When the latest iPhone was released to the world it may have looked identical to last year’s model, but it had the new Siri personal assistant feature. Now we can tell you that there are reports of Google planning a Siri rival for Android codenamed Majel, and it may be out soon.
Currently the Siri feature for the iPhone 4S is still in beta so is not even fully functional yet, but it seems that Google has decided to offer something similar for the Android platform. Redmond Pie are reporting that Google engineers are hard at work getting the feature out to Android as early as the first quarter of 2012, or even before the end of this year.
Google is reportedly working on a project that has been given the codename of Majel, which is thought to be after the late Majel Barrett-Roddenberry. Majel provided the voice for the computer in Star Trek Generations and beyond.
There have been a number of applications available for the Android platform that try to replicate the Siri feature. But some of these leave a lot to be desired and developers of the apps will lack the financial clout of Google.
Considering the size of the Android platform any such feature will prove popular, but how many handsets can use any such feature remains to be seen. With many different versions of Android being used it may be harder for Google to develop such a feature. They will also have the worry of being hit with any lawsuits from Apple if it is too similar to Siri.
Would you like to see a good Siri type serviced land on Android?
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