If you’re an Android user who envies Siri on iOS5, worry not, you have Iris to play with. Iris, or Siri spelled backwards, spits out information based on voice recognition. It is built on top of Google Voice and is also able to help you call the right contact through voice, or search for movie reviews, recipes, lyrics and many other things. The experience felt pretty similar to Siri, except that Iris churns out answers a little slower.
But for the lonely Android user, Iris is still a good companion for you. I had fun chatting with Iris, though some of the answers are pretty dumb. The answers aren’t that accurate (or perhaps my Singaporean accent overwhelmed it) but that can be worked on later. It still deserves to be downloaded for the joy and laughter it brings.
Binil Antony, the co-founder of India-based Dexetra, the maker of Iris, revealed that the app is nearing one million downloads. That number is pretty staggering considering that the app was launched barely two months ago. Check out my screenshots above, as well as a hilarious demo by xdaTV.
In addition to Iris, Android fans can look forward to other personal assistant alternatives soon. The company’s acquisition of CleverSense means more people will be getting a chance to meet Alfred, a virtual ‘personal robot.’ Google is also said to be developing Voice Actions as part of a project codenamed Majel, which ostensibly could be more Siri-like in how users interact with it.
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