Siri Makes Phone More Useful
I'm falling in love with someone named Siri. She's smart, she's sassy, she answers my questions and she mostly does what I tell her to do. Siri isn't a person -- I wouldn't dare expect the real women in my life to follow my commands. She is the personal assistant built into Apple's new iPhone 4S. And, largely because of Siri, I just put my Android phone on the shelf and switched to the iPhone 4S.
While Android also has voice applications, they're not as smooth or well integrated as Siri. Press the iPhone 4S home button, ask a question and there's a pretty good chance that Siri will find an answer. There is also a good chance that Siri will carry out your verbal commands like "set an alarm for 7:00," "find me the nearest sushi bar" or "give me directions to Susie Smith's house" (assuming Susie's address is in your contact list). You can also use Siri to dictate a text or message. It's not perfect -- there were a few times when it misinterpred my voice -- but it was mostly pretty accurate.
Fit and Finish
Another reason I made the switch is just the fit and finish of the iPhone, inside and out. Like the physically identical iPhone 4, the 4S just feels good in the hand -- a testament to the late Steve Jobs' keen sense of design. But the operating system is equally refined. Unlike Android -- which is powerful but a bit clunky -- iOS 5 does what it does elegantly, even though it might not have the potential to do quite as many things as an Android device.
Of course, the iPhone 4S also has some hardware improvements over its predecessors, including a faster A5 chip and a much improved 8 megapixel camera. I'm not much of a game player, but -- for those who are -- the faster chip definitely improves performance. What I can feel is a snappier response compared to the iPhone 4 and most other touch screen phones, including recent Android phones I've tested.
iCloud is another plus. True, Google had cloud services long before Apple, but I like the way iCloud makes it easy to sync music between my PC and various iOS devices. Before I left the Apple store, the music I had purchased on iTunes was wirelessly and automatically transferred to my new 4S.
Although setting up the new iPhone 4S went smoothly, I can't say the same for my experience upgrading my iPad and iPod Touch iOS 5. Like a lot of other users, I had some initial problems, which -- with the help of Apple support -- I was finally able to work out.
Network Choices
It's now possible to use an iPhone on Sprint in addition to AT&T and Verizon. While all three networks have pretty good coverage, I chose Sprint because of its pricing plans, which include a $99 a month "Simply Everything" plan that covers unlimited voice, data and messaging. Also, the iPhone 4S is able to work in Europe and other countries that use GSM phone plans and I'm told that Sprint will unlock the phone for "customers in good standing" so that it will be possible to use less expensive local phone services when overseas.
I Could Switch Back
With technology, nothing is forever. While Apple may have the latest and greatest right now, there is certainly the possibility that I might change my tune depending on how rich and creamy Google's upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich Android operating system turns out to be. The good thing about competition is that all players have an incentive to outdo the others and -- with its enormous resources -- I have no doubt that Google will do all it can to outclass Apple.
This post has been updated since its original publication.
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I hate the term apple fan boy it is just the same as droid fan boy. It makes no sense your choosing a product because your comfortable with it. Such as choose Apple for design and that everything has to be approved by Apple to work with their products or be part of their app store. For me this limits the amount of conflicts or products that do not work. Where PC/Droids basically its a free for all.
So for me I like the superior product and high level of engineering that goes into a Apple Product plus over a 20 + year I have as an Apple user I have had one issue with an apple product that ended up not being a Apple part but a 3rd parties that wore out.
If you were really an Android user, you will switch back soon after getting the caged feeling with iOS. It is very difficult for anyone who has used Android or Windows Mobile for some time, to live with iOS for long. I hope you will have the courage write an article like this at that stage, too.
Puhleeze. I just jettisoned my Galaxy S and switched to iphone. I could not be happier. Not sure what this "caged feeling" is. Quite the opposite (seriously). Where my android would get buggy and force close, my iphone simply works. I had zero confidence in my android that it would work properly when I needed it. The GPS was horrible and took 2-5 minutes to get a lock. Apps would just randomly crash right in the middle of something. The lag when I realy needed to look something up on the web was frustratingly slow. These are common problems to pretty much every android phone. Pick any android forum and they are chock full of users experiencing the same problems. I have had 2 androids and neither has allowed me to do what I can do with an iphone.
Umn.. I think we would've heard some complaints by now.
Sorry, try again.
The iPhone 4 was released in June 2010 yet this problem didn't come up until January 2011.
Just because you haven't heard complaints yet doesn't mean they won't come up at all. Language processing with computers is still pretty unreliable, so I wouldn't bet my job on it.
Ok, so I can't set my alarm clock with vlingo. Big whoop.
I can't wait to have my Iphone.
A friend told me that even in Africa, customers are not forced into any contracts to use cell phones. You can buy a SIM Card from a street vendor, purchase a prepaid card, load it into your phone, and voila!! you can make calls and send texts. You control how much you spend......but the same companies or their subsidiaries FORCE Americans into "contracts" to be able to use their Network.
Are we still pretending to be FREE?
Also, Siri does rely on server access to process many requests. The phone's memory is not large enough to handle all the queries you can make on it. So, if you have trouble connecting, Siri will not be as responsive.
That's like saying matches were around before lighters.
Like I said, Siri is not anything new. It's been around for quite a while http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpjpVAB06O4 except Siri now provides voice response instead of just a text response.
Their ads target adolescent robot fantasies that have nothing to do with reality. They're like the AXE soap of mobile-tech.
Never could get anyone to tell how much they spent for all the goodies they were so proud of. Maybe because they weren't paying out of their own pocket?
I love technology and gadgets, but only if they have some economic benefit to me. I always hate it when I find that the software I've used for years doesn't work on new hardware.
From a geeks perspective, the iPhone can't teether (for free at least... look up PDANet or EasyTeether), it isn't 4G, and it's not nearly as hackable.
http://blog.vlingo.com/mobile-voice-comparison
Here is another comparison of Vlingo with Google Voice: http://androidspin.com/2010/08/17/voice-app-wars-google-voice-search-vs-vlingo
I had not used any of these products but thanks for reminding me! Now I will and make sure I take full use Vlingo and/or Google Voice of my 5" ANDROID screen!!