It's no secret that Apple and Samsung are far from the best of friends. In fact, it's fair to say that they don't like each other at all, one bit, which is probably why Samsung's entire advertising campaign for any new smartphone seems to revolve around bashing the iPhone more than bigging up the latest and greatest from South Korea, see the latest Galaxy S4 TV ads, for example.
With Siri having been the flagship feature of iOS 5 and Apple Maps, to a notably less welcoming reception, theoretically comprising the marquee feature of iOS 6, Apple has certainly laid the foundations for what's being described as aggressive in-car integration with the forthcoming iOS 7. Whilst in-car chargers, device holders and Bluetooth connectivity facilities are not uncommon accessories available to the roadworthy mobile device owner, it would appear Apple would like to tap into this market with its own solutions.
Following on from a Wired report yesterday concerning the ambiguity and confusion on how long Siri keeps hold of your private data when you speak to it, Apple has stepped out today to clarify that in actual fact, the voice recognition software will store that information for a two year period. Wired's report prompted Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller to call up the tech publication to clarify a few points pertaining to Siri's policies. Therein, she explained that “Apple may keep Siri data for up to two years,” but also noted that this data is anonymized, and thus would not associate with yourself or any of the products you may use.
Chevrolet has, along with Honda, outlined its intention to integrate Apple's Siri technology into production cars, in a system known as "Eyes Free". Handsfree technology, while useful in helping prevent drivers from becoming distracted whilst behind the wheel, isn't without flaw; and by implementing this new, Siri-based system, major car manufacturers hope to make our roads even safer moving forward. The initial reports of Chevrolet's Siri integration, which first came to our attentions at the end of last November, we got a fairly good insight of how the system would work. Now, following last month's announcement that the 2013 Chevy Sonic and Spark would be among the first to feature Eyes Free, the company has just aired an advertisement showcasing the technology.
The power of voice recognition technology is being utilized by many companies across the globe, as it has been for quite some time. Siri (along with similar implementations of other platforms) has helped bring such technology to the forefront, and although the initial hype surrounding Apple's voice assistant has petered out somewhat, Honda has just announced its intention to bring Siri support to a fleet of its automobiles in the coming months.
In 2013, most users think of Siri as an Apple-developed feature that is now embedded on every new iOS device. However, Siri was once an independent company that was an inch away from becoming an exclusive feature on Verzion smartphones running Android, until Apple finally bought the company in 2010.
The fact that the Google Maps app is sitting at the top of the iOS download charts, it shows that iOS users definitely have a need for a fully-functional maps app that is built on top of extensive and accurate location data. Despite its somewhat insane popularity, iOS still uses the stock Apple Maps app for all direction requirements that are passed through to it via Siri.
General Motors seems particularly keen, dare I say, Sirious about implementing voice-recognition technology into automobiles, and to outline this intention, will be implementing Apple's Siri personal assistant to a couple of its Chevrolet car models early next year.
Siri has been around for longer than a year now, and while some consumers - particularly those residing in North America - have found the voice-recognition software to be of some use, many other nations and continents haven't had such enjoyable experiences. Here in the UK, I still have to "put-on" an American accent in order for Siri to understand me first time, every time, but considering how little support there is in other places across the world, I count myself among the lucky few that can still have a little fun with the relatively new implementation.
The "iWatch" concept is one that has never properly left our thoughts. In fact, ever since Apple began making iPods, iPhones, and iProducts in general, a denomination of consumers (mainly of the "geek" variety) have dreamed that the Cupertino may one day create a product offering innovative features, which could double up - or function entirely - as a watch. The iPod nano of yesteryear showed promise in this particular field, but Apple went the other way with its revamped, much larger nano this year, so it's back to square one.
