Apple is often listed as one of the main companies behind the surge of the digital music economy in the last decade. The introduction of the iTunes music store almost single handedly crafted a digital marketplace, putting music in front of consumers around the world and making it extremely easy for them to get the latest artist releases. As music sales and downloads begin to slow down across the industry, Apple is reportedly looking for ways to go swim against the tide by bolstering its own music offerings, which could see the fruit company partnering with Shazam Entertainment to offer a song and artist recognition service natively via Siri within iOS.
In the run-up to Windows Phone 8.1's announcement at the start of April, we heard that Cortana, Microsoft's answer to Siri and Google Now, would take elements of both pre-existing voice assistants and combine them into the best all-round voice feature in the mobile industry. Since the BUILD dev conference, we've heard a great deal about how wonderful Cortana supposedly is, although until we've seen it up against its two major adversaries, there's no telling just how it holds up. With the release of the developer preview of Windows Phone 8.1 today, though, we finally get to see first-hand if Cortana can compete with its more established peers, and the Cortana vs. Siri vs. Google Now video embedded below reveals all!
Plenty of Windows Phone users had been waiting on the announcement of Windows Phone 8.1 at BUILD 2014, and finally got their wish today as Microsoft reeled off an extensive list of new features soon headed to current Windows Phone 8 devices in the form of a gleaming new update. As well as the likes of Action Center and significant improvements to the lock screen and home screen, one of the key new features of Windows Phone 8.1 is Cortana, the voice assistant that will serve as the software giant’s very own take on Siri, and given the cult status of Apple's digital slave, Microsoft seized upon the opportunity to release a series of clips explaining why Cortana will be better.
A little light-hearted mocking of rivaling companies and their products never hurt anybody in the tech industry, and as we've seen through numerous ad campaigns over the years, they're all at it. With MWC not too far away, Huawei has caricatured Apple's Siri voice assistant to rib both the Cupertino company and rival Samsung, while also promoting its new, to-be-announced smartphone and tablet. Check out the humorous clip right after the break!
Siri caused more than a stir when it first hit the scene along with the iPhone 4s back in 2011, but even though consumers and commentators alike were fascinated by this feature that could answer back (if you had the right accent), the novelty did seem to wear off, and apart from the Eyes Free in-car integration, it's been a while since Apple's much-loved voice assistant really made the headlines.
Since the introduction of Siri back with the iPhone 4s two years ago, production car manufacturers have sought to offer consumers better integration with their smartphones, and Honda has long since been an advocate of the Siri 'Eyes Free,' integration of which the company announced last week for select models on its production line. But following the lead of many other companies in harnessing Siri's voice-recognition capabilities isn't the only trick Honda has up its sleeve, for now, the Japanese company has revealed that the 2014 Honda Civic Coupe and 2015 Honda Fit will be sporting even more integration by way of 'HondaLink' technology. Details, as ever, follow after the break.
Apple’s hardware is undoubtedly one of the defining characteristics of iOS devices, but it's the underlying power of Apple's proprietary software that really makes the difference. With that said, there are still certain parts of iOS that users don't seem to want to embrace - and it seems the makers of The Simpsons are keen to exploit that.
It's been a big week for Pokémon fans, what with a new game being released for Nintendo's 3DS that sees the franchise's army of fans once again plunged into the world that they love so. As it goes, Pokémon fans tend to be of the more technological persuasion, which means they'll love this news.
Apple's Siri, which made its debut alongside the launch on the iPhone 4s, has been a mainstay of iOS ever since, and although it isn't as widely used as the Cupertino company might have predicted when it was first implemented, the sheer number of automobile manufacturers alone currently integrating it into new cars speaks volumes for its potential.
It's fairly safe to say at this point that there is no love lost between Google and Apple, and the latter has used its Siri digital assistant to poke fun at some of Google's properties in the past. With that in mind, it's no great surprise that Siri is in fact no great fan of what is perhaps Google's most popular product that nobody can buy.
