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Siri: iPhone 4S’ killer feature or utter failure?

When Apple introduced the iPhone 4S a couple of weeks back, we said it wasn’t a big of an upgrade as we wanted it to be (see: Why we’re disappointed there’s no iPhone 5). There were dissenting opinions, of course, stating that Siri — the Personal Assistant, is its killer feature.

I had my reservations with Siri and kept judgement until we’ve finally seen it first hand. Aside from that, there’s also the issue with the speed of our local networks.

So here’s a sample of that killer feature from Siri, c/o MB Tech News Editor Art Samaniego.

Looks like Siri will not work if you’re outside the US (Siri uses services like Places, Yelp and WolframAlpha). So if Siri is one of your biggest reasons to get the iPhone 4S, you might just be disappointed.

At least Apple gave it some sense of humor.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

53 Responses

  1. Avatar for Luna Luna says:

    i hope they will upgrade siri and can be used here in phil .. :) dnt be too hasty :D

    xmas spirit .. xado highblood :)

  2. Avatar for quantumkiko quantumkiko says:

    Note that you can still do schedules, notes/emails, plays songs, check weather, and other important business stuff. As for “what’s the nearest mall or restaurant” questions, I don’t think we really need Siri for that here in Manila don’t we? Given the lack of road directions, it’s implied that we know how to get around already. Culture. Just my 2 cents.

  3. Avatar for me me says:

    Pang sa mahilig mangtrip o sa mga tamad lang tong si siri. lol.

    • Avatar for Ranma Ranma says:

      You’re forgetting yung mga mahilig mag text kahit nagmamaneho. This could prevent a couple of accidents.

  4. Avatar for quacker oatmeals quacker oatmeals says:

    Oh yeah, that’s one hell of an epic fail image.
    Anyway, it’s really disappointing that this app only works in the US.

  5. Avatar for SIRI SIRI says:

    SIRI: ART AND EVERYONE, YOU STILL DON’T GET IT UNTIL NOW? I’M NOT OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE TO COME OUT IN YOUR COUNTRY UNTIL NOW, BUT IT WILL BE HERE IN NO TIME. YOU SEE, ART DID BUY THE IPHONE 4S FROM THE OTHER COUNTRY CAUSE HE’S SO EXCITED TO USE ME BUT FROM THAT CASE HE JUST USE HE’S MONEY NOT HE’S HEAD..

    HE’S A MORON…STUPID…

    • Avatar for Ranma Ranma says:

      I’m glad the SIRI in the comment above this is not the SIRI in iPhone 4S.

      Expanding the contractions:

      HE JUST USE “HE IS” MONEY NOT “HE IS” HEAD

      Not to mention other grammatical errors. This SIRI may not be a native English speaker but it’s ironic to be calling someone a moron and stupid when the grammar in the post itself seem to indicate that he/she is no better.

  6. Avatar for iSuck iSuck says:

    I wonder what she says when you say I love you?
    She will say “I Hope you dont say that to other smartphones.

  7. Avatar for Robin Lim Robin Lim says:

    Sometimes I really wonder about how bright we are. Apple says something and we are like wow.

    Siri was offered as a free app for a year, and no one talked about it. Now Siri is the “killer app” on the iPhone 4S. The free download is gone. You could have been using it on you 3GS or for 4 a long time ago. Now, you have to buy a 4S.

    Even on the Android side, Vlingo has seen a 50% increase in downloads. Vlingo is good on Android, with complete hands free operation. I think they have given up on iOS, since the iOS version has less features (no car mode and no safereader).

    It also cost US$9.99 to get it fully functional on iOS, and is free on Android. Making it add free cost US$1.99.

    I have Vlingo installed. The only thing I really use is its SafeReader function though.

  8. Avatar for Den Den says:

    Hopefully, it’ll work better when the 4s becomes official here.

  9. Avatar for 'em says:

    User: “Siri, how many islands are there in the Philippines?
    Siri: “High tide or low tide?”

    :)

  10. Avatar for steelicon steelicon says:

    Google must buy and integrate Vlingo with ICS! \o/

  11. Avatar for jonaflormicfren jonaflormicfren says:

    His features is limited to particular places.

  12. Avatar for Tmcr Tmcr says:

    Siri is not a good enough reason to buy the 4s. If you want the iPhone porma, get the iPhone 4 instead. Nobody will notice the difference. But if you want the best smartphone, get the galaxy s ii.

  13. Avatar for Robin Lim Robin Lim says:

    Dissapoint Vlingo (Android/BlackBeery/iOS/Symbian) does work in the Philippines.

    Android App has additional features not found in he iOS version like SafeReader and car mode.

    The only thing I use Vlingo for is SafeReader though. The rest I tried for fun.

  14. Avatar for Sixel Sixel says:

    Well if Siri is the only reason to buy a iPhone 4S. Congratulations on your wasted money.

  15. Avatar for Viva La Nokia Viva La Nokia says:

    Ano ba ang magandang rason na bumili ng iPhone 4s? Una, the lack of design upgrade. One can use iOS 5 on a previous iDevice. Siri sucks in Pinas! Ano? Seriously? Ano? The A5 chip? Seriously, how can an increased speed with no true multitasking help me?

    Go Nokia N9!

  16. Avatar for RJ RJ says:

    I would have to agree with ‘Jologs’ that the blog article is an open invite for everyone to bash one another. Well, I won’t be blaming Abe though, this is one of the ways to increase the blog’s traffic (visits and page views). The blog’s engagement rate might be great quantitatively however the comments are qualitatively poor. Fans of Abe’s blog should be respectful in commenting. What you are doing online is a refelction of your character in the real world. Try to be respectful both in online and offline world.

    For Abe, I would encourage you to ask your ‘Fans’, that’s including me, to give and accept constructive criticisms if you haven’t done so. Better yet, try to be as ojective as possible. Your blog might be getting a lot of visits for now but in the long run when everyone’s just bashing, people would navigate away from it. I love your blog but I used to love it more in the past, when I only could read information that I need, useful tips, balance reviews and most importantly i miss the “open-minded” commenters, where are they now?

    • Avatar for Jologs Jologs says:

      I agree!!! I loved the site before when people can talk to each other intelligently, whether or not they are an ios or android user. Sometimes, im wary of reading an apple related article here because of the trolls, whose comments are so frustrating. Same goes for android reviews. Like what i said in the n9 page, kung ayaw mo, e di wag. Walang basagan ng trip. Hardcore fans will never be swayed by trolls, so might as well shut up if you can’t say anything intelligent.

  17. Avatar for Shakey Shakey says:

    I don’t have any Apple products, but to be fair, iPhone4S is not yet officially released here in the country so they might still update Siri for local use.

    Hmmm.. I wonder how the Chinese and Japanese Siri would sound like.

  18. Avatar for rikimaru rikimaru says:

    Siri checks for apple servers every time you use it. Even the simple commands such as “Dial Mr. XYZ”. Next to useless if your not connected to the net 24/7.

  19. Avatar for jayman jayman says:

    note to self: never use siri when drunk or hotheaded…answers like a wise-ass hahaha…buti di binato ni sir art ung iphone nya hehehe…btw i love the improvement in the map app of the iOS…almost at par with android but not much

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