Given the hype around Siri, Apple‘s native iOS voice control, it should surprise no one that speech has become the “It” feature in mobile. Now, there’s word that Amazon could be poised to offer the same: It appears that the company has acquired Yap, a Charlotte, NC–based voice-to-text start-up.

It’s all kind of vague and mysterious, though. Neither company has uttered a peep about the deal — which was struck last September — and in fact, the name “Amazon” didn’t actually appear on the paperwork either. The docs merely stated that Yap merged with an entity named “Dion Acquisition Sub,” an unknown Seattle organization headquartered in an Amazon.com building.

So it’s not a lock that the Amazon Fire will be getting Siri-like speech features, but it does raise the possibility. And considering that Amazon has been getting some press for chipping away at iPad sales, it poses an interesting scenario: With that feature on board, could future versions of these Amazon devices wind up being the fiercest competitors yet for the Apple tablet?

[via The Atlantic]

Edited for clarity

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Tags Amazon, Amazon Fire, Amazon tablet, Apple, iOS, iPad, Siri, speech command, speech-to-text, voice-to-text, Yap