Siri was the first voice activated “personal assistant” that
came with the iPhone 4s and blew the other smart phones out of the water. Over the years the voice recognition systems
have become a necessity on all smartphones.
But does Siri still dominate the voice recognition field like it used
to?
Cortana is Window’s new personal assistant that provides major competition on Apple’s Siri. Cortana’s voice is based off of the Halo character which can be a huge perk to some who adore the game. Another big competitor for Siri is Google’s voice recognition engine called Google Now. Google Now is available through the Google App in the Apple App store and can be installed on many devices. Whereas Cortana is only available on Window’s phone’s with the 8.1 software update.
Cortana is Window’s new personal assistant that provides major competition on Apple’s Siri. Cortana’s voice is based off of the Halo character which can be a huge perk to some who adore the game. Another big competitor for Siri is Google’s voice recognition engine called Google Now. Google Now is available through the Google App in the Apple App store and can be installed on many devices. Whereas Cortana is only available on Window’s phone’s with the 8.1 software update.
What stands out for Cortana is her ability to set reminders
for you. Another perk is that she can
set nicknames for your inner circle so instead of asking your voice recognition
system to text someone by their full name, you can just say “text dad”. Cortana also offers Quiet hours for when you
don’t want anyone disturbing you.
Google main advantage is its ability to gather information. Google Now can define words and objects, is aware of your bookings,
provides flight data, and will give you an overlook of how your favorite sports
team is doing. It'll also tell you about important landmarks if asked, break
down food data like calories, carbs, and salts, and recite the cast of your
favorite movie or TV show and its theme song. According to phonearena.com “To be fair, Siri
and Cortana won't disappoint you if asked the same, it's just that they don't
do as great a job in our opinion, as, in comparison, their answers are usually
less extensive and will often have you read the information for yourself
(especially Cortana), as if you're performing a normal search.” ("Google Now vs Siri vs Cortana: Showdown)
Though Google Now may excel in obtaining data
from searches, Cortana excels tremendously in one area, and that’s having a
soul and being fun. Cortana will sing
for you, tell you jokes, and even chit chat.
Siri will also learn to better pronounce your name, and is aware of your
birthday. Google Now has more of a nonsense
give me the facts type of attitude.
Overall, it depends on what you want in a voice recognition
engine. If you really want a phone with
a personality that you can interact with then phone’s that provide Siri or
Cortana should be your choice. If you’re
main focus is in the way that your phone obtains data then Google Now would be preferred.
Personally, I have a Window’s phone
and have been loving Cortana. Having her
set reminders has helped a lot for my daily scheduling and her quiet hours are
very helpful to avoid distractions. I
have introduced Cortana to peers with iPhones and no one hasn’t been impressed with
what these new voice recognition systems can do. Unfortunately, I have not been able to
interact much with Google Now. So when
looking for a new phone consider the voice recognition system that comes with
it to see if it accommodates your lifestyle.
Signing out,
Sydney
“Google Now
vs Siri vs. Cortana: Showdown” Phone Arena N.p., n.d Web 14 Oct 2014
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