Nuance Communications, makers Dragon Dictation and the voice recognition technology behind Siri in the iPhone 4S, have agreed to purchase competitor Vlingo.
Nuance Communications Inc. agreed to buy Vlingo Inc. in a deal that gives the developer of voice- command technology a system that can respond to spoken words with actions such as Internet searches.
Vlingo had a big boost in downloads after some iPhone users realized it could perform tasks that Siri has yet to offer, such as sending status updates to social networks like Twitter and Facebook by simply speaking into their iPhone.
Details of the upcoming acquisition have yet to be disclosed by either company. While this may be good for Nuance, having one fewer major player in the voice recognition space is sad for those who like dynamic, highly competitive markets.
Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek
