Many owners of devices running Google’s Android operating system were fooled into downloading an app on the Android Market for a supposedly official Android equivalent of Apple’s voice-activated assistant Siri.

Tech site The Next Web said the “Siri for Android” app by “Official App” claims to be an official port of Siri but is just a shortcut that launches Google’s built-in Voice Actions.

“Experienced smartphone users will immediately recognize that the app is bogus, in fact a small number of users have given the app low ratings to ensure that it doesn’t start to trend in the Android Market download charts. The problem here is that hundreds, if not thousands, of Android device owners have already been sucked in by the app and downloaded it onto their device — smartphone users new to the platform may know no different and download it also,” it said.

While The Next Web said the developer does not hide the fact that “Siri for Android” is nothing more than an app launcher, it noted the developer also issued an “official” app for the popular online pinboard Pinterest – which merely redirects a user to Pinterest’s mobile site.

Google has since pulled the app and banned the developer's other apps, an update posted on Saturday (Manila time) said.

On the other hand, The Next Web noted Google still employs “little-to-no checks” on its marketplace, allowing such developers to launch potentially copyright/trademark-infringing applications.

It also said the lack of checks may potentially allow developers to sideload malware into the app, “using the brand name to ensure thousands of installs.”



More informations for free android & free iPhone games: android news free iphone games