I’m not one for talking to technology, (other than shouting at it when its not doing what it should do, but we all do that, right?). Anyway previously I found myself feeling quite awkward trying to use these types of apps, especially when other people were nearby and in ear shot. Even more so when the thing wouldn’t recognise what I was saying and instead of (for example) finding “best places to walk the dog”, it suggested the “best places to dog”, ahem, not quite the result I was looking for!
“Maluuba is THE #1 personal assistant for your Android. It is the best way to search for everything from restaurants to the weather, to concerts. Try out the best Siri alternative on Google Play.”.
A couple of independent quotes and reviews have this to say about Maluuba too:
- “Siri (and then some) for Android” – PCMAG.
- “A DO engine with brains, drawn, and a future” – Mobilesyrup
On opening the app you’re greeted with quite a simple screen showing you the input options either via voice or by typing the info you want and a menu at the top of the screen that you can swipe through. I do love simplified, clean looking menus on apps:
Getting stuck in I did a quick search for the nearest pub, vital information as I’m sure you’ll agree. Straight away I was presented with a list of the nearest venues showing basic reviews in a star rated format and details of each, including distance and first line of the address, see for yourself:
The most handy thing is, it also provides options for what you may want
to do now you’ve found the perfect venue. In this example its given me the options to text, email, tweet and post to Facebook. ….Interesting that Google+ isn’t showing!? Anyway you can send it to your mates and set up calendar events. Impressive so far and simple to use!
The key thing that’s already hit me here is that it recognised what I said straight away, unlike other similar apps I’ve tried before. I even did this in a fairly busy pub and it still picked up my voice quite nicely, briefly showing me what I had said while performing the search. The good thing is I didn’t need to repeat myself and there was no need for any of that over enunciation that I tend to instinctively do with these types of apps.
The only minor difficulty I seem to be having is getting it to recognise the correct contacts, for example when I want to send a text or include some one on an invite. I’m still trying to find a way around this, but for now I just use the type input method, which is fine. Maybe its trial and error with certain names and the way they re spelt vs the way you say them, something Maluuba may need to consider in future updates?
But so far its convinced me to want to stick with it and get some real benefit from using the app. The reminder function for some one with memory capacity to rival a gold fish, its a fantastic tool.
The app comes with three differently sized widgets but because I’m using the organiser element I tend to want to open the app fully, but the widgets are great for quick entry.
So all in all I’m sticking with it, for the first time ever I’m regularly using voice input and integration on my mobile devices and for the first time, I don’t feel foolish using it. To wrap this up check out this rather nice video on you tube, quite funny and it has a little poke at apple’s siri too, which is always a plus.
Try it now for free in the play store, enjoy!
