Newsletter
Google Now has been out on 4.1 Jelly Bean devices for a while, but what about those who are still rocking Ice Cream Sandwich? Well, there’s some good news and it won’t involve you having to root your phone and install a custom ROM.
Sure. You don’t get Google Now, but Nuance Dragon Mobile Assistant offers similar functionality. The app is available now from the Play Store and is currently in beta. If you recall, Nuance released an app a long time ago or at least what seems like it, called Dragon Go! which basically just offered voice-to-text functionality.
Now, with Dragon Mobile Assistant, it takes that same sophisticated voice recognition technology, but gives you the ability to do all sorts of actions. Here’s what’s listed on the Play Store page:
- Make a call – “Call Ashley on her mobile”
- Send a text message – “Tell John I’ll be there in five”
- Create a calendar event – “Set up a meeting with Jake Barnes tomorrow at 2pm”
- Update Facebook or Twitter – “Send out a new Tweet, What a finish to the game!”
- Use maps and find directions – “What’s the best way to Portland, Maine?”
- Find restaurants and make reservations – “Find brewpubs in Boston”
- Check the weather – “How’s the weather look this week?”
- Look up local businesses and points of interest – “Fenway Park”
- And access content and information from over 200 websites with the Dragon Go! search carousel
You can fire up the app by opening it as you normally would, or can simply say, “Hi Dragon” which will wake it up. Reviews are a bit mixed at this point, then again, Dragon Mobile Assistant is still in beta so users can’t expect everything to run super smooth right out of the gate.
Nuance said that they plan on expanding availability and have new features planned before the end of this year. While it may not be Google Now, at least others can get their hands on an app that can at least provide a similar experience.