Patent Reveals Android Rival To Siri

Google is getting into the patent wars fray, first by buying Motorola, and now by filing a new Siri-like patent for Android. Is the search giant worried that Siri could eclipse Google Search?





Not to be outdone by the rumors that Apple’s iTV will (eventually) arrive with a built-in Siri of its own, Google has filed for a patent for a voice-based remote control that would tie into Google TV.

The great thing about Patently Apple is that they not only cover Apple patents, but rival patents as well. And given how patents and trademarks are the most deadly weapons in the gadgets sector, they will most likely remain busy for the foreseeable future.

They broke a new Google patent that I think is actually a rather big piece of news. The new patent reveals an innovative concept that would allow Android users to give voice to commands vis-a-vis a Siri-like feature that would in turn control smart televisions — ostensibly that could rival Apple’s rumored iTV. PopHerald explains: “According to Patently Apple, the patent was described as a cloud-based technology that will allow voice commands from Android phone or tablet to interact with a Set-Top Box, Smart TV and other devices. For starters, the Android device equipped with the unannounced “Siri-like” application must have an internet access in order to control the supported TV. Sounds Apple-ish? Not really because if I’m not mistaken, Google is the first to file the patent.”

Recent reports that Siri leverages the unique "Wolfram Alpha" search engine is further proof that Apple is looking to differentiate its search methods from Google. Clearly, Apple snuck themselves into the search market with Siri, and now Google is trying to sneak into the advanced voice recognition market sector.

What remains to be seen is who will come out on top. Android was the first to advance voice recognition in its operating system, but what is in place now doesn’t even come close to what Siri offers. On the other hand, Google has dominated the search business — some would say that Google invented it — and it may be presumptuous for Apple to think they could ever cut into Google Search’s market dominance, especially considering that Yahoo and Bing have many more years of search experience under their belts, and still have not managed to mount a serious affront to Google.

The Google patent was filed in September of last year, so there are obviously no details as to when this technology will see the light of day in Google’s rapidly developing Android home-based ecosystem. But with the iTV supposedly on the way, and Samsung working on its own voice-based remote, the answer could be sooner rather than later.


Source : Patently Apple; Pop Herald