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Personal assistant software has exploded since the release of Apple's Siri. Today's app looks to bring the functionality of a fully fledged mobile personal assistant to your Android device without simply copying the competition. The free app, called Utter!, is currently in development by solo developer Ben Randall, known online as brandall. The first official release for the longtime member of the Android XDA modding community, Utter! is already a powerful tool even though it's still in beta.
Utter! uses optimized voice algorithms to simplify voice control on Android devices. The app supports user-created commands and has a huge list of built-in functions such as searching the Web, creating alarms, updating social networks and turning on and off settings like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. In use, Utter! performed its advertised duties well, but we did find one important shortfall. The app is unable to recognize colloquial language, so to work properly, a user cannot stray from its strict list of commands. For example, saying "send a message to John Smith" returns no results; instead, the user must specify text or email.
With that important qualification, Utter! is by far the most full-featured and customizable personal assistant on Android to date. With quality voice recognition and tons of features, Utter! is a great piece of free software. If this is all true while the app is still in beta, Utter! will only be getting better.
PUBLISHED JAN. 7, 2013
