siri

Google may be planning Siri rival for later this year

Google could be cooking up a new voice assistant designed to out-Siri Siri.

The company is said to have a new system in the works dubbed "Assistant" designed to help people complete tasks by voice. And if Google's plans come together, Assistant could debut in the fourth quarter, according to TechCrunch.

Citing information from a source, TechCrunch said on Friday that the search giant would control all of the layers involved in Assistant. But Google would let third-party developers tap into the system to create their own unique apps, a marked contrast from Apple's Siri, which … Read more

Car Tech Live 253: 2012 BMW 328i & Geneva show preview (podcast)

We drive the 2012 BMW 328i sedan and give you our best guess as to what's going to make tech news at the 2012 Geneva auto show, from new Minis to new Ferraris.

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Friday Poll: Will you swap your old iPad for iPad 3?

My iPad 2 has survived almost a whole year of use, several hours of cats swiping at the screen, three different cases, and countless Infinity Blade foes vanquished. I'm not quite ready to give it up, but I may change my mind once the iPad 3 is unveiled.

The fervor around the iPad 3 will kick into high gear on March 7, the official announcement day scheduled for next week.

We're hearing about all sorts of cool potential features like Siri, 4G LTE, and a Retina Display.

Those are some big carrots to tempt current iPad owners into an upgrade buying binge.… Read more

What does Siri look like? See for yourself

Siri's voice evokes different images for different people. We know she probably doesn't look like a big, hairy guy. So if Siri were real, what would she look like?

A contest by Shapeways offers a few different answers to that question. One of the top two winners is "Omniscient Siri" by SaGa Design. It takes the form of a face attempting to escape from an iPhone. It also doubles as a particularly unusual iPhone case.

The other winning design, by Eddie Adolf, imagines Siri as a punk-rock cyborg personal assistant sitting at a curved desk taking your questions through a headset.

Other favorite designs that received honorable mentions include an image of Siri as a pants-less sexy superhero and Siri as a fritzed-out blockheaded robot wrestling with information overload.… Read more

iPad 3 to be 'significant' refresh with LTE and Siri, says analyst

The iPad 3 will be a substantial upgrade over the current model with a variety of "beefed up specs," says Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu.

Based on information from supply chain sources, Wu says the new iPad will sport a much faster processor, a higher-resolution screen, 4G LTE wireless, and the addition of voice assistant Siri. The analyst believes a robust near-term refresh is due since the the iPad 2 is about to turn a year old.

This week, Apple announced an event for March 7 at which the company is expected to unveil its latest iPad.

Other … Read more

Rumor Has It, Ep. 22: Is Google jealous of Siri? (podcast)

Apple's invite doesn't explicitly say "iPad 3," which leaves us surmising whether the tablet about to be unveiled mere feet from the CNET office will be--drum-roll not necessary--the iPad 2S!

Noooooooooooooooo!

But since the mere acknowledgment of an iPad announcement on March 7 makes me the loser of the game show this month (sad face), we come up with an ingenious plan to find out the true identity of the iPad as soon as it's announced!

No, not by live-blogging or finagling another invite to the event from Apple (pshaw), but rather by filming me … Read more

Motorola: Come see how slow-witted Siri is! Please?

So you work in the marketing department at Motorola. You've just been bought by Google.

What do you do to ingratiate yourself? Why, you tell people that Apple is monstrously sucky.

But this is Google we're talking about. The Google that likes data, even when it comes to suckiness. So you create videos that show-- with quite startling factitude-- that Apple's new sexy siren Siri is the slowest-witted assistant since Baldrick.

I am grateful to 9to5 Mac for finding these films. For, yes, here we have utterly incontrovertible proof that Android Voice Actions-- may I christen … Read more

Will Apple pull Siri rival Evi from the App Store?

Apple may be looking to take down its latest Siri rival for fear of competition.

Launched as an Android App, Evi made its iOS debut in Apple's App Store in mid-January. But after a little more than a month, its days may be numbered.

William Tunstall-Pedoe, CEO of Evi developer True Knowledge, told TechCrunch that he received a phone call on Friday from an Apple representative named Richard Chipman, who apparently handles some of the calls about apps on the chopping block.

Chipman reportedly told Tunstall-Pedoe that Apple was going to remove Evi from the App Store since it … Read more

CNET Roadside Assistance 46: How to cozy up with Siri while driving (podcast)

Siri can be great in car, but you need to do some work to get it to play ball with all your other gear.

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