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Why is multitasking good?

I have an argue with my friend who can't accept that multitasking is something which people need. He has an iPhone and I have a HTC TD2, I told him there are 100 reasons why multitasking is better and that iPhone is far behind because it can only run 1 process at the time.
Could you guys provide me with some reason WHY multitasking is good or better than just running 1 process at the time?

Enjoying music when navigating.
Push mail
Apps running in background open faster
online sync while playing games for example.
That sort of thing.

[ElCondor] said:
Enjoying music when navigating.
Push mail
Apps running in background open faster
online sync while playing games for example.
That sort of thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually took up most of these things and also the fact that you can talk to someone on the phone and go OUTSIDE the dialer and navigate to like email, messages and notes (very important for me) but what he says is this:
You can run music in background and use other programs at the same time.
Who the **** needs to go out of the dialer? Are you retarded? You can just say to the guy you're talking to that you will call him in 2 secs.
But that's exactly what you don't wanna do..

ArtieQ said:
I actually took up most of these things and also the fact that you can talk to someone on the phone and go OUTSIDE the dialer and navigate to like email, messages and notes (very important for me) but what he says is this:
You can run music in background and use other programs at the same time.
Who the **** needs to go out of the dialer? Are you retarded? You can just say to the guy you're talking to that you will call him in 2 secs.
But that's exactly what you don't wanna do..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
holy...
is that déjà-vu? exactly led this kind of kind of discussion with a collegue (quite bright otherwise) and listened to it between him and another of my colleagues
believe me, it's absolutely useless to discuss: any argument you lead will be smashed irrelevant of how reasonable it is
my personal opinion changed after that: it's got to be something like a general attitude in certain people who are at the same time (or for this reason?) mysteriously attracted to the iphone
spare your energy and leave them alone in their tiny little linear world, it's self inflicted imprisonment anyway; if they don't want to see the light, leave them in the dark

DrakenKorin said:
holy...
is that déjà-vu? exactly led this kind of kind of discussion with a collegue (quite bright otherwise) and listened to it between him and another of my colleagues
believe me, it's absolutely useless to discuss: any argument you lead will be smashed irrelevant of how reasonable it is
my personal opinion changed after that: it's got to be something like a general attitude in certain people who are at the same time (or for this reason?) mysteriously attracted to the iphone
spare your energy and leave them alone in their tiny little linear world, it's self inflicted imprisonment anyway; if they don't want to see the light, leave them in the dark
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, that's amazing But you're right, it's useless to argue because it could go on forever and they will never realise the truth.

Ask him to listen to Internet radio and surf the Internet at the same time.
Ask him to listen to the Internet and use a music identifier program to find out the name and singer if that nice song.
Ask him to download a movie then while waiting for it to complete listen to his iPod music.
BTW iPod can and does multitasking the stock programs. It also run the stock program in the background and one third party program in the foreground. It just does not allow third party program to run in the background. Unless he jailbreaks or use OS 4.0.

eaglesteve said:
Ask him to listen to Internet radio and surf the Internet at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's not impossible with a lot of radio stations on the iPhone w/o jailbreaking - see section "1.2.1 Playing in the background" in my dedicated article at http://www.iphonelife.com/blog/87/e...need-know-about-listening-radio-iphone-part-i .
Note that both ooTunes and Pocket Tunes have received background playback capabilities in the meantime.

Tell him that multitasking is good because Steve Job's has added it to iPhone OS 4 (don't bother trying to explain the limits and conditions that come with it, you might give me a brain tumor).
That ought to change his world view real quick.

Menneisyys; said:
it's not impossible with a lot of radio stations on the iPhone w/o jailbreaking - see section "1.2.1 Playing in the background" in my dedicated article at http://www.iphonelife.com/blog/87/e...need-know-about-listening-radio-iphone-part-i .
Note that both ooTunes and Pocket Tunes have received background playback capabilities in the meantime.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strictly speaking you're right. I was just saying that in general it is the case. My own Internet radio has this feature too without jailbreak, but most of them can't do it without jailbreak.
Great article you've written there.

The human brain can in general only focus on two tasks at a time.
Same would go for the device.
You do not want a phone that while you are talking to somebody
1. also plays music
2. and is also providing turn-by-turn voice navigation
3. is reading your incoming text messages
4. announcing your appointments
Multi tasking only makes sense when the task themselves make sense to be done together.

Instant Messenger Programs
some program just end the connections when switch to other apps, causing you to log off from the server.

chikoo said:
The human brain can in general only focus on two tasks at a time.
Same would go for the device.
You do not want a phone that while you are talking to somebody
1. also plays music
2. and is also providing turn-by-turn voice navigation
3. is reading your incoming text messages
4. announcing your appointments
Multi tasking only makes sense when the task themselves make sense to be done together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would say that the human brain can only really focus on one task at a time. We are terrible at multitasking despite protests to the contrary by some.
If I am reading a web page while listening to music, it is very unlikely that I am actually paying attention to the song or its lyrics. The same goes vice versa.
There is what we are currently focused on, and then there is background noise. If we try to split our attention, we usually end up doing both tasks less well.
Thus multitasking on computers is not usually about allowing us to do two things at once, it is about not shutting down or halting one task when we briefly switch our attention to another.
For many situations, simply suspending the operation of of a program until it regains focus is sufficient. But there are always, always exceptions where having the option of true multitasking will save a lot of headaches and frustrations. Usually this involves cases where the computer needs to maintain a persistent connection to a server such as for IM, SSH, etc.
The scenarios you mentioned all involve background apps interfering with the in-call speaker. This is easily solved by simply giving the phone "app" exclusive use of the external audio while a call is in session.

chikoo said:
The human brain can in general only focus on two tasks at a time.
Same would go for the device.
You do not want a phone that while you are talking to somebody
1. also plays music
2. and is also providing turn-by-turn voice navigation
3. is reading your incoming text messages
4. announcing your appointments
Multi tasking only makes sense when the task themselves make sense to be done together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I'd find that very useful.
If I'm going for a long journey to somewhere new, I'll have my blackstone bluetoothed to my radio, giving directions from tomtom while either playing music from the storage card or internet radio. It's also recieving emails in the background. Reading out texts would be a boon as it would mean I'd not have to hit the home button, then read the text, then drop back to tomtom (which was merrily running in the background).
Similarly if I need to pull over and take a call, look up information in one of the notes and send an email after cutting and pasting that information, then drop back to tomtom without having to wait for it to find the gps signal again.
Today I had to phone the tax office, so switched from the dialer to notes to give them the reference number and take down any info they gave me. If I couldn't do that, I'd have to write the information on my hand or carry around a notebook and pen all the time.

chikoo; said:
The human brain can in general only focus on two tasks at a time.
Same would go for the device.
You do not want a phone that while you are talking to somebody
1. also plays music
2. and is also providing turn-by-turn voice navigation
3. is reading your incoming text messages
4. announcing your appointments
Multi tasking only makes sense when the task themselves make sense to be done together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not disputing that at all. Users can't watch a video and use TomTom at the same time.
It makes sense that VOIP could continue to receive call in the background. Or download to continue in the background. Or GPS position tracking to continue if you havev to receive that call and when the call is finished your gps should be showing you at where you are without having to start it all over again. Or music, radio, podcast must be allowed to continue while reading an ebook or surf the net. These activities could go together for most users without distractions.

ArtieQ said:
I have an argue with my friend who can't accept that multitasking is something which people need. He has an iPhone and I have a HTC TD2, I told him there are 100 reasons why multitasking is better and that iPhone is far behind because it can only run 1 process at the time.
Could you guys provide me with some reason WHY multitasking is good or better than just running 1 process at the time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a good one, tell him to tell his boss that multitasking is bad...
Let the boss enlighten him... LoLz..
I have been talking to iphone users n have given up a loooooong time ago.. To them iphone is "God", so when u threaten or question their God... U know what happens next,haha...

App Suggestions for my project

Hi everyone, i know there are tonssssss of nice people here on xda forums, and i was just hoping for some suggestions because i have to choose a project to work on.. any java game / application which is not too tough is fine. It doesnt have to be an original application, so i was thinkin maybe some simple apps which u guys love? I'm still not that good at it as i have just started learning bout using netbeans to develops the java apps.. i will have bout a month or two to work on it. please give me some suggestions? thank you everyone Much appreciated.

cloning/image app/program for windows mobile
i do not know how hard it would be but just a thought, but it should be a true image .... something like acronis or seagate etc but for windows mobile

how about using the blu tooth technology to turn the phone into a ps3 key board similar to the g remote for ur windows desktop.
or app that is like winterboard where it manages ur cabs alot more organized so u can switch them off and on isntead of deleting and replacing clocks lock screens etc etc
a craigslist app is a very popular
ebay app
sound boards or voice changers
a cocktail drink guide
synthasizer
as for games
here
are a list of games that would be cool
teenage mutant ninja turtles arcade version
left for dead the 8 bit version(google it)
plants v.s. zombies
iphone version of resident evil 4
maybe gta china town wars or even gta 1
mortal kombat
fallout 1 or 2

how about;
an app which uses the oem headphones and mike and turns them into a noise-canceling headset
a music editing app like audacity
and (my favourite) a light saber app

game
Well 1st congradulations on becoming a developer. I too in my spare time develop but I develop games. If this is your 1st time developing a complete project I would suggest a simple game. A game like pong,space invaders, or pacman. I dont know your level but those can be made relatively easy and give you time to add something to make an original twist. Since I program in C language I dont know if any of the commands are similar in java maybe I could help. Goodluck on your project and keep us posted.

This is proly a tough one, but one I would (and many others) love to see on our HD2 phones.
Netflix watch instantly app from our queue.
Why they half assed the Netflix app in the first place is beyond me.

thanks for all the suggestions guys! knew some of you here on xda would be happy to gimme some ideas. First i thought nobody was gonna bother replying. lol. thanks again and I will keep you guys informed when i decide what to do and if I need any help. Thanks a lot everyone.

I just noticed your handle; football-fan. I am assuming you mean soccer?
Perhaps combine your love for the game with your project and develop something relating to the upcoming World Cup.
An app that has the game fixture, match time etc. It could also connect and update scores and match stats as they happen. It could keep track of the heats and results. Keep a tree/chart of who wins and loses, who makes it to the finals etc.
I have no doubt there are plenty of people out there who would love an app like that. Especially considering you could produce something that is ad free. I am assuming that any official app that comes from commercial organisations will be plastered with sponsorship logos and the like.

Franwella said:
I just noticed your handle; football-fan. I am assuming you mean soccer?
Perhaps combine your love for the game with your project and develop something relating to the upcoming World Cup.
An app that has the game fixture, match time etc. It could also connect and update scores and match stats as they happen. It could keep track of the heats and results. Keep a tree/chart of who wins and loses, who makes it to the finals etc.
I have no doubt there are plenty of people out there who would love an app like that. Especially considering you could produce something that is ad free. I am assuming that any official app that comes from commercial organisations will be plastered with sponsorship logos and the like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the idea!
but my lecturer was saying it would be better if the apps that we make would require move.. interaction / input from the user?

football_fan said:
thanks for the idea!
but my lecturer was saying it would be better if the apps that we make would require move.. interaction / input from the user?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about a playlist editor for wmp? Something that would allow you to browse folders and select tracks and build a playlist from scratch.
It may seem a pretty plain application, but it would mean coding a decent GUI (that would obvously run purely on user interaction), but it would still have some more "gutsy" stuff, like system access, reading folder and files etc., and you'd also have to make sure you can build a playlist file. (I have no idea what format a playlist is in - it could be a simple list, but is more likely to be xml)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=683297

Settlers of Catan

Hey there,
There is a Settlers of Catan game for the iPhone. I'm wondering if anyone knew of that game being ported to Android any time soon? All I can find for Android is the 'Better Settlers' which helps with setting up the board.
Thanks in advance for any info!
Jeremy

shameless "bump!"
I would guess there would be copyright issues or some such :S

well you could try developing your own game..

I'd like to see settlers of catan on this platform too!

Me too, if someone is interested in doing the gameplay, maybe graphics, or whatever else. I would be happy to do the development.
Doesn't neccessarily have to be clone as such, it can have similar gameplay. Try playing something like Travian, it's similar but not exact.

It's a game I'd love to have on my phone . . . don't know it well enough to have a go at dev, but I'd be happy to alpha/beta/gamma test if someone gave it a crack . . .

there was a flash game i found a while ago - never got it working on my mogul though. Also I could help with graphics if a new game was designed

I'd love a SoC game for my Evo. Any new info on this?
Sent from my HTC Evo using Tapatalk + Swype

This would really be great. Id like a version where you could play with others on different phones via wifi/3g. It would be a lot of fun to play with friends and coworkers through out the day (or week as needed)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

mesasone said:
This would really be great. Id like a version where you could play with others on different phones via wifi/3g. It would be a lot of fun to play with friends and coworkers through out the day (or week as needed)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. This would be an awesome
Multi-player app especially if you could save and resume a game. You'd almost have to have one person host the game so the data is all housed on one SD card.
Other thoughts are the ability to change the rules before starting, built in chat and or push to talk functionality, bartering alerts, next turn alerts, review of score and previous actions, the list goes on.
If someone is serious about developing this then I am totally willing to help think it through and create graphics. Send me a PM.
Sent from my HTC Vogue FroYo using XDA App

Settlers of Catan Android game in the works
I've been having a dabble with android development and have been working on a Settlers of Catan game as it is such a great game and it's a good way to learn android dev.
I'm ready to admit that someone might beat me to it, whether by making the iphone version available to android or whatever, but still if anyone is interested in a) helping out on the project b) doing some testing or c) pimping the game, let me know! You can contact me on cettlersofsatan at gmail dot com.
It's currently in SVN online in a single user repository. But I would happily move it to Google Code or something if others were interested.

I'm as eager as everyone else to see this project pull through. And stone do NOT lose faith. It is always better to have an option then only one option for a game/app.
I have assembled a list of people who expressed interest in helping:
stoneskin - work in progress
niknah - dev
Willuknight - graphics
ii Candor ii - graphics/thinktank
DJGibbon - test
You guys should really get together especially with stone and get cracking! Heard some good ideas and plenty of offers to help. The XDA community NEEDS A SETTLERS!
Thanks guys!

I'd love to help too. I don't think can commit the time to help with development though. Real life is just too hectic lately. However, I'd love to help testing.
If the time opens up, I'm interested in helping with development.
As to graphics, just no skills to bring to the table. Although, I did have a thought last night on this subject. The game might be more playable with simpler graphics. Instead of trying to have an understandable picture of sheep/ore/... on the hexes, just use colors. Light green for wool/sheep, dark green or brown for lumber, goldenrod/yellow for wheat, dark grey for ore and dark red for brick.

Work in progress!
Gino, Latenk, thanks for the feedback. Here's the deal.
I agree, simple graphics to start with, I've uploaded a screenshot, but before anyone analyses it too much , let me state what I want from the project initially.
1) The basic game (i.e. no expansions) in full.
2) Multi-player (up to 4 initially) or single-player (with AI) on one phone.
3) Basic graphics, but a clean separation in implementation so that the graphics, special effects, zoom, board rotation, whatever the monkey-magic one wants, can be added ON TOP OF the rest of the app.
4) Game is free (shouldn't be any copyright issues right?) and would be great if it could get onto Android Market or equivalent.
5) Open source?
I hate graphics, hate the tweaking, fiddling, pixel-adjusting and so on, so I've knocked up the simplest GUI imaginable. I've slapped on a handful of buttons which as you can see, have rubbish little text labels - RD = Roll Dice (in one of the screenshots it's displaying the number rolled), BR/BS/BC are build road/settlement/city, MR = Move Robber, C=Cancel, D=Done, X=exit.
In these shots I'm not even playing a game, I'm in a test mode where I'm just free-building. My colour is white. So a hex-side is painted white for a road, the small circles are settlements, the large circle is a city. The large red circle is me selecting a vertices. As you can see, the current player (Bob) has no resources (free-building) but resources are laid out with shoddy little cards.
So the graphics are v. poor. But I'm not too concerned right about it right now.
Where have I got to?
I've got the basic 'model' in place. That is the game model that maintains hexes, vertices, hex-sides and their roads/settlements/cities.
I haven't even touched on AI, ports, trading.
I'm trying to build the app cleanly, so the views have no concrete knowledge of the game model, and any calls to it are interfaced out.
But this is my first Android app, so I'm learning from scratch, possibly comitting all sorts of Android crimes.
I'm a full-time .Net developer, so I'm kinda fitting this in around job/family and so on, so progress is slow.
Here are my thoughts. I'll aim to get this to a clean/stable state within the next week or so, then if others want to get involved in dev I'll create a Google Code project (or equivalent) and sort it out from there.
I'm currently building against 1.6 because I have an X10 mini. It would be great to support up to the latest API versions.
Ok, uploading the images now. Graphics ARE AWFUL but I'm focussing on the game at the moment.

By the way, if anyone knows what licensing/copyright issues there are with something like this please let me know. I've currently called the project 'Cettlers of Satan' 'cos that made me smile. If rights issues meant it can't go through market places then so be it, but would be great if someone could research this.

Haha, you know that is a basic layout but gets the job done! What you could do is have the game map be at least twice as large as say the resolution of a N1 screen. Enable finger scrolling and/or pinch to zoom (comlpex perhaps but a thought) and let people move around the game map as needed. That'd allow for better graphics, larger maps, and a larger feel to the game. The HUD could possibly go up either side of the game map. In fact I'd say make landscape mode MANDATORY so you have the extra real estate.
Check this out: http://games.asobrain.com/
That is what I envision this game like. That game is everything this game COULD be and he even found ways around copyright. Check that game out, play a round or two and it will give you plenty to think about/use as inspiration. Obviously no need to copy, but you can use it for ideas.
Lastly, the previous statement someone made about notifications is pure gold. Allow people to play their turns then pass to the next with a notification appearing. Great ideas.

I've been there before, but a while ago and he's closed all unactive accounts and stopped registration unfortunately.
If you are a member maybe you could upload a couple of screenshots or explain to me how the GUI works in more detail.
I love the idea of finger scrolling/pinch/zoom etc. I'm gonna give some of that a go tomorrow. But like I say, what I'm initially trying to achieve is
GUI
Model
in a clean separation. So any visual representation would be possible. I'll try and knock out some basic zoom/finger scroll effects just to convince myself that my rudimentary framework will hold together.
Thanks for the quick feedback mate.

This shows the basic layout, how it all works, the HUD and such. Again this would have to be adjusted for the handheld, but in general it looks and works great!
In the top left is a pane for the players in the game. It shows Player Name, Player Color, a count of the cards in the players hand, any held and/or played D cards. This pane can be hidden if the player wishes.
The pane on the bottom left shows all things the plyer can buy and what it takes for the player to buy them. (in the android version I imagine this being a tab you can bring up to buy/see what you need and have.
Below that pane is Played Cards, and Table cards which speak for themselves.
Of course along the bottom you see your hand.
On the bottom right you have 3 buttons, claim victory, trade, and end turn.
And of course you see the dice.
Top right is the chat box.
All of this again is simply for inspiration and not for copying. This gives you a great idea of a fleshed out game and how it could look on a handset.
This is a trade window.
Two things of note here. First notice the top left. WHen a player gets cards on a roll, they show up face up for a brief moment. GREAT idea if possible to implement something similar.
Secondly, bottom right is what appears to be a chart. That shows how many times a number has been rolled. This is more advanced than what we'd need, but an interesting idea and prob easy to implement.
Now on this one a couple things to point out. Look at how they do cities and roads. Similar to what you've suggested. I was thinking maybe circles with symbols on the top (kind of like tokens or markers). Of course maybe more intricate and detailed models could be added later.
Also, that speech bubble that popped up shows where the person played their road or city or settlement. This is ESSENTIAL in some form or another on this game. Plan to include SOMETHING like it.
And lastly, this picture shows what it looks like when a person trades succesfully. Again not necessary but certainly handy.
I must repeat again that I DO NOT CONDONE OUTRIGHT PLAGIARISM with anything Asobrain has done. This is purely for inspiration and research. This should give you PLENTY of ideas!
I've got tons!

This is a beautiful start. Couple thoughts.
- The desert color isn't clearly distinct from wheat.
- The name will have to be something other than "Settlers of Catan". I'd avoid the current name for two reasons. One, a lot of us will take some degree of exception to the Satan reference. Two, it's not really different enough to dodge trademark concerns.
- I despise needing to scroll around in a game to see everything. This is my main complaint with "Pirates & Traders".
- On such a small screen, keep the UI as simple as possible. AsoBrain is wonderful. But, it is designed for a largish screen. (BTW, I hate that he killed old accounts when closing registration. I was away for just about the exact period to get locked-out).
- As we proceed, I'd like to plan for a multi-device/network play. This game would be awesome in a peer-to-peer, networked model.
Thanks for getting this started.
P.S. I *REALLY* like how you did the board. The buttons: meh. The board: Wow!

GinoAMelone said:
This is a beautiful start. Couple thoughts.
- The desert color isn't clearly distinct from wheat.
- The name will have to be something other than "Settlers of Catan". I'd avoid the current name for two reasons. One, a lot of us will take some degree of exception to the Satan reference. Two, it's not really different enough to dodge trademark concerns.
- I despise needing to scroll around in a game to see everything. This is my main complaint with "Pirates & Traders".
- On such a small screen, keep the UI as simple as possible. AsoBrain is wonderful. But, it is designed for a largish screen. (BTW, I hate that he killed old accounts when closing registration. I was away for just about the exact period to get locked-out).
- As we proceed, I'd like to plan for a multi-device/network play. This game would be awesome in a peer-to-peer, networked model.
Thanks for getting this started.
P.S. I *REALLY* like how you did the board. The buttons: meh. The board: Wow!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Agreed, the desert should be a tan, and wheat clearly a gold.
2. Also agree. It cannot even closely resemble Settlers. We can worry about the name when we have a game worth naming (I was thinking something like Travista, or something resembling travelers).
3. That is why it'd also be prudent to include a pinch to zoom or zoom controls. Let the player get in close if they wish, or let them sit way back and view it all from a distance.
4. Agreed. Simple yet elegant/complex in its design is what I'd like to see. Again give the player the option of getting as complicated as they wish. This can be easily accomplished with tabs that the player can pull out as needed. The only thing that should remain on the screen is the players hand, and a few essential buttons. Look at a game called PocketEmpires, use that idea for assembling tabs. I do feel that certain tabs should be entirely devoted to one type of action (like a building tab).
5. Once you have a basic game framework laid, you can work on making it work across the board and with all devices. The dev should focus on getting it to work native first, then move onward. As for a p2p network GREAT IDEA! If there is a way we can link this either by device or via a server that'd be the best way. Allow players to run through an entire game, or let players take their turns and move on to another player (IE pass it back and forth via notifications, similar to how Scrabble works on the iPhone).
I only wish I knew any code/dev tools to help with. All these ideas and nothing to do about it!

Great idea for android app! KITT instead of Siri (or Iris and so on)!

Hey Devs!
I had a really great idea for a new app: what about making an app like Siri or Iris or Vlingo etc. in complete Knight Rider KITT Style?!
Of course the app should have the original looking red graphic animation, that moves when KITT is speaking and it should have a real voice output when answering questions, just like Siri but only with KITT like voice.
Is it possible to make this?
What do you think?
To my opinion, an app like this would be awesome, there are still many Knight Rider Fans out there!

Nice idea

Actually like the idea.
Good luck.
Regards.

The amount of money necessary to get ahold of enough server power and programmers to get even a fraction of siri's functionality would be enormous. Apple is a multi billion dollar company... Its nigh impossible for independent programmers and such to really keep up with them. Its a nice idea though
Sent from my SHW-M250S using xda premium

Don't get me wrong, i just had the idea, i'm no developer, so i can't do it myself.

cliffahn said:
The amount of money necessary to get ahold of enough server power and programmers to get even a fraction of siri's functionality would be enormous. Apple is a multi billion dollar company... Its nigh impossible for independent programmers and such to really keep up with them. Its a nice idea though
Sent from my SHW-M250S using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone can search google using the correct api's. Independant programmers have built the basis for what we today know as "Android OS". This is quite possible, with quite a few virtual assitants availble in market for android. There are even cloud based servers available for free, so this is entirely possible. Specially when you look at the boys who are porting android to devices like the htc tytn ii/htc vogue etc

I found a very cool application (but too slow) can be an answer for you it is called voice actions , the voice is name jeanny but you can change the name to be KITT
I did it before reading your post !

Its possible, I'm not sure about the voice though, you would have to create it and make it Androids default voice because all the virtual assistant use Google API's, You could do it different, but its a cool idea.

Mr. Feeny's voice in my phone? Yes please.
Whenever I'm about to make a bad decision, it must say "Michael, wait..."

It's a great idea, but I would expand on that.
Firstly, the application should be modular. Siri is limited and lame. There's so many things I'd like it to be able to do though. This way you can use add ons to expand it's abilities. Maybe allow KITT to interface with my car, or updates from Facebook, and etc.
Secondly, make it able to get more then one voice. KITT is a wonderful idea, but there's a lot of voices I'd also like to hear. GlaDos from Portal, Hal from A Space Odyssey, or even Bender from Futurama.

Well, it could be narrowed down a bit. If the user says "What is ..." then, perhaps, Wolfram what they're asking for?
If they're trying to text or call someone, that also doesn't require a server owned by the creator...
It's not 100% foolproof, but it could be a good start.

Bigfoot in-game resource map. (A quick fix for Fortnite Android)

After playing Fortnite mobile on IOS for many months... it became obvious that supplies drop imbalance will always be an issue for me... I tried to use resource maps online but i have to constantly tab out of the game to look... It was really obnoxious to lose a game because someone gets the perfect weapon and wastes you..But with the release of the game on Android I started to work on something that can make the game more fair for everyone so here it is, took me a few weeks to do but i think its well worth it.. it lets me see where all the supplies are on the in-game map on the fly.. I didnt have time to name it so i just called it bigfoot( suggestions on naming it would be appreciated ) I only made it for android because sadly i suck at developing IOS applications.
Just want to share with because im sure im not the only person who run into supplies issues, and hope this will help anyone who tries it. (This app will always be free with no ads, because its only purpose is to help the community and making app is one of my favorite things to do)