Apple"s Siri natural voice recognition feature in its iPhone 4S smartphone has certainly gotten a lot of media attention. It"s even starting to enter into pop culture. Now there"s a new rumor that Google is working on its own natural voice recognition feature for its Android mobile operating system. Android and Me reports via unnamed sources that this new feature is being designed as the next step in the already released Voice Actions features for Android.
In the new version, the feature will be able to respond to more varied and natural voice commands. Currently, the Voice Actions feature only responds to specific voice commands. It will also allow for Google search commands.
According to the story, the new Android voice recognition feature has an interesting code name: Majel. The late Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, played voice of the computer on board all Federation starships, including the various versions of the Enterprise, throughout the history of the TV show and movies.
The story claims that Majel could be released for Android users as early as the end of 2011, although it adds that a release in January or February of 2012 is more likely at this point. Naturally, Google has yet to officially comment on this new rumor.