In the arms race for technology that the smartphone has come to resemble, the use of voice search is as hot a commodity as any. More and more, people expect to be able to interact with these devices in a hands free way that makes the technology disappear. Apple (AAPL), for one, has made substantial investments to purchase this technology and protect the patents associated with it. Although the company may have been the first to use this technology in a significant way with Siri, it is now facing major competition.
Google (GOOG) announced on Tuesday that it would add a voice-powered search feature to its application on all iPhone and iPads. If it was not bad enough for Apple that its Silicon Valley rival would be using iOS platforms to compete, the reviews for the new technology have been excellent. Being able to tap into Google’s vast search network and its very advanced “Knowledge Graph” gives its voice feature a huge leg up on Siri. Although Apple insists that Siri is still in a Beta phase, customers have expressed dismay at the inaccuracy and the inconsistency with which this digital assistant delivers quality information.
If more iPhone and iPad users start migrating to the Google app on their devices for voice and regular search, the ripple effects could be profound. Even in instances where Google’s voice search cannot precisely answer a query, it will give you a full web search result. As customers realize that Google’s technology is superior to Apple’s in this respect, they may just wonder how much better an experience they could be having on an Android device. For Apple, iPhone 5 could not get here soon enough.
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Being that Android already has hold of a significant portion of the smartphone market, it is not as if they are an upstart about to take Apple down. Nonetheless, as Tim Cook tries to prove his company can continue to be an innovator and not just a firm that purchases its technology, asserting its superiority in the voice technology sector is a necessity. Below is a list of the companies heavily invested in the smartphone or tablet market to help you start your research.
Use the Turbo Chart to Compare the Performance of the First Two Companies in the List to the S&P 500:
1. Apple Inc. (AAPL, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. Market cap at $582.05B, most recent closing price at $619.36.
2. Google Inc. (GOOG, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Google is the world’s most popular search engine. Market cap at $209.48B, most recent closing price at $639.38.
3. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Designs, manufactures, and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Market cap at $3.83B, most recent closing price at $7.42.
4. Research In Motion Limited (RIMM, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Designs, manufactures, and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Market cap at $3.83B, most recent closing price at $7.42.
5. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Operates as an online retailer in North America and internationally. Market cap at $106.94B, most recent closing price at $235.77.
Written by Dan Connelly
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- Research In Motion Limited (RIMM, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
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