At Apple's last media event "Talk iPhone," the almost mythical technology innovator introduced Siri, an application that allows users to ask questions and receive intelligent answers from their new 4S iPhone. Now, we've all seen some iteration of this software before. Even the most basic cell phones include voice activated command technology. Tell many regular cell phones to "call Mary" and Mary will be called.
What makes this application revolutionary is its ability to integrate relevant information with the user's command. By pinpointing users' location, Siri can interpret "Find a Pizza Place around here" to mean, "Find a restaurant that serves Pizza within a 5 mile radius of my location." If the user asks, "Do I need an umbrella today?" Siri will respond with the local weather forecast. On face, integration of Siri with standard iPhone apps seems to be extremely innovative, but this technology could use a few improvements.
First and foremost, Siri needs a voice overhaul. Over the past few decades, we have come to associate Apple with both technological and aesthetic innovation. After all, Apple was the first to introduce colorful desktop computers (remember the iMacs?) to the mass market and has since prided itself on its clean and attractive design. The 1990s robotic nature of Siri's voice, however, certainly clashes with this modern aesthetic. Maybe we'll see an improvement with the iPhone 5?
Second, Siri needs to expand its capabilities to play nice with third party applications. Right now, Siri is only compatible with Apple's preloaded applications, which is great for now, but Siri will need to be fully integrated with all of the iPhone's functions for it to really take off.
Apple has, however, integrated dictation into third party applications. Whenever the iPhone detects either a wireless or 3G connection, a dictation button will appear on the keyboard of the device. Using what is rumored to be Dragon Dictation software, the iPhone will process users' verbal input as text. We can predict that this convient alternative to typing will change the face of many third party applications.
What is more interesting, however, is the culture change that Siri will provoke. Although it may be too early to tell, Apple's introduction of Siri will most likely entice other mobile device platforms like Android and Blackberry to integrate this technology with their systems. Will talking to your phone become the new norm? Does your mobile application need a dictation friendly update? Let's talk.
