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Google Goes After Apple With New Siri-Like iPhone, iPad Assistant

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) -- Google is trying to upstage Siri, the sometimes droll assistant that answers questions and helps people manage their lives on Apple's iPhone and iPad.

The duel begins Monday with the release of a free iPhone and iPad app that features Google Now, a technology that performs many of the same functions as Siri.

It's the first time that Google Now has been available on devices that aren't running on the latest version of Google Inc.'s Android software. The 9-month-old technology is part of an upgrade to Google's search application for iOS, the Apple Inc. software that powers the iPhone and iPad.

Google Now's invasion of Siri's turf marks Google Inc.'s latest attempt to lure iPhone and iPad users away from a service that Apple built into its own devices.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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