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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.

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It’s been rumored for quite a while that Amazon would be manufacturing their own smartphone, especially considering that they have their own tablets. While still have yet to see anything official come out from that front, we’ve been treated with a report saying that the e-tailer giant has acquired Evi, which is a Siri-like voice control app.

According to TechCrunch, anonymous sources are claiming that Amazon purchased Evi for $26 million. Furthermore, it’s said that all of Evi’s directors have been replaced by Amazon’s UK legal representatives, and the company’s records show that all directors have been replaced and all loans have been paid off.

Evi has been a bit of a controversial product in the past. It was pulled from the iTunes App Store for being too similar to Siri, but was later let back in. Evi works similar to Siri, where it uses a natural language search engine to find answers for questions that are asked by users. However, Evi can learn from your questioning habits and produce better answers in the future.

Back in January, Amazon acquired text-to-speech company IVONA, but that seemed to be mostly meant for Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet lineup. However, it’s a feature that we could also see in an Amazon smartphone as well. With the acquisition of Evi, Amazon may be looking to take on Apple directly, but we’ll ultimately have to wait and see what happens.

[via TechCrunch]

Amazon reportedly acquires Evi voice-control app to take on Siri is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

[DEMO Mobile] Sherpa is currently the number one voice personal assistant for Android in the Spanish-speaking world, according to the company. Sherpa for the Spanish language was launched in October 2012 and today, it makes its debut in the US market both in English and in Spanish.

Yesterday, I met with Sherpa’s founder and CEO Xabier Uribe-Etxebarria who built the algorithm that powers Sherpa, which is the result of his research in advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) and semantics technologies.

Xabier Uribe-Etxebarria showed me a demo of Sherpa that was quite impressive: using complex voice commands, the system can perform a number of intelligent tasks such as booking a flight, starting the navigation app to the next meeting’s location, playing music, getting relevant information about concerts, displaying in depth information related to a public figure or paying via Paypal.

(more…)

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This week it’s become apparent that not only has Apple begun production on the next-generation iPhone model, they’ve already set a general date range for revealing said device. With the smartphone we must assume will be called iPhone 5S, Apple has been tipped to be going forward with a design that had definite Steve Jobs input, this suggesting the idea that the iPhone 5 body will remain in-tact.

According to recent job listings from Apple, Siri will once again be getting a boost in abilities. The whole of iOS is also being given an overhaul of sorts – definitely a real possibility now that Jony Ive is working on the software end of things along with his role as lead industrial designer.

The next version of the software will quite likely be toned-down as far as 3D effects – Ive has been notoriously against such textures and bumps, opting instead for flat, modern design in all things. According to the same set of tips, Apple has moved a number of developers over from OS X 10.9 to iOS 7 so that they’ll be able to finish work on the system by the time the next iPhone is revealed and released.

There’s also still talk of an inexpensive iPhone hitting the market this summer. Such a phone would cost less than the current iPhone and would work with materials that allow said phone to be constructed for a cost far smaller than the iPhone 5. Plastics, that is. Multi-colored plastics at that.

Have a peek at the iPhone 5S timeline below for more information leaked, tipped, or otherwise on the possibilities this summer holds!

iPhone 5S and the “budget” iPhone: should you wait for Summer? is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s not surprising, obviously, but it seems Apple is wanting to boost the accuracy and performance of Siri, the company’s voice-controlled personal assistant of sorts. Apple posted up 12 job listings over the weekend, all of which relate to Siri. Most of the positions are rather vague on what exactly the involvement is with Siri on a consumer level, but they hint at some features that may come to the voice-controlled personal assistant.

Such positions include a Speech Operations Engineer, who will be responsible for deploying large-scale server infrastructures, as well as a few Siri Software Engineers who will “help build out new areas of expertise for Siri, expanding the product’s capabilities for millions of users,” which suggest that further compatibility with more apps may be in the books.

There’s also a position for a Siri Integration Engineer, who will be responsible for prioritizing “incoming feature enhancements and functionality regressions that may arise, ensuring that the tickets are appropriately categorized,” which means that they would be responsible for troubleshooting new Siri features as they come along.

The Siri Interaction Designer job listing probably gives the biggest clue that Apple is looking to go all-in with Siri. This position will involve extending Siri’s “capabilities, knowledge, and intelligence.” Again, it’s not too surprising that Apple is improving on Siri, but it points to the fact that after introducing Siri in 2011 with the iPhone 4S, the company may finally be conducting a full-scale overhaul of the service. Of course, this isn’t the first job listing to hint at Siri improvements. There was a job listing back in January that would see Siri act more like a “distinct, recognizable character.”

[via Fast Company]

Apple looking to bolster Siri cred, according to job listings is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.