Vlingo

Erin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:38:15 +0000

Lifehacker recently published an article called “The Best Virtual Assistant for iPhone”. Vlingo is said to be the best option. Check it out!

It’s hard to argue that there’s a better virtual assistant for the iPhone when you’ve got Siri, because Apple can create app that is completely integrated with iOS. That said, if you don’t have Siri there are plenty of great options that may even be better some day. Here’s a look at why Siri’s great but plenty of other excellent alternatives as well.

Siri

Platform: iPhone 4S
Price: Free (with an iPhone 4S)
Built-in

Tell Siri what you want with voice commands, and it will respond to you with an answer or ask you for more information.
Send text messages.
Make calls.
Look up information online.
Ask Siri to make complex calculations with Wolfram Alpha.
Get driving directions.
Sent an alarm or reminder.
Add an event to your calendar.
Check the weather.
Ask Siri for information about your contacts.
Much more.

This is just a quick overview of Siri’s capabilities. For more information, visit Apple’s official page, read our Siri overview, and learn the various things you can say.

Siri primarily excels in two ways: it’s fully integrated with your iPhone so it can do almost anything and you don’t need to have the app open for its complete functionality. Both of these things are advantages that Apple has over the competition because it can integrate its apps much more closely with the operating system than any third party will ever be able to do. That said, Siri is also great because it can do more than most third-party apps can do anyway. It’s capable of looking up information, making complex calculations (via Wolfram Alpha), getting driving directions, making calls and texts, adding appointments to your calendar, and much more. It can even tell you a joke. Siri is so thorough that even if you combine every third party app listed in the competition section below, they still wouldn’t have all the functionality Siri can provide. That said, Siri isn’t perfect and some of the other apps definitely have their advantages. It pretty much comes down to this: If you have Siri, it’s most likely your best choice in virtual assistants. If you don’t, there are some really great alternatives.

Siri has several downsides. First, it only (currently) works on an iPhone 4S (although there’s a complicated workaround for jailbroken devices). Second, it doesn’t work hands-free (although there’s a jailbreak workaround for that, plus a non-jailbreak trick you can use to avoid pushing the home button). Perhaps most importantly, Siri sometimes has some issues with accuracy. This should be expected with any voice recognition software, but it seems to misunderstand certain words more so than some of the competition listed below. That said, Siri’s level of accuracy is still very good, but if you’re having trouble getting it to understand you then you might want to see how another app fares. Finally, although Siri is incredibly well-integrated into iOS, there is still more it could do—and jailbreak hacks make these things possible. For example,launching apps, changing settings, and other custom commands aren’t available by default, but you can definitely add them if you’re jailbroken.

Vokul ($3) is a virtual assistant geared more towards using your phone safely while you drive. While it’s great for that, there’s no reason you can’t use it as an assistant in other situations as well. It can send email, texts, make calls, and play your music. What it can’t do, at the moment, is get you driving directions or search the web for information. That said, it has, by far, the most accurate voice recognition of any app I’ve tested so far. Read more about Vokul here.

Evi ($1) fills in the functionality that Vokul doesn’t have. While it can’t (yet) send emails or texts or do much in the way of controlling your phone, it can look up just about any information you need online—and you can use your voice or search manually. For example, if you wanted to know what time it is in Beijing or when Thanksgiving is in 2016, Evi can find out for you. You can ask it just about anything. If it can’t find the answer, it’ll try to provide you with relevant information. For example, it wasn’t sure if it was a leap year this year so it pointed me to the leap year page on Wikipedia.

Vlingo (Free), in theory, is a perfect option. It can get directions, send emails, compose text messages, update Facebook and Twitter, search the web, and make phone calls—all using the power of your voice. In my tests, however, it had a very hard time finding accurate results. This hasn’t been the case with other apps, so I have to assume the voice recognition just isn’t as good. That said, Vlingo is free and a lot of people use it, so there’s certainly no harm in trying to see if it works well for you. If it does, it’s pretty much the best deal on virtual assistants you’ll find in the iTunes App Store.

Voice Actions ($5) is an app you should probably avoid. Not only is it more expensive than your other options, but it seems to get confused by most commands. It’s supposed to be capable of finding all sorts of information, setting alarms, voice dialing contants, and much more, but even when it understood the names I gave it—both simple and complex—it wasn’t sure what to do with them. I’d say “call Whitson Gordon” and it would get the name right, but search for it rather than recognize I wanted to make a phone call. While Voice Actions can supposedly do quite a bit, I couldn’t get it to do all that much. Your mileage may vary, but considering it’s the most expensive option you’ve got it’s hard to recommend giving it a try when you’ve got a free app that does the same stuff and two cheaper paid apps that work very well.

CNET TV’s: Vlingo for Smarter TV

Erin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:43:15 +0000

This has been an incredibly exciting week for Vlingo. Just a few days ago at CES 2012, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow, we announced that Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant is now available for Smart TV’s. Expanding Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant beyond mobile to television is a natural extension. Adding Virtual Assistant capabilities to the television will allow consumers to easily locate the right show, movie or program among thousands of choices on TV at any given time, eliminating frustration and improving the entertainment experience. For those of you who haven’t seen how Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant for Smarter TV, take a look at CNET TV’s coverage:

Vlingo Announces its Virtual Assistant for Smarter TV

TJ — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:49:11 +0000

Vlingo Corporation today announced its Virtual Assistant solution for TV manufacturers, set-top box makers and service providers. Adding Virtual Assistant capabilities to the television will allow consumers to easily locate the right show, movie or program among thousands of choices on TV at any given time, eliminating frustration and improving the entertainment experience. With advanced technology and services covering speech, intent engines, natural language processing, dialogue management, monetization and user experience design, Vlingo ignites differentiation, stickiness, and user satisfaction.

“Households worldwide have access to thousands of TV channels and dozens of service provider choices. Vlingo aims to simplify TV chaos by providing a simple, intuitive method for discovering the right content from among all those choices, making the experience enjoyable for users and avoiding the frustration of limited, hard to use remote controls,” said Chris Barnett, EVP Markets at Vlingo. “The Vlingo Virtual Assistant for TV is designed to modernize that thing your grandfather once called a ‘remote control’. Everyone deserves their own assistant and Vlingo’s new TV product offering will make this a reality on TVs this year.”

Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant for Smarter TV will allow users to perform the following tasks with their voice:

Browse and find: Users can search and discover content by actor, genre or director using Vlingo’s newly developed dialogue manager which engages users with interactive browsing
Watch shows: “Watch the Price is Right” or “Find western movies starring Clint Eastwood”
Record programs: “Record Modern Family tonight at 8pm” or “Record the game on ESPN next Monday night at 9pm”
Rent and buy movies: “Rent The Fighter on Netflix” or “Play Rocky Four on-demand”
Basic controls: “Switch to on-demand”, “Put on ESPN”, “Go to Netflix” or “Turn up the volume”
Social media communication: “Facebook update: Joe is watching Lost on Hulu”

For TV manufacturers, set-top box makers, and service providers interested in a preview and partnering with Vlingo, please visit http://vlingo.com/partners.

On December 20, 2011, Vlingo announced the signing of an agreement for Nuance to acquire Vlingo. While the acquisition is expected to close during calendar 2012, no specific closing date has been determined. Vlingo will continue to deliver its products and services as an independent company until the deal closes.

About Vlingo

Vlingo creates voice-powered products and solutions that simplify how individuals connect to the people, places and information that matter most. Through a seamless integration of speech recognition, natural language processing, and its proprietary Intent Engine, Vlingo technology powers its own line of smartphone applications, as well as custom solutions for partners in the mobile, automotive and smart TV industries. Founded in 2006, Vlingo is backed by Charles River Ventures, Sigma Partners, Yahoo! and AT&T and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, go to www.vlingo.com.

Vlingo in 2012: What’s Next for the Virtual Assistant

TJ — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:47:07 +0000

Like most people in the New Year, we here at Vlingo have been thinking about all the promise that 2012 holds. We wanted to share a video that offers a sneak peek into some of what’s to come, as well as offer our thoughts on trends we think will emerge for voice-activated assistants. One things for sure – it is going to be an another exciting year at Vlingo.

Trends to Watch in 2012

#1 – Mobile Voice Goes (Really) Mainstream

What? You say this happened last year with Siri? Sure, it is certainly true that Siri caused an inflection point in the industry. However, the real mainstream moment will hit when Google releases its Siri-rival (with some reports suggesting that launch is only weeks away), and Microsoft improves its own native voice technology. More and more device makers will also look to differentiate their own products by closely integrating voice. No question Apple fired a shot across the bow in 2011, and 2012 will be the year the major players in mobile let Apple know they are prepared to fire back.

#2 – To the Cloud!

Historically, a lot of the voice-enabled features on smartphones have lived on the phone. That’s to say that a good portion of the “thinking” has been done right on the device. Certain simple functionality will continue to remain on your handset, but more and more of the heavy lifting will be done in the cloud. What does this mean for everyone? It means more breadth and depth in terms of content. It means faster processing. It means improved accuracy. It means better, more natural dialog between the Assistant and you.

But perhaps most importantly it will…

#3 – Enable Cross-Device and Cross-Platform

With more of the work being done in the cloud, it means it will be easier to synch and send information across devices and platforms. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could ask your tablet a question and have the answer show up on your TV? Or if you could send directions you found on your phone directly to an in-vehicle navigation system? The possibilities are nearly endless, and the day when this type of functionality appears on all sorts of connected devices is rapidly approaching.

As you can see, there is plenty to look forward to in 2012. What do you think of Vlingo’s vision? Did we miss any key trends?

Vlingo Adds Support for the HTC Rezound

Erin — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:47:36 +0000

Hope you and your families are enjoying the wonderful holiday season! 2011 has been a great year and we thank you all for your support! Just a quick note to let everyone know that Vlingo has added support for the HTC Rezound from Verizon Wireless.

Click here to download Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant!

Hope you enjoy!

Vlingo signs agreement to be acquired by Nuance

TJ — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:20:27 +0000

As many of you read Tuesday, Vlingo has entered an agreement to be acquired by Nuance.

First of all, we would like to thank all of you – our long time customers – for the support you have shown us over the years. From our first product launch all the way to the recent Mashable Award, you have stood by us and passionately spread the word about Vlingo’s products. We’re eternally grateful and we plan to continue to earn your loyalty. We say it quite often, and we mean it every time, but we really could not have gotten here without you.

Thank you.

We’re incredibly excited about what Vlingo and Nuance will be able to do as a combined force. Both companies share a vision for how voice can transform the way we interact with our phones, tvs, cars, and just about any other connected device. Going forward we will be far better suited to serve you, our customers, by working together with Nuance to continue making industry leading products.

So now the question that many of you have been asking – what does this mean for you? The short answer is absolutely nothing right now. We will continue to operate as an independent company as the acquisition goes through the standard approval processes. We will continue to push out updates to our current suite of products. After the transaction is completed, , as is the case with all mergers and acquisitions, Vlingo and Nuance will sit down together and evaluate the best way to synch the two product sets. We can’t tell you how that will shake out (because we don’t know), but we can tell you we will hold our customers interests and loyalty close to us when we go through that process.

We know that probably isn’t the level of detail some of you hoped for, but the reality is we just don’t have all of the answers yet. We will keep you up to date when key decisions are made, and we’ll do our best to answer questions you might have in the interim.

We certainly hope that you continue to use and enjoy our products. Everyone here at Vlingo looks forward to serving all of you for many, many years to come as a part of Nuance. Thanks again.

Best,
Team Vlingo

With social, 3rd party app controls Vlingo goes beyond simply “Siri for Android”

TJ — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:16:44 +0000

Thus far we’ve looked at how Vlingo and Siri are largely comparable across many core functions. Today we’ll start to take a look at some ways where the two Assistants handle your requests differently.

The Vlingo Virtual Assistant on Android can help you open popular third party services like Spotify, Pandora and YouTube. Siri, unfortunately, cannot. This illustrates one of the key differences between Vlingo and Siri – Vlingo wants to remain open, allowing you to choose what content is important, while Siri prefers a much more tightly controlled experience. You see this again when we look at social networking. Vlingo allows you to update Facebook or Twitter, and check in with foursquare. No such luck on Siri. Check out the video below. We think after watching you’re realize that Vlingo is much more than just Siri for Android. It’s a more open, social Assistant.

What do you think? Any other questions for us about how Vlingo and Siri differ?

Thanks,

Vlingo Delivers Better Handsfree Controls Than Siri For Your Android Phone

TJ — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:19:10 +0000

Hello everyone and welcome back to our video series where we’ll be showing side-by-side comparisons between Vlingo and Siri. In this video we take a closer look at how helpful your Assistant is when you can’t touch or look at your phone. What we found may surprise some folks – Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant for Android phones actually offers superior handsfree controls. While Siri and your iPhone 4S need regular management, when Vlingo is in InCar mode your Assistant springs to life with a simple wake up word and you never need to touch your phone to send texts, get directions or make a call.

Don’t take our word for it, though. Check out the video and let us know what you think.

Be sure to check back again next week for another video where we compare how Vlingo and Siri work with 3rd party apps and social networks. In the meantime please let us know in the comments if there are any other comparisons you like to see.

Thanks,

The Best Alternative to Siri on Android

TJ — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:26:09 +0000

Siri, the new voice activated assistant on the iPhone 4S, has taken the world by storm the last two months. What many people don’t know is that the Vlingo Virtual Assistant has been around for many years, and offers much of the same assistant-like functionality. This is the first video in a series in which we’ll take a look at Vlingo and Siri in a side-by-side comparison. I think what the video will show you is that Vlingo is the original, and still the best alternative to Siri.

Here we compare how the Vlingo Virtual Assistant on Android handles some tasks that Apple has featured prominently in its advertising. Please check back in with our blog or on our YouTube channel for the next installment – coming very soon.

Let us know what you think about this video, and if you have any other ideas for comparisons. We’re all ears!

Vlingo is a finalist for Most Innovative Mobile App at the 2011 Mashable Awards (we need your votes!)

TJ — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:23:14 +0000

First of all, a BIG thank you to everyone who helped nominate us. We feel quite loved. Thank you!

Now that we have been selected as a finalist we need your help one more time to get us over the hump. The competition is stiff, and we really would appreciate (and need) your votes.

The Mashable Awards are some of the biggest in technology, and winners are announced at the annual Mash Bash during the Consumer Electronics Show in January. So if Vlingo has ever helped you out in a pinch, or made your life a little bit easier, please vote for us as the Most Innovative Mobile App.

How to Vote for Vlingo:

Visit this page http://mashable.com/follow/contests/mashable-awards-2011/

Select “Most Innovative Mobile App” from the first drop down

Select “Vlingo” from the second

That’s it! Thank you very much.

We very seriously appreciate everyone coming out to help nominated us. We’ll all celebrate together in January if we end up winning it all – that’s a promise.

Thanks in advance for the support. In the meantime, we’ll keep working as fast as we can to make our Virtual Assistant even more helpful.

Thank You,