Let me preface this by saying that ESRA will be a disappointment to those who are expecting it to compete with Siri.
Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's talk more about this jailbreak app. ESRA stands for Experimental Speech Response Application, and as you can see from the video, it more than lives up to the "experimental" portion of the ESRA acronym...
A few days ago we told you about one clever fellow who had found a way to create a 'Siri proxy,' allowing him to intercept Siri commands. This, in theory, makes Siri compatible with just about anything with an API, and the original proof of concept demonstrated Siri controlling a thermostat.
Now it seems that proof of concept has become something of an arms race, with likeminded individuals now making Siri connect with all manner of things, the latest being an automobile.
Using a Viper car system, an individual was able to instruct Siri to lock and unlock the car's doors, as well as start and stop the engine. Super cool, indeed...
For those that really take todo systems seriously, the OmniFocus app is often at the top of the list for getting things done. With a suite of apps that covers the Mac, iPad and iPhone, OmniFocus creators The Omni Group have created a real powerhouse of applications that many swear by.
In the latest update for the iPhone version of their OmniFocus app, the developers at The OmniGroup have taken Apple's lack of a Siri API and gone all Chuck Norris on it. Instead of waiting for Apple to give them permission to use Siri to create tasks, they have linked OmniFocus with iCloud, which in turn gives the app full access to reminders created using iOS 5's built-in Reminders app.
The end result? You can now tell Siri to create reminders in OmniFocus...
Wouldn't it be cool if you could invoke Siri without pressing and holding your Home button?
I've always thought that Apple should include such an option for when we're on the road and want to control our devices with Siri.
That's the concept behind a new jailbreak tweak entitled Hands-Free Control. Once the iPhone 4S jailbreak is made public, it will allow you to invoke Siri by voice alone.
In the meantime, though, you can invoke Voice Control on pre-iPhone 4S devices...
VoiceKeys is a brand new jailbreak tweak from Ryan Petrich, that attempts to bring easy to use speech-to-text to the iPhone.
In order to make the tweak as seamlessly integrated as possible, Ryan opted to use the already popular Action Menu as a means to invoke the speech recognition properties.
The result thus far has been sort of a mixed bag, but keep in mind that this is only version 1.0 of the tweak. Check inside for a video demonstration of VoiceKeys in action...