Google's Own 'Siri' Named for Star Trek

Siri's got competition. Google is reportedly working on its own version of the voice-activated smartphone assistant, and rumor has it the software's name honors Star Trek. Google is apparently calling the system "Majel," after Majel Barrett, who did the voice for Star Trek's talking computer, Android and Me reports. Comments from a Google rep suggest there's some truth to the rumors, notes SlashGear.

Discussing Google's existing voice-recognition equipment, an Android director notes that in Star Wars, "you have these robot personalities like C-3PO who messes up and makes jokes. He’s kind of a comic relief guy." On the other hand, "our approach is more like Star Trek, starship Enterprise; every piece of computing surface, everything is voice-aware. You can interact with it at the same time as you talk with it. It’s just another way to interface with the computer.” (More Google stories.)