HMD Global launched its first Nokia Android smartphone – the Nokia 6 – on Sunday and now news reports are suggesting that the company might be working on its own text and voice-based virtual assistant named ‘Viki’. If the reports turn out to be true, Nokia will join the likes of Google, Apple, and Microsoft who already have their own virtual assistants in the form of Google Assistant, Siri, and Cortana respectively.
The company has recently filed for a trademark in the European Union for the name “Viki”, which appears to be a digital assistant from the description, as per a report by MSPowerUser (via GSMInfo.nl). In the description associated with the service under the name, the company said, “Software for the creation and monitoring of mobile and Web digital assistants working with knowledge and combining all data sources into a single chat and voice based interface.”
As Nokia is making a return to the mobile market and needs more than just nostalgia factor to compete against the like of Apple and Samsung, the company’s own digital assistant might help in setting apart its Android smartphones.
However, it will be interesting to see how well it will be able to fare against the heavily-praised Google Assistant, which makes use of machine learning and gets better with time, and Apple’s iconic digital assistant Siri. We will also have to wait and see if the company brings on some additional functionality with its personal digital assistant, if and when it launches.
[“source-ndtv”]