Siri

Nuance to Buy Natural Speech Competitor Vlingo to Take on Siri

Oliver Haslam ∙ December 20, 2011

It seems Apple's introduction of Siri to the world of smartphones has had an unexpected affect – it has stopped the ongoing legal wrangle between two competing natural language software development companies. So much so that the pair are now in cahoots.

Both Nuance and Vlingo have been at each other's throats over perceived patent infringement, but the pair are now best buds after Nuance announced that it was to buy Vlingo, the same firm it took to court not that long ago.

The reason for the sudden turnaround? The pair seem to think that they need to join forces against a common enemy, namely, Apple...

Watch Siri Play the Piano

Cody Lee ∙ December 19, 2011

Since Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S back in October sporting the new Siri feature, the digital assistant has been the talk of the internet. We've seen Siri do everything from starting a car to changing channels on a TV set.

So what will the voice-controlled assistant take on next? Yamaha has the answer to that: play the piano. Folks at the world renowned electronics and instruments company have taught Siri to play the piano. Well, sort of...

Apple is Dreaming Up Wearable Computers That Talk to the iPhone and Use Siri

Alex Heath ∙ December 19, 2011

In a world where we all stare at our iPhone screens while walking around in public, Apple is working on the next-generation of mobile computing: wearable technology. The latest iPod nano can be worn as a watch, but that's only the beginning of what Apple has in development.

The New York Times has revealed some of Apple's internal plans for wearable computing. The company is working on a Siri-controlled experience that interfaces with the iPhone. Apple employees have reportedly already started testing such devices.

The Wall Street Journal Reveals Details on Apple’s Upcoming TV Set

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 18, 2018

Rumors of a secret Apple TV set project have been really heating up over the past few months. Word on the street has been that the iPhone-makers are looking to jump into the TV-making business, and the company's first entry could revolutionize the industry.

We've heard a few whispers regarding the set's features, including multiple screen sizes ranging from 32-inches to 55-inches, Siri voice control, and deep AirPlay integration. And now we have even more details thanks to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Santa Claus Uses Siri in Latest iPhone 4S TV Ad

Sébastien Page ∙ December 18, 2011

Even though the feature is still in beta, Apple has been showcasing Siri in its TV ads since the iPhone 4S came out. The reason behind this is that Siri is probably the main selling point for Apple's latest iPhone.

In a new TV ad that has started airing today, we see Santa Claus himself using Siri to help him go through his busy day and night. It's cute. It's funny. It's yet another Apple commercial that hits right on target...

How to Use Siri to Help You Shop for Gadgets

Cody Lee ∙ December 16, 2011

We've seen Siri do everything from turn on a fireplace to control a TV set, so there's not much that Apple's digital assistant can do at this point that would surprise us. But all of these tricks require use of the Siri Proxy.

What about the average user that probably hasn't installed the proxy? Well, there's still Wolfram Alpha. The database allows you to do a number of things with Apple's new handset, and it just added another cool feature.

Siri Jailbreak Tweak Promises SBSettings-Like Experience

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 16, 2011

I've always thought something like this will be a good idea, and it will come to fruition as soon as an iPhone 4S jailbreak is released.

While the circumstances around an iPhone 4S jailbreak are still a tad sketchy, what's clear as day is that this tweak would be ridiculously handy, and should have been a native Siri feature to begin with.

Essentially, this allows you to control various toggles like Wi-Fi connection, bluetooth, etc. using only your voice. e.g. "Turn Wi-Fi on", "Set the backlight level to 60%", and pretty much anything else you'd normally be able to toggle with SBSettings.

New iOS 5.0.1 Release Makes iPhone 4 Siri Port Legally Feasible

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 15, 2011

You may have noticed that Apple released an updated version of iOS 5.0.1 not too long ago, and with it comes some interesting news regarding security.

It appears that the new iOS 5.0.1r2 features decrypted ramdisks, which means that it now possible to write a script to download the 5.0.1 and extract the necessary files needed for a Siri port.

Since the download is publicly available from Apple's server, the idea of a Siri port just got a lot more legal...

Google Working On Siri Clone Codenamed “Majel”

Alex Heath ∙ Updated February 6, 2016

Google is reportedly working on its own version of Siri for upcoming Android devices. The project has been given the internal codename of "Majel" (a reference to Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, the Federation Computer from Star Trek) and is meant to be an evolution of the current voice recognition technology in Android, Voice Actions.

Siri is by far the iPhone 4S's hottest feature, and Apple has used marketing to put itself in the lead once again with the rest of the industry now forced to play catch-up. Will Google's upcoming assistant be the competition that Siri needs?

Siri’s Speak Selection Feature Reads Text Out Loud

Alex Heath ∙ December 13, 2011

Here's a nice little tip for Siri fanatics. Did you know that you can have Siri speak any selection of text out loud anywhere in iOS 5 on the iPhone 4S?

By enabling a nifty feature in Settings, a simple "Speak" option can be shown any time you select a chunk of text. Siri can then read that text out loud through your iPhone's speaker at a pre-programmed speed.

How to Install Siri Proxy Plugins [Video]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 11, 2011

A couple of days ago we showed you how to install the much talked about Siri Proxy Server. That's the first step to being able to really do some marvelous things with Apple's so-called personal assistant.

The next step is installing the plugins that take advantage of the Siri Proxy. These plugins range from enabling you to tweet on command, start your car, control your television, or query IMDB's massive movie database.

In the following tutorial, we show you how easy it is to install Siri Proxy plugins, and we use the IMDB plugin as an example. If you already have Siri Proxy installed, you don't want to miss this...

How to Install Siri Proxy Tutorial [Video]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 27, 2012

We've gone hands-on with Siri Proxy, and the things you can do with this handy tool are amazing.

But as you know, at iDB we don't like to keep all the good stuff to ourselves. For that reason, we've created this comprehensive video tutorial and guide that shows you how to run Siri Proxy on your iPhone 4S.

We show you step-by-step what's needed to try out Siri Proxy yourself...