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IVR Service Provider Magnifis Hits a Home Run with Robin

By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor

Californians are being the first to date Robin, a new IVR (Interactive Voice Response) service for the Android (News - Alert). The new app recently launched and is being offered in California only at this time. While Robin may appear to be a lot like Siri and Evi, this girl is car focused and built for speed. She was created by IVR service provider Magnifis to optimize hands-free communication in the car and on the go. 

With her advanced technology, Robin is able to keep the entire conversation in her “head”, according to a recent CNet report. This means that when the user asks for directions to a specific location and then asks “what’s the parking like there?” Robin will know exactly what you are referring to and provide an accurate answer.

One of the best features Robin offers is the complete dedication to allowing the driver to focus 100 percent while on the road. Unlike Evi and Siri, Robin reads information back to you for confirmation in order to not stray a driver’s eyes from the road. For iPhone (News - Alert) 4 users putting Siri to the test to send a text, email or schedule an appointment, Siri always asks if the message is ready for action, requiring a quick read.

Robin is a lot like another navigation app known as Waze. Both are activated by simply waving a hand in front of the phone – just another bonus feature developed with drivers in mind. IVR service provider, Magnifis, really had drivers in mind when they created Robin.  

The company’s main objective, however, is to enable Robin to connect with other apps and provide IVR service providers with interoperability. Many other solutions could take advantage of Robin’s capabilities, including restaurants, venue sites, to-go menu services and flight data services.

Currently, Robin is only able to report on parking, traffic, weather and sports. Yes, that’s right guys: she can read the sports results from last night’s game while you’re driving down the freeway. She can clearly understand commands and questions ranging from traffic information, directions and real-time parking information.

One user already noted that Robin enabled them to find parking in downtown San Francisco relatively quickly and efficiently – something that is not an easy process, for even a native. A majority of the earliest reviews are giving five-star ratings, and like most technology, Robin is evolving and learning to be capable of so much more.

Will Robin trump Apple’s (News - Alert) Siri? Don’t expect the next iteration of Siri to fall short of any other IVR service provider’s solution. The good news is this constant innovation will only bring added benefit for the consumer base.