BlackBerry shows off voice-based Siri and Google Now rival, BlackBerry Assistant

Blackberry’s next flagship phone, Passport will feature a Siri-like voice assistant, called the Blackberry Assistant. The feature will also be available on some Blackberry devices with the 10.3 update.   Since Apple first introduced Siri with its iOS 6 release, other operating systems followed suit; with Android bringing Google Now and Microsoft introducing Cortana in its latest Windows Phone 8.1 operating system. Blackberry Assistant is the latest voice-assistant app in town, with Blackberry announcing the app on its official blog. Here are the key features of the Blackberry Assistant that we know from the post.   Adaptable Apart from helping users stay organized, informed and productive, the new voice-assistant could also adapt to the user based on his interactions with the app. Donny Halliwell said in the blog post, “The more I use it, the more it learns and adapts to me. The more I speak with it, the more tuned-in to my queries it gets.”   Bluetooth compatible The app will be compatible with Bluetooth headsets to aid drivers who would need to use the device without using their hands. This is also possible with Apple’s Siri and Android’s Google Now.   Completes actions without leaving the app Halliwell also added that the new feature completes actions without leaving the Blackberry Assistant app. The blog said, “If I’m driving and I ask it to read my latest email message to me, it does so. I can then ask it to “Mark Unread” without having to enter the BlackBerry Hub.”   Halliwell added users will be “pleasantly surprised” by the accuracy, though we can’t know for sure till we test it ourselves.   We currently have no information if the voice assistant will be able to provide voice-navigation. If it does, note that it is likely to use BB10 Maps that are not as fully fleshed out or feature-rish as Google’s Maps app.  Blackberry Assistant will be pre-loaded on the Passport, which will feature a 1,440×1,440 square touch screen and a new touch-enabled keyboard, that mimics the classic BlackBerry-style QWERTY.