Amazon has seen great success with its Kindle Fire tablets, and while they come in a distant second to Apple's iPad, they are the top-selling Android tablets on the market. It's been rumored that Amazon has been secretly working on a Kindle smartphone that will tie into all of Amazon's content and services.
Ever since Apple debuted Siri on the iPhone 4S, the virtual assistant market has grown, and almost every smartphone now comes with a built-in virtual assistant. iOS has Siri, Android has Google Now, BlackBerry has its own Voice Control app and Windows Phone has Tellme. It makes perfect sense that Amazon would acquire its own virtual assistant, and it's called Evi.
Siri wasn't an Apple invention, she began her life on iOS before the iPhone 4S ever got released, as an app for iOS in the App Store. The app didn't have all of the of the bells and whistles of the current incarnation of Siri, but it worked on all iOS devices and was a fairly popular app. The company that created Siri, Siri Inc. had even announced that it would be bringing Siri to BlackBerry and Android. Siri never made it to BlackBerry or Android after Apple acquired the company in 2010. The Siri app worked on all iOS devices until the day Apple announced the iPhone 4S. Once Apple's iPhone 4S event was over the app was removed from the app store and no longer worked. Anyone that is currently using Evi better prepare to find a replacement or use an Amazon Kindle tablet or the rumored Amazon Kindle smartphone.
Evi has been available for both iOS and Android, but if the rumors are true, expect Evi to support only Amazon's devices. TechCrunch is reporting that Amazon has reportedly acquired True Knowledge, the company that makes Evi, for $26 million. While Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets run Android, they don't have access to use Google Now, due to the way Amazon has completely customized Android.
Amazon and True Knowledge have declined to comment on whether this is true, but "no comment" usually means it is. Would you be interested in an Amazon Kindle smartphone? Let us know in the comments.
