[Android Apps and Games] gab1972:
Just chiming in...

a) I also use Ivona Text-to-Speech with Kendra. It just sounds more personable.

b) I use Google. But I would at least make it configurable. If you don't, I guarantee it won't be long before someone asks for it.

c) I've used just about every single one. I've tried them to see how it would work and how accurate it is. I agree, many of them try to be too Siri like. They focus more on the quirky responses than actually getting things done. For me, the top ones are Vlingo, Google Voice Actions/Search, and Speaktoit Assistant.

Vlingo - this was basically the first to accommodate reading text messages as you received them. It offers the ability to start the car mode and you don't even have to touch it after that. Voice Actions and any other app, you have to tap the mircrophone to start your query. With Vlingo, it sits there waiting for you to talk to it. Say, "Hey Vlingo." and it'll ask you what you want. Default response is "What can I do for you?" or something...but you can change it to say whatever. With mine, I say, "Hey Vlingo" and it replies "Wonder Twin powers, activate." Anyways, it reads texts very well. You can command it to send texts, make calls, navigate, search, and update social networks. Plus a whole slew of other things. It falls short with getting information and giving it to you. For example, you can't ask it to give you your agenda or what the weather is today.

Google Voice Actions - this is Android's Siri before Apple even dreamt of Siri. Apple just took it one step further and made it personable. With GVA you can send texts, emails, notes to self, look up info, get the weather, play music, etc. It just will not speak anything back to you.

Speaktoit Assistant - this one is great. It still needs some work as it hasn't learned all the different ways people ask for information. For example, if I ask, "What's on my calendar", it doesn't recognize. But if I ask "What's on my agenda" it'll give me my calendar items. It'll speak the weather and information you ask it. It also has a bit of a personality. Sometimes, too much. For example, if you ask it to "define the word 'b!tch'", it'll respond, "I can really do without the potty mouth."

So...if you could combine, Vlingo, Google Voice Actions, and Speaktoit Assistant, you'd have the perfect Siri-like app. I think what people want the most is the personality that Siri offers. Google will do most of what Siri will do - only without the personality. It'd be like having a mime as a personal assistant. I think Apple is able to make Siri successful because they have a gimongous database with every possible scenario and then they are able to use algorithms to extract commands and then they've included personable response scenarios. With their money, they should be able to afford a database that large. The problem with some of the Siri-clones is that the app has to "learn". Siri already knows. So these types of apps are only as good as the backend information it has stored.

I agree with a few things others have said, make it unique, and make it so that it will handle third party apps. When I say third party, I mean alternative email apps beside GMail, or alternative text messaging like GO SMS, etc. I imagine that Google's app will most likely cater to the Google experience.

I wish the best of luck to anyone attempting one of these apps. It's a tough act to follow after Siri and Google Voice Actions.