Developer Shai Leib has introduced a Windows Phone app, titled ‘Ask Ziggy‘, that aims to compete with Apple’s Siri app for the iPhone 4S. Like Siri, Ask Ziggy uses speech recognition technology in lieu of traditional text entry for search queries. Users can find directions, flight status information, stock prices, weather, calculation results and other information.
Although the Ask Ziggy interface shares the same basic layout as that of Siri, placing queries results in chat bubbles, the app does not directly copy the icons and name of Apple’s alternative. Google recently pulled a “Siri for Android” app, though another imitator, Speerit, has remained on the Android Market despite its clear use of Apple’s icons.
Leib’s app reportedly utilizes Nuance’s speech recognition engine, which is paired with other algorithms that sweep search results for relevant responses and direct answers. When a direct answer cannot be found, users are linked to the search results.
Despite the presence of third-party Siri clones for Windows Phone, Microsoft has yet to offer a true alternative. The company’s chief research officer, Craig Mundie, recently downplayed the significance of Apple’s technology, claiming Microsoft brought voice search a year prior with TellMe tech.
