Apple kicked off this month with its WWDC keynote, unveiling the next version of its mobile operating system: iOS 6. Then Microsoft quickly followed with its Windows Phone 8 announcement. And now it's Google's turn.
Google's I/O keynote is already underway this morning, and the search giant just unveiled its next version of its mobile platform Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). The update features a Siri competitor, UI enhancements, and more...
Steve Jobs used to defend his "thermonuclear" option against Android by stressing how Apple did not enter the search space while Google had decided to challenge the iPhone with its Android.
Jobs' words no longer hold true. With Siri, an AI-driven personal digital assistant, Apple has begun slowly but surely eating into Google's significant search traffic coming from iOS devices.
As such, Siri is emerging as a key tool for casual search on iOS devices. And with iOS 6, Apple is expanding her reach with new alliances, making it easier for users to bypass Google, especially for local search...
Since it debuted back in 2007, the iPhone has become somewhat of a point of reference for other smartphones. It seems that every time a new handset is released, we hear: "is this the iPhone killer?"
And it looks like the same thing has happened with Apple's digital assistant. "Siri competitors" seems to be becoming a popular meme, as we've already seen one from Samsung, Google, and now LG...
A few days ago, we found out a little bit more about the mysterious Eyes Free feature that Apple unveiled last week. The Siri component will allow vehicles to offer native, in-car support for the digital assistant.
Today, we've learned some information regarding those cars. According to a new report, GM is looking to be a frontrunner in the Eyes Free adoption race. And it plans to start with its Spark and Sonic models...
We've known for awhile that Google's been working on improving Voice Actions in Android. Needless to say, last October's release of the iPhone 4S and its headline voice assistant feature dubbed Siri sent Google's engineers back to the drawing board in an attempt to re-envision what conversing with an Android device should be like. According to the well-informed Wall Street Journal, the search giant has now "accelerated" plans to bring Siri competitor to the market.
As Scott Forstall rattled off a list of Siri's new capabilities in iOS 6, there was one particular feature that really stood out: Eyes Free. Apple will be teaming up with auto-makers to take its digital assistant act on the road.
But outside of a list of manufacturing partners, and a brief explanation of how Eyes Free will work, not much else has been said about the new feature. How will it be implemented? And when can we expect to see it?
The other Steve never shied away from criticizing the company he co-founded with Steve Jobs in his parents' garage back in 1976. The Times Union chatted briefly with everyone's favorite geek during his visit to a New York farm of rescued horses and of course the inevitable question of Siri criticism came up. Here's what came out of him...
Although this has been announced in the WWDC keynote, we are beginning to receive reports that Siri in iOS 6 Beta is now able to find places internationally, at least in certain countries and with limited precision. By the way, jailbreakers can get this functionality by way of an AssistantExtensions plugin called International Locations...
Apple really stick it to Google by supplanting Google Maps in iOS 6 with in-house mapping service, didn't it? But more than anything, yesterday's WWDC keynote has proven that Apple is just as merciless without Steve Jobs.
As both tech giants fight tooth and nail for mindshare, Cupertino is now adamant to go thermonuclear on everything Google, not just Maps.
The iPhone maker demonstrated its incredible agility and willingness to fight Google on multiple dimensions yesterday. To that extent, iOS 6 could be viewed as the biggest step yet in the de-Googlification of iOS.
Here's why...
[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h5KtC3m3YY[/tube]
Here is our first video demonstration showcasing some of the new Siri features included in iOS 6. As we previously reported, new features include sports scores, Movie info, including showtimes, trailers, reviews, and actor information, the ability to launch apps, and much more.
The new Siri is also iPad compatible, and we provide you with a sneak peak of the virtual assistant running on the iPad near the tail end of the video as well. Be sure to let us know what you think about Siri's new and improved features and iPad compatibility in the comments below.
Since Apple introduced Siri last fall, folks have been going through great lengths to install it on other devices. But Apple has continued to keep the feature exclusive to the iPhone 4S. Until now, that is.
Along with a number of other Siri-related announcements this morning, Apple announced that iOS 6 would be bringing the digital assistant to the latest iPad. So you know iDB had to go hands-on...
Siri has received a major update with iOS 6. She can now provide sport scores for the NBA, NFL, etc. She can also tell you batting averages for specified baseball players, and provide arbitrary information like the height differences between basketball players. And this is just the very tip of the iceberg. There's also integration with Rotten Tomatoes to highlight movie reviews, and even watch trailers from within Siri.
Even better is the fact that the iPad is now officially receiving Siri support!