SoundHound, the company behind the music recognition app with the same name, has unexpectedly launched a mobile personal assistant called Hound today.
Just like Siri on iOS or Cortana on Windows, Hound lets you do things like make a call, send a message, search for flights or hotels, navigate to places – you know, all the sort of things a virtual personal assistant can already do for you.
What SoundHound says is different from others, however, is that Hound lets you ask questions in a natural way, rather than having to speak using specific phrases, as it understands the context and details of your request.
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So you can either ask a really specific question all in one go, or a series of follow-up questions.
For now, Android owners can request an invite to the closed beta. iPhone users will have to wait a little longer for the iOS beta to launch, however.
The company is also making it possible for developers to add Hound functionality to their apps through the Houndify APIs.
➤ Hound [SoundHound via Wired]
Read next: Here’s what Microsoft Cortana will look like on iPhone and Android
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