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Siri: The Data-Hungry Personal Assistant
By benjamindsearle(view all posts by benjamindsearle)
at 8:57AM Monday January 9, 2012
under
Newsworthy
The iPhone 4S comes with one of the most revolutionary features we've seen on a phone yet: Siri. For those of you who haven't seen the commercials yet, and have managed to avoid the hype, Siri is a sort of personal assistant within your phone. You can talk to your iPhone in natural language, and Siri is the program that sorts out what exactly it is that you're asking for and tries to get it for you.
Siri, by all reports, is really quite smart and constitutes a good reason to upgrade from your older iPhone all by herself. You can set appointments, send emails and texts, find local businesses, most anything that a personal assistant who happened to be a person can do.
Siri works by sending your voice data back to dedicated servers run by Apple, so that the server can sort out what you're asking, and what you meant to ask for. Then they send data back to your phone, so that Siri can talk to you and let you know what she's up to.
The cost of having Siri, other than having to upgrade to an iPhone 4S, has been revealed in a recent study by Arieso. People who own the iPhone 4S and use Siri regularly are consuming twice as much data as people who don't. Let that sink in for a moment.
Most cellular providers have set up their data usage rules to enable the majority of their users without costing the company too much. So if you have a plan that meters your data usage and charges you for overages, you are going to want to watch out. Data overages are one of the more expensive charges that you can run up with a cellular provider, and you want to make sure that you have the overhead to be able to use the amazing features of Siri without costing yourself an arm and a leg.
If you have a grandfathered plan that has truly unlimited data, then you're in good shape as it is. However, if you have one of the more recent tiered plans that the carriers offer, get to know your online services. Know how much data you can really use without charges or slowdown, and make sure that you aren't going to go over. Once you have that peace of mind, you can upgrade your iPhone with some extra peace of mind, and without costing yourself an arm and a leg in overage charges that you simply weren't expecting.
Have you used Siri? What do you think of the service?
Siri, by all reports, is really quite smart and constitutes a good reason to upgrade from your older iPhone all by herself. You can set appointments, send emails and texts, find local businesses, most anything that a personal assistant who happened to be a person can do.
Siri works by sending your voice data back to dedicated servers run by Apple, so that the server can sort out what you're asking, and what you meant to ask for. Then they send data back to your phone, so that Siri can talk to you and let you know what she's up to.
The cost of having Siri, other than having to upgrade to an iPhone 4S, has been revealed in a recent study by Arieso. People who own the iPhone 4S and use Siri regularly are consuming twice as much data as people who don't. Let that sink in for a moment.
Most cellular providers have set up their data usage rules to enable the majority of their users without costing the company too much. So if you have a plan that meters your data usage and charges you for overages, you are going to want to watch out. Data overages are one of the more expensive charges that you can run up with a cellular provider, and you want to make sure that you have the overhead to be able to use the amazing features of Siri without costing yourself an arm and a leg.
If you have a grandfathered plan that has truly unlimited data, then you're in good shape as it is. However, if you have one of the more recent tiered plans that the carriers offer, get to know your online services. Know how much data you can really use without charges or slowdown, and make sure that you aren't going to go over. Once you have that peace of mind, you can upgrade your iPhone with some extra peace of mind, and without costing yourself an arm and a leg in overage charges that you simply weren't expecting.
Have you used Siri? What do you think of the service?
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Siri is cool for the most part, but could use a upgrade. She doesn't understand half the stuff I say and has called the wrong number several times. Good thing I have the unlimited data plan, I tend to use my phone for other things besides just calling or texting.
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The most I've really heard about Siri is from people on Twitter and the funny questions they ask. I will not be upgrading until the iPhone 5 is out as I believe the s-Versions to be too small an incremental step and I'm quite happy with my 4 at the moment. With a grandfathered plan, though, I look forward to seeing what the new tech will bring.
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I'd never get an Apple for the Siri app, but I'd love to ask one some questions. "Siri, I'm depressed. How should I kill myself?" Siri, I hate my ex. How do you dispose of a body?
Then I'd probably be arrested.
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Actually, if you ask Siri how to dispose of a dead body, she does give you an answer.
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Isn't that funny? My favorite so far was "Siri, how do I reverse-engineer you?" She didn't have an answer to that one. Or at least, she pretended she didn't...
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I am not cool enough(read: rich enough) to afford a 4S right now, but Siri sounds pretty freaking cool. I had no idea about the data usage and will keep that in mind when I'm ready to upgrade. Thanks!
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I'm hoping that I can, someday, have Siri to act as my nanny.
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I don't have Siri or an iPhone, but sometimes I wish I did. I have a few questions I think she could answer, like where the nearest donuts are. Or where are my pants?
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I refuse to get caught up in the iPhone craze, so alas, Siri will never be part of my life. But it's okay, because I love my phone, and it does all I need it to and then some.
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I don't have Siri (in fact, my phone is decidedly dumb, and possibly still attached to the wall with a cord. ahem), but I have seen all the funny questions online that people like to ask her.
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SavingsIQ - soooo, how would you know that exactly?
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@ ChuckG - I asked her that upon suggestion of a friend of mine. Just for fun.
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@mooivrouw - wait until next year's model. I'm sure by then, you can teach it things like where you left your pants, or which donut shop is your favorite.
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I'm an admin assistant at work, which pays for my phone...and I'd really like to have a phone assistant. I hope my work will pay for that! :D
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