beta test across the US and can perform local searches (with the help of Yelp) as well as provide real-time traffic and parking information, weather updates, and so on. Using KITT from the classic 80′s TV show Knight Rider (and the not so classic 2008 show) as a model, Robin will be developed into a full personal assistant.
Since it is aimed at drivers, Robin doesn’t use search engines like Google or Wolfram Alpha to find out the answers to complicated questions like “What are the five biggest lakes in California?” But you can ask it a whole load of driving related stuff like:
- Find a burger place … Does it have a good rating?
- Where can I park?
- Go to 1234 Lombard San Francisco
- How is the traffic?
- Is it snowing in Moscow?
On the lighter side you can ask it for advice by saying something like “I need some words of wisdom” or for a smile try “tell me a joke.”
I had a quick chat with Robin and recorded the results in the video below.
Need some words of Wisdom? Here are mine: Download Robin and give it a go and then let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.
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