The forthcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system is likely to feature a Siri-like personal assistant after the functionality arrived with an update to the Dev Alpha handset.
The new feature, available to those using the prototype touchscreen handset to develop for BlackBerry 10, allows users to give commands to the device by holding down the mute button and speaking.
The guys at CrackBerry.com have posted a video and a host of available commands showcasing the new feature, which asks "please speak a command after the beep," when activated.
The as-yet-nameless and unconfirmed functionality lets users open web pages, find directions, check the weather, move meetings, call contacts, set reminders and play music, among other things.
As you can see from the video, some aspects of the tech work better than others, so it's clearly a work in progress and it remains to be seen whether it will appear in the final BB10 product, expected in January 2013.
Smart move
It certainly makes sense that RIM would choose BB10 to add a competent voice control element to its smartphones as Apple, Google and Samsung are all motoring along with this, to some extent.
With RIM's continued focus on business users, a voice controlled personal assistant could find a more comfortable home on BlackBerrys than on more consumer-friendly devices like the Samsung Galaxy S3.
Via: CrackBerry
