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"Canadian handset maker BlackBerry\u00A0has officially introduced its\u00A0virtual assistant for the\u00A0BlackBerry 10.3 OS, and it's called simply 'BlackBerry Assistant'.\r\n\r\nMuch like assistants on rival platforms, BlackBerry Assistant can do things like\u00A0help you carry out simple tasks on the device (launching apps, sending messages, making calls etc.) using voice commands, as well as slightly more advanced things like searching email or calendars, or finding out what's trending on Twitter, the company\u00A0explained\u00A0in a blog post\u00A0today.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIt also has features designed for driving too, like being able to ask BlackBerry Assistant to read back the most recent email but then additionally asking it to keep it marked as 'unread' so you can follow-up later.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWith Siri arriving for the iPhone first back in 2011 and Google Now capably powering some smart-ish suggestions on Android devices, BlackBerry isn't exactly ahead of the trend here. Even Windows Phone has Cortana for users in the US.\u00A0Better late than never would seem to apply here, and to be fair it does seem\u00A0to be at reasonably smart.\r\n\r\nThere's no word on which devices will support the feature, but we do at least know it should be a part of the BlackBerry 10.3 OS later in the year. It might need a new name though - BlackBerry Assistant just isn't very catchy.\r\n\r\nFeatured Image Credit - Ethan Miller/Getty Images"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2014/07/16/blackberry-assistant-officially-introduced-part-blackberry-10-3-siri-et-al-likely-worried/>