Hasta La Gadget!

While voice assistant features like Siri have potential, it might not necessarily be the most efficient way to retrieve information, especially if you spend half the time repeating yourself so that it understands you. In any case that feature has also become something of a staple in smartphones these days, with Apple releasing Siri, Google has their own take, and Samsung with S Voice as well, so it’s not surprising to think that Amazon could release a smartphone with their own brand of voice assistance.

According to a report by TechCrunch, it seems that Amazon has acquired Evi Technologys Ltd, which is basically a Siri-like software from the UK. Similar to Siri, Evi is expected to be able to perform the same tasks, such as searching, but at the same time it is also able to learn and produce better results the more it is used. Amazon and Evi have both declined to comment on the matter, but at the same time this rumor has added fuel to the speculation that Amazon could be looking to release their own brand of smartphones by the end of the year. Considering that they already have their Kindle Fire Android tablets, an Android smartphone would not be a stretch of the imagination.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Budget iPhone’s Plastic Rear Shell Surfaces [Rumor], Motorola X Phone To Arrive In 20 Different Colors [Rumor],

Amazon isn’t shy about wanting to own as much of the Kindle Fire’s software experience as it can, which creates a challenge when implementing voice search — the company can’t just re-skin Google Now and call it a day. The next-quickest alternative is to buy a company wholesale, and TechCrunch has evidence that Amazon may have gone that route through a very stealthy acquisition of Evi, best known for its eponymous personal assistant app. While neither side has publicly commented on the deal, our colleagues have noticed that all of Evi’s directors and its company secretary have been replaced by staffers linked to Amazon UK. If it’s not an acquisition, there’s been at least some loss of autonomy. We don’t know exactly what Amazon would be doing should the acquisition prove real, although Evi’s Nuance-powered voice assistance for Android and iOS may be enough of a clue in itself — there’s only so many places Amazon can go with such a narrowly focused company.

Filed under: Tablets, Internet, Software, Amazon

Comments

Source: TechCrunch