Jarvis

Jarvis is a virtual assistant for geeks. The app's name is inspired by Jarvis in the Iron Man films, Tony Stark's AI creation that controls everything at Stark Industries. As such, the app is something of a novelty that Iron Man fans will probably download and rarely use. If you can get past the obvious connection to pop culture, however, there are some noteworthy features in this Siri-like app for the Android platform. Jarvis can be used with a variety of Android devices. Phones, tablets, and even wearables are compatible with the platform. It was the first PDA to run on Android devices, and the developers have done a pretty good job of keeping it updated since it was introduced back around 2013. Even so, the app has sort of fallen behind other virtual assistants in terms of what it can offer. The manner in which the app functions is similar to the Windows command prompt. Jarvis is able to understand written or voice commands and speak back to you in acknowledgement. What it won't do is hold a conversation like Siri can do on a limited scale. You are basically relegated to giving Jarvis commands for various tasks which the app will then carry out. If you are looking for something like Alexa, this app will probably leave you cold. Some things you can do with Jarvis include automating tasks like alarms and turning off the display on a device. It is also possible to use Jarvis to make phone calls and send texts, but this capability has been around for a long time. Jarvis can be configured to deliver news and weather on command, but many users relate that these functions are hit or miss. It will, however, play songs from your playlist when you speak the name of the song or artist. The frustrating part is that you can already do this on Android devices with Google Speak. Those who crave some nerdy good fun will enjoy Jarvis, but those who want a more full-bodied virtual assistant for Android will be better off looking elsewhere. The lack of AI in this app reduces its functionality to a large degree.