You have to delve quite a long way into the simple answer that Siri gives to get to explain why it says Nokia’s new Lumia 900 is the best phone. The reasons are illuminating, though

Why is it that when you ask Siri “what’s the best cellphone ever?” (or “best mobile phone ever” or “best smartphone ever”) that it responds with “the Nokia Lumia 900″?

Quite simple: because Siri hands the query (being non-weather-related) off to the Wolfram Alpha search engine, which pulls its data in from best buy, where the Nokia Lumia 900 had a total of five – count them – favourable reviews.

Here, go and have a look: “best cellphone ever“, “best mobile phone ever“, “best smartphone ever“.

In each there’s a link: “user rating: 5 out of 5 (based on 4 reviews)”.

Unfortunately even that isn’t accurate. if you look at the page that that links to, it says that it has a rating of 4.4 out of 5, from 11 reviews. So Wolfram Alpha isn’t quite keeping a live feed on this.

But… if you look at it, the latest reviews date from 11 April – which is when this all blew up. be suspicious of those reviews. The earliest ones are more trustworthy, but even those might not be as believable as you might want.

The next up? The LG Tracfone – a $19.99 phone (this comes up whether you ask for a “smartphone”, “mobile phone” or “cellphone”. WolframAlpha says it’s 5/5 – based on 1 review.

But no, even that isn’t right. there are two reviews, of which one is a 5-star (yay!) posted on 16 March and the other is a 1-star posted on… 11 may. Ah, the same day that this Siri thing came up. So that’s probably not a “real” review.

Whatever – it’s a nice meme, but it doesn’t bear fact-checking.

Kudos for pointing all this out goes to MG Siegler, who points out how difficult it is to swim upstream through the meme to get back to the original source:

After a series of never-ending clicks, I believe I was able to trace this “story” back to its roots. Dalrymple linked to AppleInsider, which links to TheNextWeb (hi Robin!), which links to ZUnited, which links to WMPoweruser.

So – a fun story, not entirely supported by the facts.

(Revel in it anyway. Here’s the photo, in small form, from WMPoweruser.)

But it does tell us a couple of things.

First: some people get very worked up about what smartphone they’re using. (See how people are trying to game the reviews more recently to push the rankings down.)

Second: expect to see more of this kind of thing as people probe WolframAlpha to see what answer gives for “best X ever” that doesn’t offer an Apple product (“best MP3 player ever” isn’t going to fit the bill, but “best computer ever” will!)

Third: savvy marketing people are going to start gaming reviews like this to push their phones up rankings. actually, you’d expect this is happening already, wouldn’t you?

Fourth: hope that WolframAlpha to have a rethink about whether trying to answer “best X ever” is much use. or whether BestBuy’s customer reviews section is actually the place to ask.

Update: in the comments, @MarcoPoloMint puts the problem that this illustrates beautifully:

What there is… is a rather worrying tendency for ‘intelligent search’ to default to rather silly, subjective and easily manipulable review sites (Best buy? The US equivalent of Dixons). it shows the weakness in the chain. It’s worrying because voice input + intelligent search is increasingly going to be the future of human computer interaction (smartphones, now Kinect with Internet Explorer, maybe the new Apple iTV…). So these kinks and weaknesses should be sorted out now.

That’s it exactly. When you search for “best” anything – on sites such as Amazon, Yelp, Google, anywhere that offers a rating – you have to be aware of whether the results come from (a) a representative sample (how many Lumia reviews do you need for it to be robust? How many for a restaurant review?) (b) actual buyers (or is it marketing people stuffing the reviews?). Boiling questions down to one-line answers carries risks that are far more subtle than whether we get a laugh from Siri’s responses. The question is whether we’re aware of them.

• Apple
• iPhone
• Search engines
• Smartphones
• Mobile phones
• Nokia
• Internet

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Upstream in the meme: why Siri calls the Lumia 900 the ‘best phone ever’

Siri, the voice command personal assistant application in the iPhone 4S, is still in beta. Even so, Apple recently began running two TV ads with well-known actors touting Siri’s capabilities in seemingly real-life situations.

The capabilities implied in the ads by Siri seem exaggerated at best, and deceptive at worst. Many iPhone 4S users will love the iPhone — the most popular smartphone on the planet –despite Siri. They might do well to ignore Siri altogether and judge the phone on its other merits.

In one of the ads, actor Samuel L. Jackson uses Siri to help in cooking gazpacho soup for a date night. in the other, Zooey Deschanel appears in p.j.’s inside her home, asks Siri if it’s raining outside, wants to find a restaurant that delivers soup and asks Siri to play a tune. 

Part of what’s offered in the ads is the exciting promise of artificial intelligence used in computers such as smartphones and the capabilities of using speech to interface with a computer, instead of touchscreen strokes. But promise isn’t reality — and might not be for many years still.

Siri does appear to be more accomplished than other smartphones I’ve used and tested at recognizing voice commands such as "Call Al Jones," which inititates a call by using a number which comes from my phone’s directory. in terms of Siri’s ability to "reason" with AI to understand what I MEANT to say in a given situation, I have found Siri decidedly in the beta camp.

Based on my experiences with Siri and those of analysts and other users, Siri is not ready for prime time as an AI tool, although I do admire Apple for being willing to arouse interest through its marketing and installation of the app in the iPhone 4S.

The question about whether the new TV ads and other Siri ads are deceptive is up to the courts.   

Two lawsuits filed in March in Los Angeles and new York call Apple’s ads deceptive, and say that Apple’s commercials and marketing make out Siri to be more intelligent that it is.  

Ars Technica found nearly 30% of 2,800 votes in a survey were from readers who said they no longer used the assistant because they tried it and didn’t like it. another 20 percent still used it with complaints, while 22 said they still use it and like its functionality.

My wife recently bought an iPhone 4S (I regularly use an iPhone 4 and have tried Siri many times other iPhone 4S devices) and had some fun trying to get some intelligent answers from Siri. Her experience isn’t at all scientific, but illustrates the problems with the app’s understanding of her speech commands (her articulation and enunciation) and also the essence of what she meant (Siri’s AI deciding between literal communications and implied communications).   

Asked, "how do i cook gazpacho?" Siri responded, "This is about you, not me."  Trying again, she asked: "how do YOU cook gaspacho?" and got from Siri: "Sorry I missed that. Let me think about it. I can’t answer, but I can search the Web if you like."

told "yes" to go ahead with a Web search, Siri came back with Google Search page with the question in text in the search field, slightly mangled, that asked: "how do you cook dispatch out?"

Trying to enunciate "gazpacho" on yet another try, Siri came back with with "how do you make the spot show?" and several URLs about spot removal and businesses connected to the word "spot."

On a third try with careful enunciation, my wife got a verbal response from Siri that said there were 19 restaurants nearby that serve soup.  That’s not obviously a cooking recipe for Gazpacho, but also not terribly different than the kind of response one would expect to get from typing in the same language on a typical search engine.

As with many smartphones and Web searches, most of us laugh when realize that we are the ones being trained by our computers, instead of getting our computers to adapt to us.  We are being trained to  speak clearly, in a quiet room unaffected by noise from a humming automobile or dishwasher in the kitchen.  We are also trained in the logic in our communications (as in, "It’s about you, not me.)

Siri, like other AI and voice command tools, apparently must learn from a user, to a limited extent. There aren’t tutorials where one would train the speech engine as in the past, and yet Siri still seemed to pick up my wife’s pronuciation over just a few minutes–a bit. Some of the logical progressions Siri made were actually pretty astounding. Examples:

Asking Siri "Do I have an appointment today at 4 o’clock?" Siri quickly came back with, "You don’t have anything on your calendar at 4 p.m." then to be a bit tricky, she asked: "what about tomorrow?" to which she surprisingly got back: "Here" with an onscreen listing of the next day’s calendar showing a 3 p.m. meeting with the music department. That was pretty slick, if you think about it, because Siri not only recognized the prior question and tied it the calendar for the following day, but also the appointment just before 4 p.m.

My wife’s use of Siri might get even better over time, but you do wonder if it will be consistent enough to be something practical on a regular basis, especially in a business setting. I can just imagine a businessman trying to reason with Siri and yelling into his iPhone while office visitors next door listen to his use of four-letter words, enuciated in loud tones.  Now, that won’t ever be an Apple TV ad, but situations like it have already been made into comedy sketches.

Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates, said Siri is a very good application "if you ask the right questions."   the problem with Apple’s recent TV ads is they make speech recognition and AI "sound perfect, which it’s not….this is not easy technology to do." Siri and other similar applications don’t so far "understand standard human converations."

For buyers, the bigger implication of the latest Apple TV ads is about what a customer can expect, Gold added."If users expect something and get disappointed, they don’t come back," he said."If technology overpromises, people get disillusioned."  

Gold said Apple may be using Siri as a way to make itself appear unique and different from popular Android phones, especially those from Samsung.  Apple didn’t respond to my request to comment on any of  this.

My advice: if you are interested in an iPhone 4S, buy it for a great touchscreen experience, an exquisite browser, styling and access to a wide range of apps.   use Siri as much as you want, for fun and more, but don’t count on it. It’s beta, after all.

Quick! Dispatch out that gazpacho, Ms. Siri

87% of iPhone 4S Owners use Siri Each Month

Apple has been prominently featuring Siri, the voice recognition feature, in its iPhone 4S advertising. And, for a good reason: it’s apparently very popular amongst iPhone 4S owners. 87 percent of iPhone 4S users use at least one Siri feature each month, according to a new study. however, they aren’t using all that Siri, which is technically still in Beta, has to offer.

Making phone calls and sending text-messages are the most popular activities, according to the report, a sign that Siri usage is mirroring how people use their phones more generally. Roughly a third of 4S owners use Siri to place phone calls, send text messages, or look up information daily or almost daily.

Many other Siri services are getting little pickup, however. They include playing music and scheduling meetings. Thirty-two and 35% of 4S users, respectively, said they had never used Siri to perform those actions. Those categories also had some of the lowest percentage of users that did either daily or almost daily.

The survey, performed by Parks Associates, also found that 55% of iPhone 4S users were satisfied with Siri and 9% were unsatisfied. the rest were somewhere in between. It seems likely that Apple will expand the Siri feature-set going forward, adding more partners to the current Wolfram and Yelp integration. ESPN has been mentioned as a possible partner for serving up sports scores and schedules.

News Source: MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors – all Stories

CAYPEN

87% of iPhone 4S Owners Use Siri Each Month

What does the “S” stand for?

When I ask Apple this, they’re vague in their response. they note that some people say it stands for “Special” or “Super”. others say it’s for “Speed” — much like the iPhone 3GS, the successor to the iPhone 3G. or maybe it’s “Storage” (this is the first iPhone with 64 GB option — and with iCloud storage). or “Sprint” (this is the first iPhone to run on that network in the U.S.) Or perhaps it’s for “Speech” or “Siri”. either of these last two would get my vote. The point is, the “S” can stand for any number of things depending on who is using the device. Here’s all I know for certain: this is the best iPhone yet.

Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of talk in the blogosphere following the unveiling of the iPhone 4S last week. some pundits seemed underwhelmed by what was unveiled on stage. “Where’s the iPhone 5?,” many wondered. Arguing over names is silly — Apple could have easily called this device the “iPhone 5″. But I assume they chose not to for the same reason that some actually felt underwhelmed: the iPhone 4S looks exactly like the iPhone 4. Fair or not, if a device looks the same, many will assume it is largely the same.

But that would be selling the iPhone 4S well short. While it does look the same as the iPhone 4, the 4S contains innards that are a significant upgrade over the previous model. The two biggest changes are the faster chip — the A5 over the A4 — and the much-improved camera. Combine those with the new iOS 5 software, and you have what will definitely be a worthwhile upgrade for many users. And when you throw in the amazing new voice-driven “intelligent assistant” Siri, it becomes a no-brainer, in my mind. These are the aspects I’m going to focus on.

The A5

First of all, the iPhone 4S blows away the iPhone 4 when it comes to speed. for the past week, I’ve been testing all of my most-used apps and the differences range from solid to awesome. at first glance, the speed difference may seem subtle. But over time, it adds up and becomes apparent. I would switch back to my iPhone 4 and get frustrated by the lag.

Apps that used to take a longer time to perform a task — applying a filter in Camera+, for example — now work much faster. more generally, every app seems to load quite a bit faster. The best way to see this is to load the Settings app that is built into iOS. on the iPhone 4, it can take up to 3 seconds to load. on the iPhone 4S, it loads in less than a second. And the 4S is faster at switching between apps when multi-tasking.

Better still is the performance boost that games get. Apple showcased Infinity Blade 2 during their demo last week, but the improvements to even less graphic-intensive games is impressive. Apple says that graphics can render up to seven times quicker thanks to the A5.

The Camera

The camera is an even bigger deal to me. As I’ve been following for some time, and Apple noted last week, the iPhone has become the most popular camera in the world if you go by the images uploaded to Flickr. And it’s not even close. This new camera in the iPhone 4S goes above and beyond. And it’s going to push that lead even further.

If the point-and-shoot market wasn’t in trouble before, it will be now.

Much will be made about the upgrade from 5 megapixels to 8 megapixels with the iPhone 4S. But the bigger difference is the engineering behind the new camera. Apple notes with pride that their engineers were able to completely re-architect this tiny camera to produce images that are on par with the nicest point-and-shoots available. they credit five “precision elements” to record incoming light (versus four in the already excellent iPhone 4 camera) and the inclusion of a larger f/2.4 aperture to bring in more light.

I was actually in London last week when I got the 4S. for the trip, I brought my Canon S95, a $400 point-and-shoot which is generally considered to be one of the best. I barely used it. While it still bests the iPhone 4S in low-light settings, for all most other environments, it’s hard to tell the difference. Yes, the S95 is still better, but it’s no longer so much better than it can trump a device that I always have in my pocket with me anyway. Yep, point-and-shoots are screwed. (In case that wasn’t already abundantly clear.)

Also great is that the iPhone 4S camera can shoot 1080p video for the first time. The iPhone 4 is limited to 720p. The 4S also features video stabilization, to ensure your home videos won’t make viewers want to vomit. Testing this out, it seems to work pretty well.

Below, a video taken with the 4S (be sure to switch the embed to 1080p):

Below, an image taken with the 4S (more at the bottom of the post):

iOS 5 & iCloud

Considering that Apple has been talking about iOS 5 for several months now, and developers have been testing it out and showing it off for almost that long, I’m not going to focus on it too much. I too have been using a developer build of iOS 5 for months, and it is without question a worthwhile upgrade. If you have an iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4, you absolutely need to download it immediately (starting when it’s available tomorrow). with the iPhone 4S, all the new features simply run faster and a little bit more smoothly.

The best addition to iOS 5 is the revamped Notifications system. Yes, it’s a bit like the system that Android and webOS have had for a while, but once again, Apple took their time to make sure they did this right. Gone are the annoying blue pop-ups that would get lost when another notification came in. Now you have a full-on notification center to keep track of everything you miss when you’re away from your phone or simply not in the mood to check it. Again, having used it for a few months now, I’m spoiled. there is no way I could go back to the old system.

Other key new features of iOS 5 including Twitter integration (which we talked about more in-depth here), the new iMessage (SMS killer), Reminders (an Apple-built to-do list), and a faster version of the Safari web browser.

But the biggest change of iOS 5 may be that you can now setup and manage your iOS device without having to use a PC or a Mac at all. when you boot up a new device, a short tutorial walks you through how to enable the services you wish to use, and activate your phone. It’s quick and painless.

You can also now use iCloud to back up your phone and for the don’t-call-it-syncing of your data. iTunes in the Cloud and Photo Stream are great additions for people who simply do not want to manage content through the iTunes desktop software. Apple comes closer to an “it just works” system than anything I’ve seen previously. Regular people will be able to use this.

Siri

All of that sounds great. And these things would be enough to get millions of people to buy an iPhone 4S without any questions asked. But the true killer feature of the device is Siri.

Yes, others have done voice controls before — even Apple has had them baked into iOS for a few years. But most, including Apple’s previous attempt, have been awful. others, like Google’s voice services built into Android, are decent. Siri is great.

In the coming weeks and months, we’re going to hear: “both fill-in-the-blank-Android-phone and the iPhone 4S have voice control functionality”. But that’s like saying both Citizen Kane and BioDome are films. True on paper. Decidedly less true when you have to actually experience them.

You really have to use it yourself to see just how great Siri actually is. using it for the past week, I’ve done everything from getting directions, to sending emails, to sending text messages, to looking up information on WolframAlpha, to getting restaurant recommendations on Yelp, to taking notes, to setting reminders, to setting calendar appointments, to setting alarms, to searching the web. The amount of times Siri hasn’t been able to understand and execute my request is astonishingly low. I’ll say something that I’m sure Siri won’t be able to understand, and it gets it.

Also awesome: when I first tried out the service in London, Siri was set to UK English. It didn’t understand a word I was saying. The Apple reps couldn’t figure out what was going on. But a quick change of the settings had it working perfectly. Siri understands accents as well.

A number of folks have written that while Siri looks good, it seems like a feature that gives good demo but won’t actually get used. I disagree. I think this is a feature that will sell the device. And I think all of Apple’s rivals will have to act quickly to counter it. We’ve all seen the science fiction television shows and films where people talk to their computers like human beings and the computer understands them. That future is now.

Further, I do believe Siri has a real shot at disrupting the stranglehold Google has on mobile search. no one is going to beat Google at their own game, but with Siri, Apple has a way to change the game. right now, just Yelp and Wolfram Alpha are partners. But this is just a first release of Siri — it’s actually in “beta”. Just imagine what will happen when Apple partners with other services to expand Siri further. And imagine when they have an API that any developer can use. This really could alter the mobile landscape.

To activate Siri, you simply hold down the home button for a couple seconds (similar to the old voice controls). or there’s a setting you can turn on so that when you bring your iPhone 4S up to your ear, it will activate Siri. obviously, if you’re on a call, it knows not to do this.

The one downside of Siri: because it uses server-side software to decipher what you’re saying (likely using Nuance-licensed technology), you have to be connected to the Internet in order for Siri to work. But that shouldn’t be an issue in most circumstances.

Before you ask: no, Siri will not be available as part of the iOS 5 upgrade for other devices. It will be an iPhone 4S-only feature. Apple is vague as to why this is, but they do say that part of it has to do with processing power. I also asked about the possibility of Siri coming to the iPad 2 (which has the same A5 chip) — I was told that for now, Siri will be iPhone 4S only.

“So”

Those are the key elements on the iPhone 4S, in my mind. each of them makes the iPhone 4S a worthy purchase in their own right. But it’s Siri that really puts it over the top.

As for upgrades, it’s a tougher call. If you already have an iPhone 4 and still have time left on your two-year contract, it will be a pricey decision to upgrade to an iPhone 4S — especially since you’ll get the iOS 5 features (again, minus Siri) as an upgrade for free. If either speed or the camera are of the utmost importance to you, you should upgrade. If not, go to an Apple Store and see for yourself just how cool Siri is and then decide.

If you’ve had an iPhone 3GS and have been waiting a couple years for the next iPhone to come out, now’s the time to upgrade. If you’re worried just because this is not called the “iPhone 5″ , you’re being foolish.

If you’ve never owned an iPhone before and the 4S will be your first one, you’ll love it. I suspect that millions of Verizon and Sprint customers in the U.S. are going to be in this bucket.

As a bonus: the one issue I’ve had with my Verizon iPhone 4 is that it’s basically useless in much of the rest of the world (which uses GSM, not CDMA). But the iPhone 4S is both GSM and CDMA compatible. Even if you’re a Verizon (or Sprint) customer, you can take it overseas and use it there (for an undoubtedly large carrier fee).

As for battery life, the 4S seems solid. That’s impressive given the faster processor. I would get about 7 hours in heavy usage over mainly 3G on any given day. If I was only on WiFi, more. Apple’s own specs do note that standby battery time has decreased a bit, but it’s not something I noticed enough to make note of.

Leading up to last week’s event, like everyone else, I kept reading the rumors about a new iPhone with a larger screen and completely different form factor. Quite frankly, I was hoping they were wrong. (For the record, I stated that I heard the screen size rumor was wrong weeks ago.) The iPhone 4′s design is the pinnacle of smartphone design in my opinion. I simply could not imagine how they could alter it to make it better. Even making it thinner would mean that it wouldn’t fit as nicely in your hands for taking pictures. Android fanboys are going to love that statement.

I’m happy that Apple decided not to change the form factor even though they had to know there would be some backlash from a certain segment of the population (read: idiots). Instead, Apple focused on the other thing they do best: refining already great products to make them better. The iPhone 4 was a great product. The best smartphone ever made. Now it cedes that title to the iPhone 4S.

The iPhone 4S: Faster, More Capable, And You Can Talk To It

With the new iPad, more commonly referred to as the iPad 3, announcement out of the way, all eyes will now be focused on the iPhone 5. and if you think the buzz around the iPad 3 was big, wait until this summer. Apple left fanboys from all over disappointed last fall when they announced the iPhone 4s. many thought we were in store for the iPhone5 last year, but Apple kept us at bay and only announced minor adjustments to the iPhone – most hyped was of course the launch of Siri. Here are the latest rumors for the iPhone 5.

iPhone 5 Release Date

If Apple were to repeat its habits, we should expect the iPhone 5 to be released in the early summer of 2012. Most reports are pointing to a June release. we could also be in store for an update to the iPhone operating system (iOS 6), even though iOS 5.1 was just released last week at the iPad 3 event.

Rumored iPhone 5 Specs

Even though we are still months away from the release of the iPhone 5, there are a few major rumors swirling around the newest iPhone. One of them is a larger screen. Apple has yet to make an update to the screen size of the iPhone, and many users would love to see a larger screen. second, is 4G LTE compatibility. Most Android phones are already using the 4G network, while Apple’s current iPhone are still on 3G. Last, but certainly not least is a better processor and upgraded chipset. we will be on the look out but a quad core processor would be nice Apple.

Are we in store for an iPhone 5 or just a new iPhone?

Here is an interesting report from MobileMag where they indicate a potential change in the iPhone naming convention.

Each model name for the iPhone has denoted something. The iPhone 3G was the first iPhone with 3G. The iPhone 3GS is like the iPhone 3G, but with extra “S”peed. The iPhone 4 is the fourth iPhone. following this convention, it wouldn’t make sense for the next iPhone to be called the iPhone 5, because it’s really the sixth iPhone. So, Apple might finally switch things over and simply call it the iPhone.

iPhone 5 Concept Designs

Interntation Business Times put a slide show together of the top 5 concept designs for the iPhone 5. Check them out.

iPhone 5 Release Date: Latest iPhone 5 Rumors, Specs & Photos [Images]

The iPhone 4S is a proof that Apple can get away with not releasing the 5th generation iPhone. It came as a big surprise but the iPhone 4S was able to appease us. It may bear the same look as the 4th generation iPhone, but it comes packed with a different brain.

It is hard to say that we’re not disappointed with Apple’s action, but what can we do? our best option is to simply enjoy the top of the line and refreshed iPhone 4S.

It is not that hard to distinguish the latest iPhone to its predecessor. It comes with an upgraded 8MP camera and with improved aperture ratio as well. The phone’s CPU is also upgraded to a dual-core A5 processor. this is the very same processor that the Apple iPad 2 is using now. The handset comes in with seven times increased power when it comes to its graphical processing prowess.

Another addition to this handset is the now famous Siri (your very own personal assistant). this is Apple’s voice recognition service. Siri can basically do it all for you. It can write and send your text messages and emails. Basically, everything is made easy with Siri.

Even though this handset bears the same look as its predecessor it comes packed with a powerful internals that you won’t enjoy on the iPhone 4. The good news is that Apple slightly tweaked the design of the 4S. this is done with the addition of its dual-band aerial design. this promised to solve the antenna problem that iPhone 4 users were complaining about.

Let’s talk about the handset. First, the phone’s top houses its power and lock button. The headphone jack and microphone (with noise cancellation) can be found there too. if you look at the phone’s right side, you will notice that it is clean and without any buttons. this is also the same space allocated for the phone’s micro SIM card slot. It easily pops out using an included tool.

If you look at the bottom of the phone, you will find the connector and dual speakers. On the phone’s left side, you will find its volume keys. The upper volume key works as camera shutter button. there is also a silencer switch on this handset. It is now slightly moved upwards compared to the iPhone 4′s design. Last but not the least, the new antenna band technology is now located to a location where you frequently hold or touch the handset.

These are the new design that you will enjoy on the iPhone 4. It may have the same look as its predecessor but it comes in with a different brain.

iPhone 4S – Same Look With Different Brain

Today, Apple unleashed the “new new iPad,” or iPad 3, or 2S, or whatever you want to call it. It’ll cost you $499, has a new retina display, with an A5X processor complete with quad-core graphics. The iPad 2 is also getting a price drop, to $399, and Apple announced a slew of new updates to existing products, including movie support for iCloud, iPhoto is coming to iOS, along with an update for iOS 5. Yes, iOS 5.1 will be available for download starting today for iPhone, iPod and iPads, according to Apple, with some new updates to Siri.

Siri brought a big change to the experience of the iPhone when it appeared on the 4S, and since then, people have been finding all sorts of back-door ways to bring the saucy personal assistant to other Apple devices. Today, Siri is officially showing up on the iPad. well, sort of. it won’t be the full-featured personal assistant iPhone users have become familiar with, but it does include voice dictation support. This support will include American English, British and Australian English, French, German and Japanese.

While most of those languages have already been available for iOS, Japanese is a new arrival. But, perhaps the coolest part of this pared-down Siri for iPad is that the dictation feature will be available in third-party apps. that means that users will be able to holler their tweets and Facebook status updates into their iPads and iPhones, making for an interesting experience for those in close proximity.

iOS 5.1 is also supposed to hold the promise of enhanced battery life, but iPhone 4S users have been holding their breath on that one for awhile now, so that remains to be seen.

But, as always, iPhone Hacks warns that, for those operating with jailbroken versions of iOS, it’s a good idea to avoid those firmware updates, because you’ll likely lose your jailbreak. Just FYI.

We’ll update when we learn more.

iOS 5.1 Update: Siri Speaks Japanese; Voice Dictation Comes To New iPad

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Here is a roundup of some of the latest iPhone 5 rumors:

Tear Drop Design:  the next phone is expected to have a tear drop design similar to that of the Macbook Air. Instead of straight square edges like the 4 or 4S; the iPhone 5 is rumored to have rounded edges in the shape of a teardrop.

HD display: Apple has begun testing high-resolution screens, according to a report obtained by State. the phone is likely to retain its 3.5-inch form in order to not disturb its IOS 5 platform, but the screen is expected to have 720p HD display with a resolution of 1280×720.

Airbag Screen protector: This is one of the best rumors to date-a airbag protective system to launch when the phone's screen comes to impact. “A tunable shock mounted under the glass screen having a liquid-based inflatable bladder having similar functionalities like car airbags will help devices from mot being broken when dropped,” iPhone 5 Rumor Net reported. the airbags will apparently inflate within a fraction of a second when its accelerometer feels a deep drop.

Advanced Version of Siri: These rumors sparked through a job opening from Apple's Siri user interface manager, Dan keen. the openings called for experienced IOS software engineers to join the team that implements the user interface for Siri and help make the next bigger and better.

iPhone 5 Release Date Could Delay to Mark Steve Jobs’ Death

Ever since users began making use of Siri on Apple’s new smartphone the iPhone 4S, it has been creating waves. it is Apple’s new voice-activated personal assistant. it allows users to ask about anything from local businesses to sending your wife a text message whenever you miss her call. Best of all, it does it with spunk and attitude. not only is it functional, it is entertaining as well. there is only one problem. it is exclusive to Apple’s new smartphone. When it first came out, the Cupertino firm did not make the app available in the App Store. Therefore, there was no way to make use of the app on other devices such as the iPhone 4.

Despite its unavailability in the app offering, hackers have found ways to port Siri from successor to predecessor. However, it is anything but a simple procedure. one hacker had to jailbreak a brand new 4S in order to port necessary files to its successor.

This procedure is complicated. Apple’s boot ROM is encrypted. Sure, you can jailbreak their smartphones. However, this would void your warranty. Sure, there are talented individuals who can post the application to other iOS devices. However, they would face legal ramifications from Apple if ever they tried to publicly distribute this procedure. we all know how vicious the Cupertino firm can be when it comes to legal matters. If it can spend billions on legal battles against its rivals, what more with hackers?

This time, it’s different. Apple has just released the new iOS 5.0.1 build. although the build is still exclusive to the iPhone 4S, it is now accessible. This means it is no longer encrypted. in addition to being accessible, the new build seems to support other devices running Apple’s latest software iteration.

Does this have anything to do with the virtual assistant Siri and other devices such as the iPhone 4? it does. Accessibility means that the procedure is now simpler. Of course, a little bit of scripting will be required. However, you no longer need to through the complications of past procedures.

You may be asking yourself, when will your 4th generation smartphone get the voice-activated app? Sadly, there’s no way of telling. However, we can tell you that it will now be easier for developers to do. Since accessibility is no longer an issue, we believe you may be using Siri on your iPhone 4 soon.

Porting Siri to the iPhone 4 – Is It Possible?

By: Raphael Labuguen.

Siri? iCloud? Bug? how can the next iPhone avoid the much-publicized battery life problem reportedly (and still) plaguing the iPhone 4S.

The iPhone 5 is still considered as a big all caps RUMOR, but apparently, Apple will release a new iPhone next year and it will use the iPhone 5 moniker.

Rumors this week talked about the iPhone 5 release date and features. From dual-core to quad-core CPU to larger screen and new design, of course, it is still the same old cycle of rumors circulating on the internet claiming that Apple’s iPhone 5 will be the biggest and the most aggressive iPhone yet.

But there’s a catch, majority of rumors don’t talk about the battery life. Yes, quad-core CPU will likely drain the battery juice of a phone faster compared to a dual-core, and it is not a myth. Larger screen? Yes, more pixels per inch and larger display will drain the battery faster compared to smaller screen.

Apparently, Apple’s iPhone 4S received (and still receiving) bad publicity due to the reported bug draining the battery juice of the new dual-core iPhone. according to Apple, the problem is due to a “bug” and only affecting a small number of iPhone 4S users, but based on a discussion in Apple’s own website, many are still complaining.

One iPhone user said he is in love with the iPhone 4S, but doesn’t like the quick battery drain, “I received my phone last weekend and experienced 5 to 8% battery drain per hour. the apple store wiped my phone and disabled some apps – however that did not resolve the problem. the rep blamed having an exchange email account as part of the problem. Don’t get me wrong – I love the phone – however I hate having to keep the phone near a charger throughout the day.”

Another discussion contributor added that the problem may be related to the iOS 5 and not the hardware or dual-core CPU. “Yea, it’s a problem with the iOS 5! my iPhone 4 has this problem after updating to iOS 5.”

Reports say Apple is set to end the problem with a new software update, but what if the problem is not software related?

If Apple’s iPhone 5 will include LTE or quad-core CPU, it must also include a larger battery, or better, they should stick with dual-core CPU and HSPA+ next year to avoid the same battery life problem.

Another reason why the iPhone 5 should use dual-core CPU or larger battery is due to the iCloud which is reportedly adding the juice-draining problem especially the “iCloud Backup” feature.

Can the iPhone 5 avoid the 4S battery life problem?