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Holy free app! Robin could be an Android packin' driver's best friend

Holy free app! Robin could be an Android packin' driver's best friend

Posted: 17 Jun 2012, 06:51, by Alan F.

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Holy free app! Robin could be an Android packin' driver's best friend

Tucked away inside Google Play Store is a free app called Robin that could easily be mistaken as another Siri knock-off. The difference, though, is that Robin isn't supposed to be Siri, at least not yet. Designed for drivers, Robin is limited to navigation, real-time traffic, finding parking or the nearest (and cheapest) gas station, weather, telling jokes, reading Yelp reviews and there also is some Twitter integration. Because it is in beta, the app does misfire every now and then and forces you to repeat your request. We asked Robin to find the nearest gas station and it said that there were none nearby even though a Mobil station is less than a mile away. We saw nothing at all resembling the smooth running app shown on the official video. The developer, Palo Alto based Magnifis, says that Robin is a "student" and is not yet perfect.


Screenshots of Robin

According to the developer, Robin is supposed to be like KITT from Knight Rider as it will eventually be able to learn the driver's usual driving patterns and proactively report on traffic, navigation and speed traps. Robin will even learn the user's preferences in jokes and news as this functionality is added. Just keep in mind that this is not Siri or even S Voice for that matter. In fact, don't even try to ask Robin to do some of the things that Siri does. For example, we asked Robin to set an alarm and received a response that it was "pissed" that we asked because it is not yet programmed for such a task.

If Magnifis can work out all of the bugs, and keeps Robin's eye on the road, this could be a nice little gem of an app. On the other hand, if the developer gets caught up in trying to copy Siri, it could end up misunderstood and lost in a sea of Siri copycats. As it is, many reviews at the Google Play Store are negative as users try to compare Robin to Siri. For now, that is a battle that Robin is not going to win.

source: GooglePlayStore via Phandroid

Press Release

Palo Alto, CA (PRWEB) June 16, 2012

Robin is designed with drivers in mind, aiming to provide them with relevant information, guidance and content via a natural voice / gesture interface. In the car, this interface becomes key, enabling a completely eyes-free interaction: voice in, voice out. Importantly, Robin's powerful dialogue engine allows a natural and smooth conversation flow, always keeping track of the implied context. Starting a dialogue is as easy as "waving hello" in front of the phone's screen, so one never has to look away from the road.

At the moment, Robin is available in beta across the US, offering features such as local search (including Yelp reviews), navigation, real-time traffic and parking information, gas prices, weather and more. And for those getting bored behind the wheel, Robin can narrate personal Twitter news (with more content reportedly coming soon) and even tell jokes.

According to Magnifis, the company behind Robin, these are just the first steps. Drawing inspiration from the famous KITT of the "Knight Rider" fame, Robin is poised to emerge as a very personal kind of assistant that becomes increasingly helpful as she gets to know her "master" better. For instance, Robin will be able to proactively alert drivers about traffic or speed cameras, based on her knowledge of one's schedule and driving patterns. And the two-way communication will make it easy for the drivers to share information, e.g., about traffic (Waze style). She will also serve as "personalized radio", narrating relevant news aggregated from a variety of sources and even learn the individual's taste in jokes.

"Today, people still think of a car assistant primarily in terms of navigation," says Magnifis co-founder/CEO Ilya Eckstein. "But in fact, we don't use navigation much, as most of the time we know our way around. What we really need in the car is someone to watch out for us as we go and be there when we need... well, just about anything. That, and being able to remain fully connected and empowered behind the wheel. To not miss out on a single important bit of life, even when you are not staring at the screen. And that is exactly what Robin is meant to help us with."

About Magnifis
Based in Palo Alto, Calif., Magnifis is a leading innovator in speech interfaces, machine learning and location-based services. The company is using proprietary multi-language understanding technology - already powering a major service in Israel - and is backed by private investors. For more information, please visit: http://www.magnifis.com.

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1. Mxyzptlk posted on 17 Jun 2012, 07:04 2 14

Holy unoriginal!

3. Non_Sequitur posted on 17 Jun 2012, 07:52 15 2

Just like your comments.
Every. Single. Day.

13. Mxyzptlk posted on 17 Jun 2012, 14:22 0 4

u mad bro?

12. networkdood posted on 17 Jun 2012, 13:59 2 1

g.k, taco, mxy, strikercho, or whatever name it uses nowadays should form an apple love society....

14. Mxyzptlk posted on 17 Jun 2012, 14:23 0 2

This isn't about Apple. It's about being original.

2. Droid_X_Doug posted on 17 Jun 2012, 07:16 2 1

The fact that reviewers are comparing Robin to Siri is bad news for Robin. The developer has basically not been able to position Robin where it wants. The epitaph for Robin will be about how it couldn't be a better Siri for Android.

4. SlimSoulja86 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 07:52 9 1

Why do we always have to compare everything to Siri, and call them Siri copies, while these sorts of things hav b there for like, EVER?

It's not like Siri was the first VA. Let's all get a grip and life while we are at it. Siri is not the first VA, so let's stop comparing all Virtual Assistants to Siri, or call every VA a copy of Siri. Yes Siri is currently d best in its ranking but not the first.

6. ilia1986 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 09:47 9 0

It's hopeless man. Once Apple gets its dirty claws upon a product\service, and then markets it as its own - everyone suddenly start believing that they invented it in the first place..

11. networkdood posted on 17 Jun 2012, 13:58 0 0

the funny thing is that not as many apple iphone/ipad users use Siri as much as Apple would like to see, thus the update in iOS6. Honestly, if you have to update Siri so that it can tell you the score of a game, then something is not right with the program. It should be written to respond to nearly any command, ask for more input from the user, and once anaylsis has been completed, it should be able to actually talk to the user.

16. D_Tech-tive posted on 17 Jun 2012, 16:20 0 0

Right!

20. Mitchel posted on 18 Jun 2012, 01:17 0 0

True story.

5. Birds posted on 17 Jun 2012, 09:46 2 6

Thats a huge turn-on. Now I want an iPhone....

22. Mxyzptlk posted on 18 Jun 2012, 14:43 0 0

Good idea.

7. GP007 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 10:32 0 2

Apple gets ripped pretty regularly on its shortcomings or copy cat apps.

Apple has Siri, Android doesn't have an equivalent. Perhaps Robin will fill the void, perhaps it won't.

Apple upped the ante on this front. Will the Android community respond?

10. networkdood posted on 17 Jun 2012, 13:55 4 2

lol, it was apple who had to respond - Android has no need to respond to an inferior product - run along now, kid...mommy is calling.

15. LionStone posted on 17 Jun 2012, 16:01 0 0

It IS hilarious...when apple 'just' finally catches up with Voice Actions, and now with with Maps and Navigation...funny.

17. paulyyd posted on 17 Jun 2012, 16:40 0 0

@networkdood someones mad

19. GP007 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 20:39 0 0

Not a fan or user of Apple.

Regardless, your response is not really any different than that of an Apple fanboy who sensed some slight.

Where is Androids version of Siri?

21. Mitchel posted on 18 Jun 2012, 01:20 0 0

Samsung Galaxy S III has its own voice assistant too..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKAZOJ5uJFc

This comment is posted in response to #19 Show

This comment is posted in response to #19 Hide

8. InspectorGadget80 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 10:40 0 0

THIS APP IS HORRIBLE

18. Blackhawk4 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 19:16 0 0

Care to go into more depth about why it is horrible, or are you fine with just sounding like an idiot?

9. adi4u4882 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 11:13 1 0

When i just read the title,
I thought Robin was used for compiling Drivers for Android.

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- OS: Android 4.2.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1900 MHz, Krait 300, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 5.0 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 13 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
Apple iPhone 5
- Announced: 12 Sep 2012
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- Hardware: Dual core, 1300 MHz, Apple Swift, 1016 MB RAM
- Display: 4.0 inches, 640 x 1136 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900), CDMA (800 1700/2100 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS EV-DO Rev.A EV-DO Rev.B
Samsung GALAXY Note II
- Announced: 29 Aug 2012
- OS: Android 4.1.2 4.1.1
- Hardware: Quad core, 1600 MHz, ARM Cortex-A9, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 5.5 inches, 720 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 35 hours of Talk Time, 980 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
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- OS: Android 4.1.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1700 MHz, Krait 300, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 4.7 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 4 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900), CDMA (800 1900)
- Data: LTE HSPA (unspecified) UMTS EDGE GPRS
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- OS: Android 4.1.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 5.0 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 13.1 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 11 hours of Talk Time, 550 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
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- Announced: 29 Oct 2012
- OS: Android 4.2.2 4.2.1 4.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 4.7 inches, 768 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 15.3 hours of Talk Time, 390 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
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- OS: Android 4.1.2 4.0.4
- Hardware: Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 4.7 inches, 768 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 13 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 15 hours of Talk Time, 335 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE HSPA (unspecified) UMTS EDGE GPRS
Nokia Lumia 920
- Announced: 05 Sep 2012
- OS: Windows Phone 8
- Hardware: Dual core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 1024 MB RAM
- Display: 4.5 inches, 768 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8.7 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 17 hours of Talk Time, 400 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS

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Holy free app! Robin could be an Android packin' driver's best friend

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22 Comments Follow Following

1. Mxyzptlk posted on 17 Jun 2012, 07:04 2 14

3. Non_Sequitur posted on 17 Jun 2012, 07:52 15 2

13. Mxyzptlk posted on 17 Jun 2012, 14:22 0 4

12. networkdood posted on 17 Jun 2012, 13:59 2 1

14. Mxyzptlk posted on 17 Jun 2012, 14:23 0 2

2. Droid_X_Doug posted on 17 Jun 2012, 07:16 2 1

4. SlimSoulja86 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 07:52 9 1

6. ilia1986 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 09:47 9 0

11. networkdood posted on 17 Jun 2012, 13:58 0 0

16. D_Tech-tive posted on 17 Jun 2012, 16:20 0 0

20. Mitchel posted on 18 Jun 2012, 01:17 0 0

5. Birds posted on 17 Jun 2012, 09:46 2 6

22. Mxyzptlk posted on 18 Jun 2012, 14:43 0 0

7. GP007 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 10:32 0 2

10. networkdood posted on 17 Jun 2012, 13:55 4 2

15. LionStone posted on 17 Jun 2012, 16:01 0 0

17. paulyyd posted on 17 Jun 2012, 16:40 0 0

19. GP007 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 20:39 0 0

21. Mitchel posted on 18 Jun 2012, 01:20 0 0

8. InspectorGadget80 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 10:40 0 0

18. Blackhawk4 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 19:16 0 0

9. adi4u4882 posted on 17 Jun 2012, 11:13 1 0

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