Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

Amazon gets Siri-ous about mobile, acquires voice technology application Yap

Molly McHugh
By

kindle fire yapAmazon has been making big moves lately. The Kindle Fire and its app marketplace are becoming a more serious competitive threat, with hosting and storage services to back it up. In the scheme of things, Amazon is shaping up to not only challenge the digital retail space, but the Apple ecosystem has been put on notice ever since the rumors of an Amazon tablet surfaced.

And its most recent acquisition has given new life to the Amazon vs. iOS speculation. AllThingsD has confirmed that Amazon now owns Yap, which most recently has been serving as a voicemail-to-text service. However, previously, Yap’s focus was voice recognition technology, something the company was reportedly still developing.

Recommended Videos

Sound familiar? The iPhone 4S’ Siri has been the belle of the iOS ball ever since the refreshed iPhone 4 debuted last month. The all-encompassing virtual assistant has not only been the new handset’s major sell, it’s been heralded as a significant step toward ushering next-gen tech into the average consumer’s hands.

Related

Whether you buy the Siri hype or not, the application has hit a chord with its audience, and Apple competitors know it. No sooner had the iPhone 4S launched then Android takes on Siri began to get some attention. And now, Amazon appears to be investing in its own attempts at artificial intelligence.

The easiest assumption to make right off that bat is that this means a future version of the Kindle Fire will include virtual assistant technology (it’s worth noting that Siri has not made its way to older versions of the iPhone or the iPad – however we’re due for the next-gen version which could very easily include the feature). From there, the grander guesses come fast and furiously: does this confirm that Amazon is pursuing a family of mobile devices—including smartphones and additional tablets? A larger model of the Kindle Fire is rumored to be part of Amazon’s roadmap.

Adding some drama to the deal is the fact that Amazon has kept incredibly quiet about the entire thing. The acquisition has been in the works since last month, and only after a blogger picked up on SEC filing did any of this come to light.

The jury is still out on whether or not Yap means Siri-like intelligence for Amazon products—whatever those products may be. If anything, this just confirms that Amazon won’t remain complacent in the mobile technology race.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Molly McHugh
Molly McHugh
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…
The most common Skype problems and how to fix them
best mac apps for small business skype

Skype is an excellent option for video chats with your friends and family or conducting a videoconference call with your colleagues.  However, Skype is not without its bugs, hiccups, and issues that can make getting face-to-face with someone seem like an ordeal. To make things easier on everyone, we've compiled a selection of the most common Skype problems and how to fix them.
Video not working
If you can't get your camera to work or experience issues seeing other's connections, you might as well be using an actual telephone instead of Skype. Thankfully, these issues can usually be resolved with a bit of tinkering on your end, or they may just be service disruptions on Skype's end.

One of the more common problems that crop up is visual issues due to Skype not having access to your PC or phone's camera. For desktop users, open the Skype application and select the Three horizontal dots near the notification bell icon to access the Skype menu. Select Settings > Audio and video. If your picture fails to appear in the Skype camera preview window, you'll know there's a connection issue.

Read more
The most common iPad problems and how to fix them
Several iPads on a table together.

Apple's iPad has consistently marked among the best tablets, and is considered to be a sort of trailblazer in the field in its own right. As a logical result, your first encounters with common tablet glitches are likely to be iPad glitches. If you're not sure what to do to fix your device, that's okay, as you have to start somewhere. Here are some somewhat common problems that we've found plague iPads again and again, as well as some related iPad troubleshooting advice. Take care and read through the issues related to your problem to get started troubleshooting your iPad.

Read more
The 5 best ring lights for phones in 2024
The Lume Cube Ring Light Pro with a phone.

There are lots of different types of ring lights, but they all have the same primary purpose -- provide a steady light source that will illuminate your subject, whether that's an object, another person, or yourself. If you need a ring light for your phone, there's also an overwhelming number of options, so to help you out, we've rounded up the best ring lights for phones right here. We're going to take you through our recommendations, their advantages over other ring lights for phones in the market, and our selection process that resulted in our top five choices below.

Whether you're a travel vlogger, a video game streamer, or any other kind of content creator, and you prefer using your phone over a dedicated camera or webcam, then you should check out the best ring lights for phones that we've gathered here. Even if you're only going to use it for your personal photos and videos, it's always better to have nice lighting that will simply make everything look nicer, especially in low-light environments. Not everyone needs a ring light for their phone, but for those who do, read on to determine the one that would be perfect for you.
The best ring lights for phones in 2024

Read more