What Did Apple Snatch From Under Verizon’s Nose?

A little look at history shows that, in some cases, one man’s treasure is another man’s treasure. Or, in this case, that Verizon’s (NYSE:VZ) treasure was perhaps Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) treasure, and unfortunately, only one company could actually have it.

The treasure in question is none other than Siri. The friendly, genial, supportive, task-performing, direction-giving personal assistant program, which launched on the iPhone 4S in 2011 and has been a great selling point for Apple devices — popular enough to spread from the iPhone to other iOS products — has appeared in countless YouTube videos, been the focus of viral parodies, and sparked numerous copycat apps on Android devices.

Some people might think of Siri as something uniquely Apple, something the competitors will never have, something they could never have. But a look at history shows that the competitors could and almost did have Siri all to themselves…