Quiet purchase of Yap suggests voice control coming to Kindle Fire

by Steven Mostyn - Nov 10 2011, 09:23

One of the best new features aboard the iPhone 4S is Siri voice recognition, which enables users to aurally input basic navigational and functional commands—unless those users happen to be Scottish or Australian (cough).

So it comes as no surprise to note that online-retailer-turned-gadget-maker Amazon may have quietly obtained Charlotte-based voice recognition specialist Yap Inc. back in September.

Although Amazon officials are still to formally announce the acquisition, an SEC filing initially unearthed by the CLT Blog and The Atlantic all-but confirms the purchase as Yap’s physical address is now listed as belonging to Amazon.

Yap Inc. originally made its mark on the technology sector by producing (a now defunct) voicemail software application that enabled smartphone users (iOS and Android) to automatically transcribe voice messages into on-screen text.

“Yap is truly a leader in freeform speech recognition and driving innovation in the mobile user experience,” enthused Paul Grim of funding supporter SunBridge Partners back in 2008.

“It is increasingly clear that the fastest, easiest, and safest way to interact with services on a mobile device is using your voice, and Yap makes this both possible and intuitive,” he added.

While, of course, we are speculating wildly at this juncture, by adding Yap to its product portfolio, it’s likely that Amazon could be planning to bring voice recognition technology to future iterations of its Kindle Fire tablet, which is due to hit retail next week.

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