Trendspotting: Siri-ous Contenders

By Angie Argabrite, Thursday, February 16, 2012, at 9:01 am.

Think of a question, any question. We’re willing to bet that Apple’s much-hyped Siri feature will answer you in her sultry, mechanical voice. After all, “she” holds the answers to a billion burning questions. One technology trendspotter has proclaimed 2012 the year that Siri “stuns the world.” Already it’s done wonders for Apple’s sales, helping to double profits in the wake of Steve Jobs’ death. (Apple was named, for the second consecutive year, the most valuable company in the world.) Along with the millions of iPads snapped up by corporations during the holiday season, Siri’s inclusion on the iPhone 4S contributed to Apple’s moving 37 million iPhones in the first fiscal quarter of 2012. To get in on some of that obscene money-making, Siri competitors are launching in droves, including copycat apps such as Dragon Go! and Evi for Android. But in spite of so many enthusiastic reviews, Siri hasn’t met with unanimous raves. Siri will give its users suggestions about where to hide a dead body, buy illegal drugs or hire a prostitute, but one blogger loudly complained that she couldn’t use Siri to locate local abortion clinics. Apple explained that the omission wasn’t intentional but, rather, a bump in the road from beta to final product. Some have complained that Siri guzzles cellphone bandwidth with wild abandon, while others grumble that Siri has a problem with accents (Brits, Scots, Indians and Southerners have all run into this problem). And Siri may mispronounce your name, but what about her name? Well, in Japan “siri” means “a**”; in the Russian state of Georgia it’s slang for the male anatomy. Some are convinced it’s an acronym for “Steve is right inside” (or “Steve is really inside”). Though probably not true, that would certainly be a fitting tribute.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 16th, 2012 at 9:01 am. It is filed under Brainsnacks, Social Media, Technology and tagged with Android, Apple, digital personal assistant, Dragon Go!, Evi, iPad, iPhone, iPhone 4S, Siri, smartphones, Social Media, Steve Jobs, technology trends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.