TMCnet News
iPhone 4S voice control leads device's new featuresOct 19, 2011 (Detroit Free Press - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- For the iPhone 4S, Apple didn't make a single change to the iPhone 4's beautiful glass exterior. It did, though, offer some significant upgrades under the hood. The iPhone 4S features an amazing 8-megapixel camera, faster dual-core processor and _ most notably _a personal assistant named Siri. Siri, available only on the iPhone 4S, uses incredibly accurate voice control to answer a sophisticated set of questions and to perform tasks. The iPhone 4S is off to a strong retail start. Apple said Monday that more than 4 million had been sold since the phone's Friday launch. That's more than twice as many as the iPhone 4 sold in the same time period. Many of the features on the iPhone 4S, including Apple's new iMessage texting service and cloud-based storage service iCloud, are also available on any Apple device running the new iOS 5 mobile operating system. iOS 5 is a free software upgrade available to users of the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPad 2 or the two most recent models of the iPod Touch. But the 4S is still a compelling upgrade to the iPhone family. With Siri as the marquee feature, it's by far the best iPhone to date. IPHONE FINDS ITS VOICE The biggest innovation with Siri is that users don't have to speak like a computer to get her to understand them. (Yes, I call Siri a she. We've gotten very close.) Instead of saying something cryptic like "weather forecast" users can ask her a question, like "Is it going to rain tonight?" Or "Will I need an umbrella tomorrow?" If you're curious about your schedule while driving, you can say to Siri: "Do I have any appointments tomorrow at noon?" She can also help users work through commands by asking for more information. When I asked Siri to "call Mom" she asked me for my mother's name. When I told her, she asked if I wanted her to remember that choice. Now Siri knows who my mother is and anytime I ask her to call or text my mother, she'll know what to do. Siri also has a bit of a sense of humor. Blogs popped up over the weekend devoted to showing off some of her most wacky responses. Ask her what she's wearing and she responds: "Aluminosilicate glass and stainless steel. Nice, huh?" Curse, and she'll knock you for your language. Siri isn't anywhere near comprehensive, though. She has some pretty large knowledge blind spots. For one, Siri doesn't know much about sports. I asked her the score of Sunday's Detroit Lions game and she didn't know. (Maybe that's for the best.) Ask Siri to track a flight for you and she apologizes and says she can't help. If Siri does hit a dead end, she often offers to Google it for you. Siri also suffered through some outages this weekend _ likely as a result of the 4 million new iPhone 4S customers testing the feature out. For each spoken command, Siri has to ping Apple's servers, where the response is formulated and sent back to the iPhone 4S. Siri, though, is better than you expect. As more apps and Web services are allowed to plug in and offer their knowledge, Siri will only get smarter. It's not one of those features, a la FaceTime, that users will experiment with the first weekend and then forget about. It's a powerful platform that is the best voice-controlled system I've ever used. WHAT ABOUT THE IPHONE 5? For current users of the iPhone 3GS or earlier models, an upgrade now to the 4S is a no-brainer. It's a ton faster, the screen is much clearer and the camera is unmatched by any other phone. It's also a solid upgrade for those struggling with the quirks of an Android or BlackBerry device, which are often not as user friendly. Many Android phones have also struggled with battery life issues _ a strong point of pride for the iPhone line. But for users of the iPhone 4, which only lacks the souped-up camera, faster processor and Siri, the question remains: Should I hold out for the iPhone 5? There's no easy answer, since no one knows when an iPhone 5 will be released. It could be next summer or later. Siri may know, but she's not telling. I tried to get the iPhone 5 release date from her to no avail. "Everything you need to know about Apple's products is at Apple's website," she said. ___ (c)2011 the Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at www.freep.com Distributed by MCT Information Services ----- TO SUBSCRIBE TO PLUGGED IN Items in the Plugged In package are not included in your MCT News Service subscription. You can subscribe to the Plugged In package or purchase the items a la carte on MCT Direct at www.mctdirect.com. To subscribe, please call Rick DeChantal at Tribune Media Services at (800) 245-6536 or [email protected]. Outside the United States, call Tribune Media Services International at +1-312-222-4444 or e-mail [email protected]. |