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'Evi' Arrives as Potential Challenger to Siri
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All I see is it has its own encyclopedia database. (and nothing else) Siri just hooks up with other apps for lookup.
I had that once. You can get something like that today, too.
First impressions are important. The big danger here is that people will try it out, get a server error, give up, and never come back. They could lose a lot of potential users that way, with the possible result that they'll never be successful. Now, if they're unsuccessful, I don't think they'd enter the deadpool, but they might be bought for a less-than desired amount.
Am I correct in assuming that you can't say "Email John Smith" or do texts, and the like. It's not integrated with any apps, right. It just answers question...
No 3rd party applications can have much integration into iOS apps.. so, no, its not going to happen unless Apple changes its developer rules. Sand boxed applications. For example: The most this thing could do is open an email and let the user type or dictate using SIRI. Not possible to substitute SIRI with Evi. Example 2: I'm not aware that Cocoa Touch can send SMSs without user intervention...
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As I use it more
...it's still as useless now as it was when I first downloaded it. Servers won't respond, answers are wrong or reference websites instead of giving an answer. Free on android, paid app on iOS. Not impressed, but maybe it'll get better, who knows?
...it's still as useless now as it was when I first downloaded it. Servers won't respond, answers are wrong or reference websites instead of giving an answer. Free on android, paid app on iOS. Not impressed, but maybe it'll get better, who knows?
I don't agree with your reasoning.
Siri was tested and run on the iPhone 4 well before the gm release of iOS 5, and the iPhone 4s.
The designers of Siri say it would not run at its full potential on the iPhone 4 but this is refuted by the developers on the street who road tested Siri.
This subject has been discussed when the 4s was released and many a conclusion came down to Apple needing a niche to push the 4s as many were looking to an iPhone 5 release.
I deleted that App a few days ago, Eyeballs was its name.
Can you get the both of them, Siri and Evi into a perpetual loop
THIS. Or a set up in a way so that Evi comes up with a similar interface to siri when you hold the home button
Well, there goes most of Android then.
Yeah, it also seems like it sucks. So it can work on my vacuum cleaner for all I care.
To do what?
Still a very young technology .....
All of this "digital personal assistant" stuff for phones is still in its infancy.
Siri doesn't even work well in countries outside the U.S. yet, and Evi sounds like it's having server issues right now.
What I'd like to see (and I'm sure will develop eventually) is for Siri (or competitors) to truly read back all of their responses to me, unless I specifically ask otherwise.
EG. If I ask Siri to "Google ink cartridges needed for HP DeskJet 5150 printer", I'm fine with it pulling up a search results page on my phone's screen. But if I ask Siri "Which ink cartridges do I need for a HP DeskJet 5150 printer?", I'd like it to read back the ink cartridge numbers required.
Especially when driving and using a hands-free bluetooth link, something like Siri really starts making sense as a powerful feature -- but not when results come back only on your iPhone's screen.
All of this "digital personal assistant" stuff for phones is still in its infancy.
Siri doesn't even work well in countries outside the U.S. yet, and Evi sounds like it's having server issues right now.
What I'd like to see (and I'm sure will develop eventually) is for Siri (or competitors) to truly read back all of their responses to me, unless I specifically ask otherwise.
EG. If I ask Siri to "Google ink cartridges needed for HP DeskJet 5150 printer", I'm fine with it pulling up a search results page on my phone's screen. But if I ask Siri "Which ink cartridges do I need for a HP DeskJet 5150 printer?", I'd like it to read back the ink cartridge numbers required.
Especially when driving and using a hands-free bluetooth link, something like Siri really starts making sense as a powerful feature -- but not when results come back only on your iPhone's screen.
Info is helpful
I will get this for the info side of things alone though I would like to know where Evi is pulling its data from. We know Siri pulls a lot from Wolfram Alpha but where does this come from? I would like to see integration like siri but i know apple would never allow that. For the price though I will take this as I never planed on upgrading to a 4s for Siri anyway, just not worth it. Maybe if the next iphone has some killer new features like a siri that works well and new maps or something then we can talk upgrading.
I will get this for the info side of things alone though I would like to know where Evi is pulling its data from. We know Siri pulls a lot from Wolfram Alpha but where does this come from? I would like to see integration like siri but i know apple would never allow that. For the price though I will take this as I never planed on upgrading to a 4s for Siri anyway, just not worth it. Maybe if the next iphone has some killer new features like a siri that works well and new maps or something then we can talk upgrading.
Apparently the Servers Can't Handle the Load
The app quickly got bad ratings in the Apple store for connection issues. These issues appear to be presented here in previous posts. It was this issue that convinced me not to purchase the app.
MacRumors should add to their article a note about the large amount of negative feedback this app has been getting for connection issues.
The app quickly got bad ratings in the Apple store for connection issues. These issues appear to be presented here in previous posts. It was this issue that convinced me not to purchase the app.
MacRumors should add to their article a note about the large amount of negative feedback this app has been getting for connection issues.
I think what we are seeing is that it is not enough to have a good algorithm; you need to be backing it up with enough compute power to handle thousands of inquiries per second. Apple is doing that; at $.99 per copy, the Evi people are unlikely to ever have the capital to support this service adequately. At best, this is a technology demo by a company looking to be acquired.
Seems strange that Apple allowed this on the app store. I won't be downloading it myself but its nice that non 4S owners have some sort of alternative (although from the few comments I've read it doesn't sound terribly effective)
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I agree, had siri been available for all devices the 4S would've been a much less impressive release and we might have seen such strong sales numbers. I think siri will probably be on all future iOS devices but making it a 4S only software feature was a good move in this specific instance.
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I agree, had siri been available for all devices the 4S would've been a much less impressive release and we might have seen such strong sales numbers. I think siri will probably be on all future iOS devices but making it a 4S only software feature was a good move in this specific instance.
575 out of 611 Gave 1 Star
When I looked at Evi download page on iTunes Store, 575 of the 611 people who had rated Evi gave her 1 start, the lowest rating. I think I'll just wait until it earns as many fives as ones before spending any time or money on it.
When I looked at Evi download page on iTunes Store, 575 of the 611 people who had rated Evi gave her 1 start, the lowest rating. I think I'll just wait until it earns as many fives as ones before spending any time or money on it.
I don't see spending £0.69 on this potential good app a waste of money. And as for time I can choose to spend as much or little as I seem fit. Updates will be churned out from forums so pushed e mails are the only time I would waste in reading em
It does not work even 5% of the time, because it appears the servers are to slow, hammered, garbage, whatever. You are lucky to ever get an answer.
On the plus side, the speech recognition software is spot on. I mean it is perfect. If only they could get the servers running, Evi would really be a Siri alternative.
On the plus side, the speech recognition software is spot on. I mean it is perfect. If only they could get the servers running, Evi would really be a Siri alternative.
This.
The initial article really hyped Evi, but when it does work, the answers it gives are mostly links to other sites (through Bing...)
Siri might be nicer if it focussed on using Wolfram in the first place (or checked it before offering a web search).
e.g. why doesn't 'Flights Overhead' give the same result as 'Wolfram Alpha Flights Overhead'.
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Same Nuance engine, so should be exactly the same, I would have thought.
