It’s hard to deny the advancement of society’s technology when it comes to cell phones. It’s even harder to deny this with the features that are offered on them. Siri, iPhone 4S’s virtual assistant, certainly falls into that class. Since this feature may be the future for all phones to come, it’s important to assess all the pros and cons of it.
iPhone 4S Siri – Pros and Cons
Siri combines both linguistic analysis with artificial intelligence. Thanks to this revolutionizing feature, the consumer can ask the phone questions, such as “Where can I find a good cheeseburger?” or “Do I need to dress warm today?”. Siri then uses several different applications to not only come up with the answer, but speak it back.
One big drawback to this feature however is that Siri doesn’t follow the silent mode option. Even with lowering the voice with volume buttons, the application cannot be made silent. Another problem with Siri is an obvious one that probably has come to most consumer’s mind first: voice command recognition. Such as has been the case with many voice recognition programs in the past, the virtual assistant can have a problem recognizing the commands, giving a message saying “Sorry, I’m having trouble connecting to the network.”
The Siri though can do lots of other things other than just answering questions. It can set alarms clocks, manage the consumer’s calendar, and make phone calls just by asking it too. The virtual assistant can remind the user of upcoming appointments, text or call whomever the consumer asks for, and even play the role of navigator on road trips.
Siri doesn’t only speak English either. The virtual assistant is fluent in both German and French as well, and can answer questions such as “What’s the current Euro rate?”. However, when it comes to traveling with Siri, the program limits it’s navigating strictly to the United States. Another fluke with the voice recognition feature is that even though it understands and speaks in three different languages it can only navigate when the consumer commands it in English. When it comes to any other task or communication though, Siri can complete and understand them in the other languages that were listed above.
Emily is a blogger and a contributing writer for Invesp, a company that helps clients with their conversion optimization efforts by improving landing page design.