7 free Siri alternatives for Android

The release of the iPhone 4S brought the debut of Siri, a personal assistant tool which has quickly attained a pop-culture following. Programs that control the functions of a computer and can look up things for you on the Internet through voice commands have been around for a while. Apple pitches Siri as letting you do this in a more conversational way, and the program talks back to you at times with clever responses, especially to absurd questions.

But Android device owners already have had a number of voice-controlled personal assistants to choose from, and most are free. In fact, some of them were originally published prior to the iPhone 4S, while the others are obviously cashing in on the current popularity of Siri. Here are seven Android personal assistants that you can chat up to do your bidding.