Thanks to smartphones and the hundreds of thousands of apps available to us, we are more dependent on technology than ever. Texts, emails, reminders, websites and even directions can all be accessed on our handsets at the touch of a button.
But could a new super app be about to change all this?
iPhone 4S owners using the Siri app are already controlling their handsets with the spoken word! And where Apple go, others are sure to follow.
Smartphone owners operating on an Android system may be thinking ‘hold on, I’ve been using Android Voice Actions since last summer’. And yes they have but Siri is much more than just a voice command app.
Siri is an interactive app that not only carries out requested actions but actually interacts with the user to ensure the desired outcome/demand is achieved. It bares more resemblance to a personal assistant than a smartphone app.
Voice command apps of days gone by required users to memorise a list of available commands and recite when necessary, but not Siri. Siri will translate whatever you say (however you say it) and find a solution to the request.
For example:
User – “Send text to Paul”
Siri – “OK, I can send a text to Paul for you...what would you like it to say?”
User – “I’m running late. Will be there soon.”
Siri – ‘OK, I’ll send your message.”
As well as completing demands, Siri can also search the internet to find out a piece of information. For example if you ask Siri where you can go for lunch, it will use location based services to find where you are and bring up a list of all cafes and restaurants in the surrounding area.
If you keep your calendar and appointments up to date on your iPhone you can also ask Siri when your next meeting is and as the app incorporates the clock and reminder features on your iPhone. You can even ask Siri to remind you to renew your ticket in the car park at 3pm!
I would warn that the occasional ‘accent barrier’ is to be expected. However, this is nothing that cannot be overcome by simply imitating a posh English accent, as long as you don’t mind looking like a fool in public that is.
Having Siri really is just like having a personal assistant...with a sense of humour. I asked Siri to advise me on where I can find the best mobile phone in the world and the answer I was told that the best phone in the whole world was actually the one in my hand.