Siri Muzzled: No Longer Claims Best Smartphone Is Nokia Lumia 900, Now Prefers IPhone 4S

Siri will no longer tell you that the Nokia Lumia 900 is the best smartphone ever, as Apple has apparently updated the Voice Assistant on the iPhone 4S with more witty responses and fewer recommendations of a direct competitor's product.

(Apple is infringing on Siri's right to free speech! Occupy! Occupy!)

You might recall that on Friday, in a mini-Internet-kerfuffle, it was discovered that when you asked Siri the question "What is the best smartphone answer?" the assistant would answer that the Nokia Lumia 900 was the all-time greatest. Sometimes it answered that the best smartphone was "the one you are holding"; other times, it would scoff: "Are you kidding me?"

But if you were persistent you could get it to respond in favor of the Lumia 900, the flagship Windows Phone battling the iPhone for sales in America on AT&T.

Now, this Lumia 900 recommendation hadn't been programmed into Siri's knowledge base: Rather, for mathematical questions, Siri sometimes consults Wolfram Alpha, a quantitative search engine. When you search Wolfram Alpha for a product recommendation, it consults Best Buy's user ratings to find the highest-ranked device and then recommends that one. So occasionally, when you ask Siri for a product recommendation, it goes to Wolfram Alpha; and thus occasionally, when you asked Siri for the best smartphone, it would launch a Wolfram Alpha search rather than get back to you with one of its trademark snappy retorts.

Thus Siri's shocking betrayal.

Following the Deception of Siri, however, many news outlets are reporting that Apple has tinkered with Siri so that the bot no longer heads to Wolfram Alpha for the answer to the best smartphone question. Our tests confirm this: Though we were able to get our iPhone 4S to recommend the Nokia Lumia 900 last Friday, on Tuesday evening Siri was all snark when we asked for its pick for smartphone supremacy:

And what about the Lumia 900? We know that Siri no longer favors that smartphone over the phone she calls her home -- but has her opinion on Nokia's hot-selling smartphone changed?

From thinking that the Lumia 900 is the best smartphone ever to not even being able to spell its name correctly: How the mighty have fallen, huh?

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Comments

[J0E1]

06:38 PM on 05/16/2012

Apple product users don't want to hear about anything but Apple products anyway.  They just fixed the "problem".

[LuLou Murder]

04:11 PM on 05/16/2012

"... it consults Best Buy's user ratings"

I think I found the problem.

[rudy in la]

11:47 AM on 05/16/2012

Sounds like a great basis for a Microsoft commercial! Too funny.

[Sarkazmo]

10:08 AM on 05/16/2012

In the eyes of some Apple can do no wrong. They've sheltered billions in revenue to keep from paying taxes, used slave labor to make their products, and fixed search results in their favor. Granted that many other companies have done the same but the fanatical following of Apple borders on religious fervor. It's really sad anyone would put so much faith and money into a company like this and even sadder that Apple (and other companies) are allowed to continue such practices.

[NakedMoleRat]

05:23 PM on 05/16/2012

"They've sheltered billions in revenue to keep from paying taxes, used slave labor to make their products, and fixed search results in their favor"

Like you said, other companies have done the same, like oil companies have been doing this for years.

"It's really sad anyone would put so much faith and money into a company like this"

I'll be you filled your gas tank this week.

[Sarkazmo]

11:48 AM on 05/18/2012

You missed or ignored the point completely. It's the fanatical devotion to Apple that's disturbing. As I said, some people put Apple on a pedestal and practically worship the company. They continue to do so even after it comes out about the company's practices.

[Brian Xx]

02:00 PM on 05/23/2012

"I'll be you filled your gas tank this week"

I'm not clear on your statement. Either you're a bee or not.

[KayGee58]

09:39 AM on 05/16/2012

Funny!!!

[paulbenjouse]

09:02 AM on 05/16/2012

SO????????

[jgeurian21]

09:22 AM on 05/16/2012

It would be like Google censoring searches or if MS only allowed certain phrases on IE.

[Amalek]

08:25 AM on 05/16/2012

Jason, Jason, grammar please.

It is fewer recommendations, not less recommendations.  Please give me less agony when I read your material, by having fewer errors.

[barkingcat]

08:44 AM on 05/16/2012

Amen!

[Jason Gilbert]

11:05 AM on 05/16/2012

Fixed it. I'd try to defend myself, but my defense would be fewer than persuasive.

[Amalek]

05:36 PM on 05/16/2012

Incorrigible.

[jflorish]

08:19 AM on 05/16/2012

It would be fun working in that department and being able to customize some of those questions, like the comedy answers that are put in for some questions .... that would be entertaining being on that end of it :)

[CitizenFitz]

06:36 AM on 05/16/2012

For mocking the Occupy movement (something I'm sure you have ZERO idea about) you can go get bent.

[rrsltx]

07:28 AM on 05/16/2012

Yea! How dare you mock the public defecators?

[Highball]

04:44 AM on 05/16/2012

LOL

I love Siri. She is great, funny, helpful, and I access her various abilities on a regular basis.

This is just funny.

[garumphul]

06:43 AM on 05/16/2012

So you're okay with the knowledge that when you ask something, you may or may not get a factual response?

[MrSimythe]

08:35 AM on 05/16/2012

If you're an Apple user, then you've been used to the concept of limited access and content for quite some time now.

[TheWilWallace]

09:27 AM on 05/16/2012

"What is the best smartphone?" isn't a factual question. It's a request for an opinion. If you asked everyone on the planet, you'd get many answers. If you asked everyone on the planet if the sun is hot, you'd get just one.

Not to mention a search for facts probably shouldn't start by asking your phone a question.

[jflorish]

08:19 AM on 05/16/2012

I agree, I think one of the coolest features ever added to a phone.

[SabrinaII]

02:34 AM on 05/16/2012

I'm loyal to my SIRI. Love that assistant and her funny come backs! True story: A friend was playing with her SIRI and asked SIRI "Who's a bi!ch?" The phone started dialing her mother-in-law. No kidding! With quirks like this, you can't beat SIRI for entertainment!

[jflorish]

08:20 AM on 05/16/2012

lol ... thats awesome.

[Ash G]

01:14 AM on 05/16/2012

I develop software and cannot imagine requests like rigging the search results at my current place of work. This goes against all principles. An engineer has to have a nose brown to his ears to comply with such requests, and be dishonest with himself. Google stays on top because their alleged search neutrality. If Bing were promoting only MSFT products in their results they would never gain 15%. If users want unbiased information and get Apple ads instead they will seek elsewhere. This is the beginning of the end. AAPL keeps falling.

[Ash G]

01:18 AM on 05/16/2012

And my Mobile Safari has crashed for a 100th time when posting the above comment. It is crashing more often after upgrading my iPad to 5.1.1. Can't wait to ditch this sнiт when W8 comes out. My WP7 doesn't crash, period.

[Counterglow]

03:49 AM on 05/16/2012

My XP Pro doesn't crash. I've had it since Day 1, and except for a couple of driver issues that were my own fault, I haven't seen a BSOD since SP3.

[Troyhe98]

07:55 AM on 05/16/2012

I too have NEVER had a problem with W7. I am waiting for the W8 release to upgrade my computers, purchase a new cell phone and tablet. It will be great having all of my products work together.

[theveggiedude]

03:00 AM on 05/16/2012

BBC reports that Wolfgram used "the 'best' result was determined by reviews on the website of US retailer Best Buy."

So I think you are getting upset over nothing. Reviews on Best Buy is not the be all and end all on the subject.

[NotBob]

03:45 AM on 05/16/2012

Yeah, but now the Siri search doesn't bother with any review system. It's just programmed to say the iPhone is best. It makes you wonder what other search results are cooked by Apple.

[garumphul]

06:44 AM on 05/16/2012

Perhaps not, but neither Wolfram nor Best Buy have a vested interest in gaming the results from a search engine.

[BUTCHER111]

10:51 PM on 05/15/2012

No rigging the search there.

[Jared Jentzsch]

10:30 PM on 05/15/2012

Whats a 'Lumia 900' ? And no, I won't google it.

[six seven]

10:37 PM on 05/15/2012

How strange. You cared enough to comment.

[Jared Jentzsch]

11:07 PM on 05/15/2012

Yeah, I did. But then again, so did you. Strange indeed!

[RattleCat]

10:22 PM on 05/15/2012

One problem.  If you go to Best Buy's web site, select smartphones, and sort by highest rated, the Lumia 900 is no where to be found.  The HTC Trophy is on top, followed by the iPhone 4S.

If you select Best Selling, still no joy.

Wolfram seems to have its own preferences.

[six seven]

10:34 PM on 05/15/2012

Best Buy? Who shops at best buy? Here's a better choice:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/top-rated/wireless/2407747011/

Notice how many of the top 10 are Windows Phone. You should also notice how many are iphones....

[Phlan]

12:57 AM on 05/16/2012

Heh... That's how I got a hold of my Windows Phone.

[RattleCat]

07:28 AM on 05/16/2012

Ummm....if you read the article, you'll understand why Best Buy is mentioned.

[garumphul]

11:07 PM on 05/15/2012

Are you a grandmother or something?