SIRI: THE INTELLIGENT APP SOFTWARE IN iPHONE 4
APPLE.COM, MAY 10, 2012 (PHNO) SIRI: YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND!
SIRI or Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface is an
intelligent personal assistant and knowledge navigator which works as an
application for Apple's iOS.
The application uses a natural language user interface to answer questions,
make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of Web
services.
Apple claims that the software adapts to the user's individual preferences
over time and personalizes results, and performing tasks such as finding
recommendations for nearby restaurants, or getting directions.
Siri was originally introduced as an iOS application available in the App
Store by Siri, Inc. Siri, Inc. was acquired by Apple on April 28, 2010.
Siri, Inc. had announced that their software would be available for
BlackBerry and for Android-powered phones, but all development efforts for
non-Apple platforms were cancelled after the acquisition by Apple.
Siri is now an integral part of iOS 5, and available only on the iPhone 4S,
launched on October 14, 2011.
On November 8, 2011, Apple publicly announced that it had no plans to support
Siri on any of its older devices.
Siri on iPhone 4S lets you use your voice to send messages, schedule
meetings, place phone calls, and more.
Ask Siri to do things just by talking the way you talk.
Siri understands what you say, knows what you mean, and even talks back. Siri
is so easy to use and does so much, you'll keep finding more and more ways to
use it.
Siri was met with a very positive reaction for its ease of use and
practicality, as well as its apparent "personality".
Google's executive chairman and former chief, Eric Schmidt, has conceded that
Siri could pose a "competitive threat" to the company's core search business.
Google generates a large portion of its revenue from clickable ad links returned
in the context of searches. The threat comes from the fact that Siri is a
non-visual medium, therefore not affording users with the opportunity to be
exposed to the clickable ad links.
Writing in The Guardian, journalist Charlie Brooker wrote, "Siri is a
creep — a servile arselick with zero self-respect — but he works annoyingly
well."
Siri was criticized by organizations such as the American Civil Liberties
Union and NARAL Pro-Choice America after users found that it would not provide
information about the location of birth control or abortion providers, sometimes
directing users to anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers instead.
Apple responded that this was a glitch which would be fixed in the final
version. It was suggested that abortion providers could not be found in a Siri
search because they did not use "abortion" in their descriptions. At the time
the controversy arose, Siri would suggest locations to buy illegal drugs, hire a
prostitute, or dump a corpse, but not find birth control or abortion services.
Apple responded that this behavior is not intentional and will improve as the
product moves from beta to final product.
Siri has not been well received by some English speakers with distinctive
accents, including Scottish and Americans from Boston or the South.
Apple's Siri FAQ states that, "as more people use Siri and it's exposed to
more variations of a language, its overall recognition of dialects and accents
will continue to improve, and Siri will work even better."
Despite many functions still requiring the use of the touchscreen, the
National Federation of the Blind describes the iPhone as "the only fully
accessible handset that a blind person can buy".
In March 2012, Frank M. Fazio filed a class action lawsuit against Apple on
behalf of the people who felt misled about the capabilities of Siri and failing
to function as depicted in Apple's Siri commercials. Fazio filed the lawsuit in
California and claimed that the iPhone 4S is merely a "more expensive iPhone" if
Siri fails to function as advertised.
Geographic limitations
As of May 2012, Siri's functionality is limited in most countries, with maps
and local search with Yelp only being available within the United States.
For example, asking Siri in the United Kingdom to list local businesses, to
navigate somewhere, or to give traffic information, elicits the reply "I can
only look for businesses, maps and traffic in the United States, and when you're
using U.S. English. Sorry about that."
Using Siri within the United States with the English voice (Daniel) elicits a
similar response — despite the user's geographic location. Apple intends to add
support for additional languages later in 2012, including Chinese, Korean,
Italian and Spanish.
It understands what you say.
Talk to Siri as you would to a person.
Say something like "Tell my
wife I'm running late." "Remind me to call the vet." "Any good burger joints
around here?"
Siri does what you say, finds the information you need,
then answers you.
It's like you're having a conversation with your
iPhone.
It knows what you mean.
Siri not only understands what you say, it's smart enough to know what you
mean.
So when you ask "Any good burger joints around here?"
Siri will reply "I found a number of burger restaurants near you."
Then you can say "Hmm. How about tacos?"
Siri remembers that you just asked about restaurants, so it will look for
Mexican restaurants in the neighborhood.
And Siri is proactive, so it will question you until it finds what you're
looking for.
It helps you do the things you do every day.
Ask Siri to text your dad, remind you to call the dentist, or find
directions, and it figures out which apps to use and who you're talking about.
It finds answers for you from the web through sources like Yelp and
WolframAlpha. Using Location Services, it looks up where you live, where you
work, and where you are. Then it gives you information and the best options
based on your current location. From the details in your contacts, it knows your
friends, family, boss, and coworkers. So you can tell Siri things like "Text
Ryan I'm on my way" or "Remind me to make a dentist appointment when I get to
work" or "Call a taxi" and it knows exactly what you mean and what to do.
It has so much to tell you.
When there's something you need to do, just ask Siri to help you do it. Siri
uses almost all the built-in apps on iPhone 4S. It writes and sends email
messages and texts. It searches the web for anything you need to know. It plays
the songs you want to hear. It gives you directions and shows you around. It
places calls, schedules meetings, helps you remember, and wakes you up. In fact,
ask Siri what it can do — it even speaks for itself.
Set reminders.
Tell Siri what you need to do. Even say when and where you need reminding
Send a text.
Say who it's for and what the message should say, and Siri writes and sends
your text.
Check the weather.
Siri gives you the forecast for where you are or anywhere you're curious
about.
iPhone 4S takes dictation.
Here's another amazing way to get things done: just use your voice.
Instead of typing, tap the microphone icon on the keyboard. Then say what you
want to say and iPhone listens. Tap Done, and iPhone converts your words into
text.
Use dictation to write messages, take notes, search the web, and more.
Dictation also works with third-party apps, so you can update your Facebook
status, tweet, or write and send Instagrams.
PHOTO: THE iPHONE 4S SIRI-DICTATION.PNG
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
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