Late last night, we told you that the Nokia 6 Android powered smartphone had been unveiled. The handset will launch early this year as an exclusive in China for JD.com. Now comes word that Nokia has filed for a trademark in the EU for the name “Viki.” This might be the name of a voice activated virtual personal assistant that the company is working on. In the product description section of the application, Viki is described as “Software for the creation and monitoring of mobile and web assistants working with digital knowledge and combining all data sources into a single chat and voice-based interface.”
If Viki is a new voice-activated assistant, she is entering a burgeoning market that includes Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana, Alexa, and Bixby. Huawei has already announced that it will include Amazon’s Alexa personal assistant on its next U.S. bound flagship phone. Nokia would also be challenging Google by employing a competing assistant on its new Android handsets.
Of course, there is the possibility that Viki is not an assistant and is related to some other project that Nokia is working on. Still, the name Viki, especially spelled in this manner, certainly has the feel of a virtual, voice activated personal assistant.
source: GSMInfo.nl (translated)
