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Siri is all the buzz in the tech world. If people aren’t talking to Siri, they’re talking about Siri. Siri is only available on the iPhone 4S, so if you were one of the lucky 4 million people to get an iPhone 4S this weekend, your cool factor just soared.
Yesterday The Wonder of Tech explained what Siri is (check out Tech-Knowledgy: Your iPhone 4S and Siri Questions Answered!). Today I’m going to explain why Siri is truly Siri-licious!
What Siri Can Do
Scheduling an appointment, sending a text, setting an alarm, making a note, calling a friend, solving a math problem, searching the web, finding the weather report, checking a stock price, finding a nearby restaurant and playing music are all easier when using Siri. I find myself raising my phone to my ear many times throughout the day to give Siri instructions. I used to grab my iPad to do as much as possible because I preferred using its bigger screen. Now my iPhone is my essential tool.
Without Siri: open an app, try to type on the virtual keyboard, correct mistakes, close the app.
With Siri: Raise the phone to my ear and talk.
Siri Is Accurate
Siri is amazingly accurate. I have used other voice recognition software that is more frustrating than functional. Siri works well, unless I’m in a noisy place.
Siri Is Fun, Fun, Fun
I keep thinking of fun questions to ask Siri. Siri has an attitude and a wicked sense of humor. She is fun to talk to, not only because of her witty responses but because she has multiple responses to the same silly questions. Internet sites are popping up all over that list funny Siri questions and answers. For example, check out 10 Wacky and Fun Questions to Apple’s Siri and its Weird Responses and Siri says some weird things. Unfortunately, Siri doesn’t seem to have a good answer for which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Cool
People who don’t have an iPhone 4S (there are still a few people who don’t yet) are fascinated by Siri. My family didn’t tire of asking Siri questions all weekend. My husband, an avid BlackBerry fan, has announced that he wants to get an iPhone 4S, because of using Siri. When I am out and about, people ask me about Siri. There is nothing on the outside of the phone that distinguishes the iPhone 4S from the iPhone 4, but perhaps they can tell I had the new iPhone from the big smile on my face as I’m speaking into the phone.
Siri’s Future
Apple launched Siri in Beta, which translated from Geek Speak to plain English means Not Ready for Primetime. It’s the tech world’s way of saying, “It’s not perfect yet, but we’re releasing it anyway so you can help us fix the bugs.”
Siri is limited not only in the tasks it performs but also in its geographic reach. Siri doesn’t work with all apps and not all of Siri’s functions work outside the US.
Future expansion of Siri is exciting to imagine. Beyond worldwide expansion to all countries and all major languages, Siri could be expanded to include apps. Imagine telling Siri, “Take a picture,” and then instructing Siri, “Post this picture on my Facebook page.” You could instruct Siri to check you into a location on Foursquare or find the most convenient hotels to Disney World. Have Siri book the hotel too!
The possibilities for Siri are limited only by the imagination of the developers. I’m glad to be along for the ride.
Are you intrigued by Siri? Are you looking forward to testing Siri? Is there a question you want me to ask Siri? Let us know in the Comments section below!
Carolyn, does Siri work with Bluetooth? Have you used it in the car? Does it diminish the usability at all?
Hi Ruth, I have used Siri in the car with Bluetooth and it works about as well with Bluetooth as it does without Bluetooth. If you’re around a lot of noise, Siri doesn’t work well.
I would also caution about raising the phone to your ear to activate Siri when you’re driving. If you have laws in your area against talking on a cell phone when driving, Siri could get you in trouble. Have fun explaining to the police officer that you weren’t talking on the phone, you were activating your digital assistant!
This sounds interesting and the more apps smart phones have the more likely I am to buy one! I’m cooking again, roast pork – I got it for £3.00 a kilo. My blog today does panoramic photographs using Microsoft ICE – it’s free, of course!
Hi Mike, apps are the best reason to buy a smartphone. Without apps, a smartphone doesn’t do much except be a phone. Why pay the extra money for that?
Many people with smartphones have a killer app that made them decide to take the plunge and invest in the tech.
I want to get over to your blog to see your photos that you posted today. And find your recipes too!
Are there different options for Siri’s voice (male/female)?
Hi Tony, sorry, Siri has but one voice. But her voice is Grrrreat!
Not really. Her voice is very computerized. A more human sounding voice would be more pleasing, or maybe that would be creepy. Your call.
I heard that in British English her (?) voice is male.
Hi Kathy, I didn’t know that. I checked and, sure enough, the British English voice is male, as is the German voice. The US, Australian and French voices are female. But even if you are in the US, your use of Siri is restricted with languages other than US English.
I don’t have Siri yet (so maybe it already does this), but 3 things I’d like to see Siri do:
1. Learn specific answers to statements I propose, but not always deliver the same response. Ex. “Siri, I’m having a bad day.” Reply: “Yes, but you look awesome!!”
2. Similar to the Nike+ Power Song concept, be able to play a song or say a key phrase when I ask.
3. Be able to recite items I list. Ex. When I wake up, “Siri, what are my goals for today? This week?”
By the way, does Siri know your name??
As far as I have seen (but not experienced), Siri always knows its master, the user’s name. Its to be understood that Siri is a personal assistant, that combines speech recognition, voice synthesis, and some smartness based on context (how does it know that you meant ‘kneel’ and not ‘Neil’). But ever since it came out giving some funky answers, it has entered the pop-culture, and people are posting weird Q&A sessions with Siri. Some are even philosophical, ‘what is the meaning of life’, ‘why are we born’. Thats stretching of Artificial intelligence. Yet its all good. Because when Siri doesn’t know something, it hardly says so, it always seems to have a smart-ass response, that keeps people amused.
Great feats for computer-kind, and sad, it’ll prolly make mankind even lazier.
Hi iRewardChart. Great point. Siri has got to be the first voice recognition software with an attitude and a sense of humor. What a brilliant way to ensure concumer adoption, but to make the software fun to use.people wouldnt be posting about the utility of the service as much as they are about the fun of it. Siri is a great marketing model for future business school students.
Hi cho cho, Siri can do some of the things you want. Siri can play a song, playlist or podcast that you request, though not an audiobook. You can’t program Siri to give you specific responses, but you could do a workaround, such as making an appointment with your key phrase and have Siri read the key phrase to you.
Yes, Siri knows my name. You can teach Siri information such as who you are, where you live and work, and who your family members are.
Thanks for the article – this looks like a very interesting new development from Apple. Entering text on a smartphone is still fairly tricky in comparison to typing on a PC. As Siri evolves it may well overcome the limitations of not having a physical keyboard. This will make content creation much easier.
Hi Ted, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m rubbish on a virtual keyboard, so being able to talk to my phone to enter text is a bonus. You’re right, Siri will continue to improve, making its functionality even more valuable.
No matter how great Siri gets, though, there will still be times that you can’t talk into the phone, so Siri won’t ever replace the keyboard completely.
Thanks for your visit and comment, Ted!
Carolyn, does this mean I am not cool? Will my cool factor stay the same if I don’t have Siri or will it go done? Is my cool factor related to my klout?
As always, thanks for the great explanation.
Wising you a Terrific Tuesday. Until next time, aloha. Janet
Janet, it’s probably a good thing you’re not getting a 4S. You’re so cool already that the rest of us wouldn’t be worthy to be around your extra coolness if you got a 4S!
No ,Janet, as of now your cool factor is not related to your Klout, but that could be added to the algorithm later. 🙂
Hope your week is going well.
Well, I know the boys will be getting the iPhone 4s but not sure what we are doing at the office yet. I sure wish they would hurry because I can hear the death rattle from my crackberry.
I have heard Siri is way cool; hopefully I will get to find out.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Bill, I look forward to hearing how you like your phone and whether you get an iPhone 4 or 4S. Did your wife get a 4S? Your sons are very lucky to get their new phones!
Hi Carolyn,
I would rather just have the phone than worry about being cool, but that being said, I’m ready to try it out. I will be hoping to pick one up soon. Thanks for another great post of information about Siri.
Hi Cathy, you’re right, having a phone you’re happy with is better than having a cool phone. Let us know if you pick one up and how you like it!
Do you think Siri could answer “where’s the nearest vegetarian restaurant?” for me? That would be SUCH a benefit to me, as when I travel I have to research that in advance and make a plan. Would be even better if she could call and get a reservation!
Yes, Kathy, I asked Siri and she found four vegetarian restaurants close to me. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the ability to search local sites has been restricted to US only for now. But that search function is based upon the Yelp app which is available in other countries as well as the US. An easy early expansion of Siri would be to enable the service to work with Yelp outside the US and in other languages. I’m hoping that happens soon!
I can’t wait to get this app when I get my iphone. 🙂 Is this app free? I’ve honestly never heard about it until now. Thanks for sharing it Carolyn. Have a brilliant day!
Hi Rochelle, Siri is only available on the iPhone 4S now. Siri used to be an app in the iTunes App Store but it was pulled from the store earlier this month and ceased to work for those who had the app on their devices. So, for now, if you want Siri, you have to have an iPhone 4S. Whether Apple expands Siri to other devices later remains to be seen.
One of the many, many things I like about Siri – and iOS 5 – is that Siri has humor but is not “silly”. In Dragon and earlier versions of Siri, I occasionally got really off the wall responses but that’s not been the case with Siri – if it makes mistakes, it is pretty obvious why it would have done so. I think we will soon get to know our new “helper” and understand her language and thought process and our interactions will improve accordingly. And of course, there will be Siri 2, 3, etc. so she will learn too. What a great ride it’s going to be.
Hi Gary, great point. Siri is designed to improve as we use it more. Between its capacity for learning and the inevitable upgrades, the future looks very bright for Siri. Someday I imagine that we will look back upon Siri and regard it as primitive.
Hi Carolyn,
I can’t wait to start using Siri, on the other hand it’s almost too good to be true. This technology is way ahead of what I was expecting. I might be a bit old fashioned when it comes to speech recognition and still find it very fascinating that it’s possible for software to write what I speak 🙂
Are you using Siri a lot in everyday life, or is it mostly for testing purposes?
Jens, just wait until you have Siri as a tool to help you with kids’ homework. Siri can solve complex algebraic equations. And she shows how she solved them! I know your kids are too young for that now, but some day they will have algebra and you will be glad you have Siri then.
Yes, I’m using Siri a lot, and not just for testing or entertainment. It’s very handy.
How do you like your iPad so far?
I use my iPad a lot, and it’s awesome. But, I’m still looking for some really cool productivity tools. Like a very handy notebook.
I haven’t bought any games for it just yet, but I probably will sometime soon.
I’ve got you covered. What sorts of game apps do you like? Puzzles? Word games? Just let me know. 🙂
I actually love strategy (like Civilization), and sports (basketball). But, as long as it’s entertaining, I’ll try it 🙂
Be careful what you play with – I was showing off Siri prior to a presentation yesterday and said “set a timer for 30 minutes”. I went on to show other cool things and then later – right in the middle of the lecture – the timer went off!
Oops! Yes, it can be dangerous. I was asking Siri a math question for my daughter and it misinterpreted the number “six”. I had to cancel quickly. I think it was my accent. :-0
The only thing worse than hearing someone’s sad tale about owning a Crackberry is when someone proudly tells you they just bought one 🙁 and you think OMG two more years!
I do wonder which phones will still be around in two years…
There are more jokes on SIRI these days,, even once upon a time,, many people laughed at the great inventions. SIRI is just starting up phase. So in future , everyone will praise it 😀
Hi Suresh, Either people are laughing at Siri or with Siri. Either way, Siri is certainly getting a lot of attention.
I’m using Siri daily and really finding it useful (and entertaining too!).
well i don’t have an iphone, instead am using an app on my android phone which is kind of similar to it. My friend has just bought an iphone 4s, thus i got a chance to compare my android app with siri.
Well Siri is certainly more diverse than the app on my android phone called Iris. but it is not much far behind than Siri,
Hi Omar, welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I haven’t tried Iris yet but I hear it’s a good substitute for those who don’t have Siri.
Interestingly, Iris is Siri spelled backwards.
This is definitely a cool application, but can it also be applicable to iphone 4 or just to its newest version? I would also like to ask if there is an alternative for android phones. thanks.
Hi Daniel, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech. Great questions! So far, Siri is just available on the iPhone 4S. Hackers are trying to make Siri work on the iPhone 4, but I don’t recommend that people hack their phones.
The closest comparable service to Siri on Android is Iris (Siri spelled backwards). You can find Iris in the Android Market here: Iris.
Siri is actually my favorite feature on my new iPhone. This is my first iPhone and I love it. I use Siri to send all of my text messages and emails. The accuracy of the program is great. I have used DragonSpeak and the PowerScribe voice recognition systems in the past and Siri is actually on par with them if not better. This is without having to save a voice file for the program to refer to when translating your voice. Good technology!
Hi Richard, You’re right, Siri is a fantastic feature on the iPhone 4S. I have been using it daily for all kinds of reasons.
Yesterday I used Siri during an entire text message conversation with a friend. When I met up with her we started discussing Siri and she thought it wasn’t very good (she’s an Android fan). I changed her mind when I told her I carried on the entire text message conversation via Siri.
Siri is easy, efficient and fun! I’m glad you are enjoying it too!
Hii Calolyn,
Nice blog. Though had few concerns/queries on this.
1>Is Siri really suitable for English speakers in Asian Countries? Due to the difference in accent, major issues have come up in japan and other Asian countries. It would be great if Siri is launched in other languages too
2>Can Siri work when i am offline?
Hi Ssrijan, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech. Great questions! People with strong accents may have difficulties with using Siri. Here is an article saying that Siri is having difficulties with Scottish accents: http://www.tuaw.com/2011/10/27/hallooo-computarrrr-siri-not-yet-compatible-with-scottish-accen/
Siri needs to have an internet connection to work. So you must have either Wi-Fi or a data connection to use Siri.
Carolyn,
I am one of the 4 million that got their iPhone 4s the first weekend. Though I’ve been on the run and have not yet gotten quite as intimate with all the bells and whistles as you seem to be. {A tad jealous…} 😀
I am lovin’ Siri!! My family has also enjoyed asking questions.
Just like you, I found other voice systems not to be so groovy. But Siri really rocks and looks to be a vital tool.
Thanks for providing great information, and review!
~Keri
(A Networking Peep)