Paul Morgan Wesley

Good news! It only cost Apple $200 million to catch up with Google's
Voice action and Vlingo.

"Today Apple announced the iPhone 4S which disappointed many who were
expecting to see the iPhone 5. However, Apple was still able to excite
the fanbase with the public demo Siri, a virtual personal assistant
coming to iOS5 on October 12th. Apple acquired the company Siri for $200
million in April of last year and Steve Jobs described it as “artificial
intelligence�, not search or speech recognition.

Apple sums up the new service on their site. “Siri on iPhone 4S lets you
use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls,
and more. Ask Siri to do things just by talking the way you talk. Siri
understands what you say, knows what you mean, and even talks back. Siri
is so easy to use and does so much, you’ll keep finding more and more
ways to use it.�

Android already has similar virtual assistant apps like Vlingo, but they
are not as deeply integrated into the operating system as closely as
Siri. Check out the demo video below for an idea of what to expect.

If you were hoping that Google would launch their own virtual assistant
into the next version Android, then you might get your wish as soon as
next week. I recently received a random tip that Google has been working
on taking their Voice Search app to the next level with similar virtual
assistant features. Unfortunately I don’t have any specific details, but
we know that Google has been a leader in voice technology and facial
recognition is coming to Ice Cream Sandwich.

What I think Google might have in store is some kind of animated
character or pet that is tied to your Google account and appears on your
Android unlock screen. This might sound kind of crazy, but picture
something like Talking Tom Cat 2 (or Seaman for the Sega Dreamcast!),
but with real intelligence behind it that learns and remembers
everything you do."

<http://androidandme.com/2011/10/news/if-you-think-apples-siri-assistant-is-cool-wait-till-you-see-what-google-has-been-working-on/>

<http://wythtech.posterous.com/googles-response-to-apples-siri-android-voice>

Conclusion? If the phone is a disappointment, add some gadget.