Review: Siri versus Google Voice Search versus S Voice

Like Siri, Voice Search asked which Yankee Stadium related location we were looking for. When we chose the actual stadium, we were instantly given directions to the stadium, an estimated travel time, the distance from our location and an overhead view of our course with navigation markers.

Winner: Google Voice Search. Coming it at 2.3 seconds, Google's Voice Search was the fastest voice assistant to answer our question. Siri took a full second longer to finish the same task and did not include navigation markers. 

Question 8: "Schedule an appointment with John."

Siri completed in: 5.15 seconds

We asked Siri to schedule an appointment with our friend John at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday July 14. And although it took a few seconds, Apple's voice assistant was able to accurately schedule our appointment.

S Voice completed in: 7.81 seconds

When we asked S Voice to schedule an appointment for us, it automatically created a draft event and asked us to confirm it before adding it to our calendar.

Google Voice Search completed in: 3.42 seconds

Unfortunately, Google Voice Search was unable to schedule an appointment for us. Instead, it performed a web search for "Saturday" and "John."

Winner: Siri. Despite the fact that Siri and S Voice were both able to schedule our appointment, it took S Voice more than two seconds longer to complete the task.

Question 9: "Text Message John."

Siri completed in: 2.49

Asking Siri to send a text to our friend John took no time. The app brought up a draft of our message and asked us to confirm its contents before sending it out. When Siri found two entries labeled John in our phonebook, it issued an audible prompt asking us to choose which John we wanted to send the message to.

S Voice completed in: 4.43

S Voice easily understood and transcribed our text message. Unfortunately, the app once again took the longest to complete its assigned task. Like Siri, S Voice recognized two entries labeled John in our phonebook and audibly prompted us to select the John we wanted to send our message to.

Google Voice Search completed in: 2.85

Google's Voice Search was able to transcribe our text message and, like Siri, asked us to confirm the text's contents before sending it. Google Voice Search was also able to detect multiple entries labeled John in our phonebook and asked which one we wanted to message, however, unlike Siri and S Voice, Google's app didn't provide an audible prompt for this action, only a visual one.

Winner: Siri. Although Google Voice Search and Siri both transcribed our message faster than S Voice, the fact that Google Voice Search didn't issue an audible prompt asking us to select the John we wanted to send our text to means that Siri takes this round.

Question 10: "Post to Twitter"

Siri completed in: 2.9

Siri is currently unable to send dictated Tweets. Apple promises the feature will be implemented with iOS 6.

S Voice completed in: 4.0 seconds

Samsung crushed the competition in this round as the only personal assistant with the ability to post to Twitter.

Google Voice Search completed in: 3.8

Google Voice Search, like Siri, does not offer users the ability to post to Twitter.

Winner: S Voice. Of the three competitors, S Voice is the only one that can post to Twitter. With Apple set to add this feature to Siri as part of its iOS 6 update, however, this round could soon go to Siri.

Overall Winner: Siri

Although Siri is the oldest of the three voice assistant apps, it still managed to eke out a win in the end, taking five out of 10 rounds. While we appreciated S Voice's ability to post to Twitter, and Google Voice Search's ability to return sports scores and images of tall buildings, Siri was just a little better at other tasks like making appointments and texting. Ultimately, however, Siri is the winner.

For more on how technology intersects daily life, follow us on Twitter @venturenaut.

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