Siri poised to take Apple into search

Apple's virtual personal assistant, Siri, has led to an avalanche of buzz. Siri's ability to interpret natural language--something that other voice recognition systems just don't yet do--has won plenty of praise. And her sassy personality--yes, she seems to have a personality--has created quite a few fans.

Yet entertainment value aside, Siri is serious business; and depending on how Apple plays it, Siri gives Apple a big opportunity to go after Google's core business of search. That, at least, is the opinion of Gary Morgenthaler, a partner at the venture capital firm Morgenthaler Ventures in Menlo Park, Calif. Morgenthaler was the first investor in Siri, sat on its board until it sold to Apple in April 2010, and was on the board of voice-recognition company Nuance Communications, which provides the underlying technology for Siri.

Source:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20123265-37/look-out-google-siri-is-poised-to-take-apple-into-search-q-a/

Your phone is no assistant

You and your smartphone may be inseparable, but that doesn't mean you ought to be best friends.

That's the essential message from Andy Rubin, Google's Android chief, who spoke at the AsiaD conference this week. Not so coincidentally, he said this just days after the launch of the iPhone 4S, a chief feature of which is Siri, a voice-activated feature that Apple is billing as a "personal assistant."

"I don't believe that your phone should be an assistant," Rubin said in an interview, as reported by AllThingsD.

Rather, he said, a telephonic gadget is a tool: "You shouldn't be communicating with the phone; you should be communicating with somebody on the other side of the phone."

Apple's Siri has been the object of great fascination for many in the short time since it burst onto the scene. People have used it to sing duets, to muse on the meaning of life, and to break into a locked iPhone 4S. They've speculated about its (her) personality and whether it will ruin our civil society.

Source:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20123124-94/googles-rubin-your-phone-is-no-assistant/?tag=mncol