Impressed with Apple’s marketing ability? Sure. But according to Microsoft’s Craig Mundie, Siri is the only function that Apple can hammer on with the iPhone 4S.
The video’s part of an interview that Forbes did with Mundie, in which he’s ebullient about Kinect, and much less so about Siri. [via The Next Web]
Josh
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 3:27 PMI wasn’t impressed with Siri either.
mk
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 3:40 PMHas the guy even used Siri? “Similar capability in Windows Phones for over a year” – right, in theory maybe. It just doesn’t work.
illogical
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 8:24 PMOMG RIGHT? NO-ONE HAS EVER TOLD ME THE WEATHER BETTER THAN SIRI
<3 SIRI 4EVA
don
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 9:33 PMi wonder how many times in a day you ask siri about the weather
JD
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 9:40 PM*looks out window*
well, there goes its primary use…
MotorMouth
Friday, November 25, 2011 at 9:11 AMUnless, of course, you want to know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow or in a different city, smart-arse.
DarkAura
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 3:45 PMI wouldn’t be either. It’s not new, but that’s what apple does wraps up an old feature in a nice new package and sell it better than anyone else (mp3 players or front facing cameras).
I dread the day when everyone is talking to their phones in public to send txt messages or search the internet. Windows phone and Android has been able to to this for ages with some fantastic results but they are not popular because it’s weird to use in public.
I love the Idea of voice control in the house automation area. Its less weird in a personal space.
We should just skip the whole voice commands on the phones and go straight to the brain impulse controls, The daily commute will be better without 100s of people saying “Phone, Next song please”.
vin
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 3:48 PMthis guy is a great talker! i’m a fan…
how annoying would it be for him that half of what the announcer wanted to talk about is anything but microsoft?
i had no idea Win7 phones had that capability too… no patents there huh, apple?
Adz
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 3:52 PMI havent even watched the video yet and baffled about how such an interview can take place. A microsoft employee giving microsoft products a wrap and dissing Apples products. I own an iPhone 4S and i dont use Siri at all but i am non biased, i just enjoy iOS and the iPhone. Yes Siri for some isnt the most practical nor innovative piece of software in the world and yes its a load of crap that it can’t run on any other phone seeing as its processing power is all in the “cloud” but hey, it’s marketing, every company does it, its part of business. If Apple was to release Siri on every other iPhone any non techy person that doesnt know what a faster processor is would not buy the new 4S.
In my opinion, Apple is winning on this, theyve got what they wanted, everyone talking about it. Who cares if its not a positive feedback its on everyones mind.
My opinion anyway.
TSH
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 4:01 PMWill watch the video later, but my 2c re: WP7.5′s voice features is that they’re … just not very good. Maybe it’s the Aussie accent; maybe the phone just has a shite command vocabulary. All I know for sure is that after experimenting a little bit I was nonplussed.
Having said that, I’ve only just got this phone so maybe I’ll give it another shot.
David
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 5:43 PMIt’s the accent not being supported at all – WP7 voice recognition is horrible for Australians.
MotorMouth
Friday, November 25, 2011 at 9:16 AMI’ve not had any problems. I’ve composed half-a-dozen SMS messages in the car and only had to repeat myself a couple of times. Both times it has got it right on the second attempt. It actually works much better than the Blue & Me iteration in my car, also a Microsoft product, which can’t tell the difference between “Trevor” and “Kevin”. I just wish the phone wouldn’t start talking to me in my pocket (you can switch voice on without unlocking the phone).
steve
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 4:26 PMI’ve used the voice commands on android and wp7, and have had barely any problems with accent. I’ve got the beta fall update on my xbox currently, and you can navigate the entire menu with voice, and that is fantastic. eating a sandwich whilst browsing the marketplace is fantastic.
Having said that, there’s no way I would do that on my phone in a bus shelter…
moggyx
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 4:28 PMApple, Google, MS….. They all sort of work, just not very well and never when you would really like them to.
Apple’s offering is half baked (only fully featured in the US), google’s has limited understanding and Microsoft’s is just kind of shit.
I appreciate the benefits this technology can bring for the blind and disabled members of society, but for everyone else, If you use it on a train, bus or in general public everyone will look at you like the annoying dick you are.
jack
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 4:35 PMToo right! Siri is just odd for most uses. Or slower than doing it by hand.
I’ve only ever used voice rec on any device when I’m in the car.
BenDTU
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 4:31 PMIt’s kind of sad seeing Microsoft trying to act like they’re still the kings of a sector where they’re really not.
MDolley
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 4:31 PMFor me, the killer part of Siri is Wolfram Alpha. Just borrowed an iPhone I and did a quick test.
“What is a 20% discount on $175?”
$140… Thanks Siri
My Mozart couldn’t even get the input right after 6 attempts.
As a Windows Phone user I find Siri very impressive.
James
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 4:39 PMSiri owns and I have a HTC Desire….but yes, I’ve played with Siri and im well impressed by it. These features existed before yes…. and apple takes already existing tech and repackages it yes…..but you know what? Apple’s shit works, everyone elses fails and all they can do is publicly say how apple steal everything and we already had that and blah blah blah……
BenDTU
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 4:52 PMOn an unrelated note, why am I able to play the embedded video here in HTML5 just fine, but when I jump over to Youtube to watch it it insists I need to install Flash Player?
Sicarius123
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 6:51 PMgo to youtube.com/html5 and sign up for the beta.
BenDTU
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 7:15 PMI am.
blueevo
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 6:07 PMSiri isnt really anything new. Its the best voice software out there and is a lot more natural to use than MS and Googles offerings.
But Apples marketing makes it out to be something better than it is like facetime. Its a year later and I dont know anyone that uses it or has used it. The same will be with siri in a year.. voice commands are silly imo and wont catch on.
Richard
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 7:16 PMI’ll watch the video shortly, but if its anything like previous statements on such matters from Microsoft then I think the issue is that no one ever claimed Apple was first to the market with voice control functionality, what they like (and dislike as the case may be) is the implementation.
It’s a huge problem at Microsoft, not just when it comes to this but other products and features they make. Technically doing something is not enough….you have to do it in a fashion that makes the customer actually care and if the implementation is sound you then have to tell the market you have it so people take notice.
Its the same with tablets. Since the iPad I’ve seen aticles regarding Microsoft and Bill Gates being behind tablets for a decade and that Apples iPad hype is hugely exaggerated. The problem is that “having a tablet” is not the same as “having a tablet anyone cares about or wants to use”. Looking at how Windows 8 is progressing it’s clear they’ve reacted too.
Same deal with Windows Phone. It’s kind of amusing watching Bill Gates talk about the iPhone vs WM6 in the interview he and Jobs did at All Things D a few years back.
MotorMouth
Friday, November 25, 2011 at 9:26 AMIts an interesting comment because that is EXACTLY how MS got me interested in a Zune HD. Within 10 minutes of installing the Zune software, I just knew that MS “got” what I wanted from a music player. With WinPhone7 and, more recently, the Win8 preview, I think they are continuing to show that they get what people want. Where they struggle is to get the message out there that people need to have a look at what’s on offer. They could also improve the back-end by offering more comprehensive product guides and info.
Richard
Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 11:49 AMThey absolutely have some good products where I think they have got the implementation more or less right. WP7 (I’ll forgive some initial shortcomings, thats to be expected), XBox etc definitely are good examples.
The Zune is another instance thought where I think the implementation failed Microsoft in a big way. It wasn’t so much the device or the software, but this time MSs complete inability to get the Zune services (Zune Pass) out on a global scale in even a remotely adequate time. Here in Australia we got it last week…years after the US. I realise negotiations are complex but I can’t imagine anything held them up more than their own internal processes.
I find MS’s lack of drive to get the Zune rolled out internationally kind of perplexing to be honest. To me it seems only obvious that the Zune hardware was destined to failure when they shipped it to a US only market. As soon as they did that they lost the ability to market the device on the global scale that Apple was able to with iTunes + iPods.
I’m glad it’s here now….all I need is the Zune software to be ported to a Mac and I’ll happily sign up for a Zune Pass.
olearymo
Friday, November 25, 2011 at 9:12 AMI seem to remember Microsoft also not being impressed with the iPhone.
How did that turn out? :P
MotorMouth
Friday, November 25, 2011 at 9:20 AMI thought Siri sounded like it would be amazing, until I saw the TV ad for it. The voice is so flat and unengaging that it sounds completely stupid trying to be conversational. Microsoft’s choice of a synthesised voice works much better, I reckon.
Ash
Friday, November 25, 2011 at 9:54 AMSiri FTW (for the wankers, that is).
ponton
Friday, November 25, 2011 at 11:33 AMI have a iPhone 4S, I never use Siri.
I find it weird to be talking to your phone.
Nathan
Friday, November 25, 2011 at 11:34 AMI used Microsoft’s voice recognition tech in their Car Entertainment systems last year when driving through Canada. It worked pretty well and didn’t have to be connected to any server to work.
Siri is over-hyped because they released a “new” phone with nothing new.
So Apple’s strongest arm “created” something new.