Apple Acquires Voice-Based Search Provider

Apple purchased voice-enabled mobile search and personal assistant technologies provider Siri last week for an undisclosed amount.

Siri, which launched earlier this year, is only available in the United States as a download for Apple’s iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. The application lets users speak or type into the device, and it will carry out the command or find answers to the question.

Siri uses natural language understanding and speech recognition technologies from Nuance Communications to recognize open-ended questions and process requests, and gathers information by searching contact lists and the Web—using sites like Twitter, OpenTable, and Yelp as guides. Results can include reviews, maps, schedules, timetables, directions, and more.

In addition to searching the Web, Siri lets users reserve tickets for events, tables in restaurants, or even taxicabs, and can even contact a user’s wife for him to let her know that he’ll be late for dinner. Once the information is collected, the user can share it with others via email.

The acquisition by Apple has further sparked speculation that the company is stepping up its battle with Google over the smartphone market, and gives Apple a bigger stake in voice-activated search. Apple has already dropped Google as the default search engine on its iPhone, and it is unclear whether the company has plans for Siri to replace it.

Siri is a spin-off of Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and launched in the Apple iPhone App Store in February.