Chances are you don’t have Siri on your
[color:b81b=blue !important][color:b81b=blue !important]iPhone [color:b81b=blue !important]4,
iPod touch 4G, or iPhone 3GS. There are Siri ports, but most of the
services cost money that you might not be willing to pay. If you want
[color:b81b=blue !important][color:b81b=blue !important]voice [color:b81b=blue !important]assistant functionality for free, then you may have turned to Google’s new Google Search application, which includes a version of Google Now that can be used to search the Web through the Google
[color:b81b=blue !important][color:b81b=blue !important]Search [color:b81b=blue !important]app even on these older iOS devices that don't have Siri.
One problem with this application is that you have to launch the
application to use the voice assistant feature. A new free jailbreak
tweak dubbed
NowNow by iOS developer Nick Frey allows you to set
an Activator action in order to launch the Google Search application and
load up the Google Now voice assistant. This will make it behave more
like Siri on
[color:b81b=blue !important][color:b81b=blue !important]iPhone 4S and newer devices that support Siri.
When you install NowNow, just head over to the Settings application and
you’ll be able to choose your Activator action. If you want to simulate
Siri, we recommend using the hold
[color:b81b=blue !important][color:b81b=blue !important]home [color:b81b=blue !important]button Activator action, since this is how you launch Siri on a Siri-enabled
device. You can, however, use any Activator action that you wish to.
If you have the Google Search application suspended in the iOS device’s
memory, then you will get an almost instant response from the Activator
action. If you don’t have the Google Search application open already,
you will see the application open when you invoke the Activator action
and then the voice assistant will load up. This is something to keep in
mind if you want it to be nice and quick. You may be able to work around
this by never closing out of the Google Search application from the
[color:b81b=blue !important][color:b81b=blue !important]app [color:b81b=blue !important]switcher when you close out of other apps. Even if you are waiting for the app to load, it really doesn't take too long.
As a free tweak attempting to make do with what is made available,
NowNow is a nice little workaround for non-Siri devices. If you like
Google’s new Google Search application and you want quick access to the
voice feature, then check out NowNow!