Nokia smartphones are back, and with it the Finnish company is back under the spotlight. Apart from smartphones though, the company is also reportedly working on its own voice-activated virtual assistant, which could be integrated into its future launches.
Nokia has reportedly filed a trademark in the EU for the name ‘Viki’. Spotted by GSMInfo, Viki is described in the trademark as a “software for the creation and monitoring of mobile and web assistants working with digital knowledge and combining all data sources into a single chat and voice-based interface.” Though it doesn’t explicitly mention the words virtual assistant, the description is pretty clear at what Viki will be.
With Viki integrated into its smartphones, Nokia could be going up against established players like Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Google Assistant. Even Amazon’s Alexa will soon be arriving on smartphones, with Huawei promising its next flagship device for US will be integrated with Amazon’s personal assistant.
Nokia, which recently revived its brand with the launch of the Android powered Nokia 6 in China. If reports are to be believed, Samsung too is working on a virtual assistant for its upcoming Galaxy S8. The South Korean company has acquired Viv Labs, which incidentally boasts creators of Siri. Samsung has been granted trademarks for the names ‘Bixby’ and ‘Kestra’, which are heavily speculated to be male and female alter egos of the assistant. Bixby and Kestra are said to be more advanced than S Voice and deeply integrated with Samsung’s own suite of apps.
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