Siri for iPhone is like the proverbial Genie in a bottle

Filed under: iPod Family, Freeware, iPhone, App Review

We're getting closer and closer to some of the stuff we see it science fiction literature and films. Siri [iTunes link] is a small Silicon Valley startup with a really breakthrough product that for now only works on the iPhone.

Here's the deal. You download the free app, start it up, and tell it what you want. It could be "Will it snow in Des Moines today?" or "Where can I find the nearest burger" or it could be "Find the nearest parks". It parses your comments, runs out to the web for a few seconds and comes back with a lot of suggestions. It gives you buttons to call the places you've found, or to show them on Google Maps and get you directions.

I tried to get a bit fancier saying "Make me a reservation for 2 at the nearest Olive Garden tonight at 7." The app figured out Olive Garden didn't take reservations through their service, but it provided me a number for the nearest Olive Garden and offered to map it.

Continue reading Siri for iPhone is like the proverbial Genie in a bottle

Siri for iPhone is like the proverbial Genie in a bottle originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Siri for iPhone is like the proverbial Genie in a bottle originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10 reasons to pass on the iPad? TUAW fact check

Filed under: iPod Family, Portables, Odds and ends

Over at TechRepublic's 10 Things blog, Debra Littlejohn Shinder has posted an article called "10 reasons why I'll be passing on the iPad." Some of her reasoning is sound, but quite a few of her points are easy to refute. It's worth looking at her post and the points it tries to make, because it's indicative of a widespread misunderstanding of not only the iPad's capabilities, but also its intended consumer base.

1. There's no physical keyboard

Debra's correct that the iPad has no physical keyboard. But what she fails to account for is that not only will Apple sell a keyboard dock for the iPad, the device can also be paired with any existing Bluetooth keyboard. Apple's reasoning for not including a physical keyboard on the iPad is even more compelling than for the iPhone, because unlike the iPhone, you at least have the option of pairing the iPad with a physical keyboard. In order to put a physical keyboard on the device itself, there'd be two options: keep the iPad the same size and sacrifice a third of the screen's real estate, or increase the iPad's size beyond what some (including Debra) already consider unwieldy in order to include a keyboard.

In landscape orientation, the iPad's virtual keyboard is nearly the size of a conventional keyboard, too, so while touch typing is going to be a challenge, it's a fair bet that typing on the iPad will be much faster and easier than the high end of 30 - 35 WPM thumb typing many people (myself included) achieve on the iPhone's far smaller keyboard. The lack of a physical keyboard on the iPhone hasn't measurably affected its sales; the iPad isn't likely to suffer many lost sales from this, either.

(Note: a few people have asked for a source on the Bluetooth keyboard issue, particularly my assertion that you can use any BT keyboard and not just Apple's wireless models. During her hands-on with the iPad following the device's announcement, Jacqui Cheng at Ars Technica verified that "You can use any bluetooth keyboard you want, instead of Apple's keyboard dock. You could use the case/stand with your existing bluetooth keyboard. You cannot use a bluetooth mouse, however.")


Check out the other nine points by clicking the Read More link below.

Continue reading 10 reasons to pass on the iPad? TUAW fact check

10 reasons to pass on the iPad? TUAW fact check originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

10 reasons to pass on the iPad? TUAW fact check originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In praise of the iPad: A contrarian view

Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone

If there has been an editorial theme about the iPad over the last few days, it's been this: it disappoints. Pundits and consumers alike have been underwhelmed by the name (I mean, seriously, does anyone in the product naming department use feminine hygiene products? How many of these devices are going to be named "Max"?), by the physical design (Can you say "Un-Ives-like Bezel" three times fast?), by the missing features (no camera, no multitasking, still no Flash), and so forth. And yet, despite these seeming flaws, I'm wildly enthusiastic about the tablet. I think part of that enthusiasm is attributable to the fact that I'm a dyed-in-the-wool netbook user... and we are the actual target audience for the device.

Steve Jobs laid out the raison d'etre for the tablet right at the start of his presentation. Apple was going after the part of the market that wanted light computing: more than a phone could deliver and less involved than a laptop demanded. Ergo, the netbook. The list of things in the middle column of his main slide reflected the exact way that netbook users operate: checking the mail, surfing the web, enjoying some media. That's exactly how my parents use their netbook, how my friends do, how I do. We're coffee-shop, hotel, and passenger-seat netbook users. To that, you can add city commuters and airline passengers among those who have driven the netbook craze.

Netbooks are great. They are small, they are insanely cheap, and they offer just enough functionality to get a few things done without jumping into serious work that would demand a full-sized screen and keyboard. I know approximately three badzillion netbook users, and with very few exceptions, they are all Windows users.

Continue reading In praise of the iPad: A contrarian view

In praise of the iPad: A contrarian view originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In praise of the iPad: A contrarian view originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Found footage: Jailbreak BTstack support extended to 1st gen iPod touch

Filed under: iPod Family, Cool tools, Hacks, iPhone, Jailbreak/pwnage

The BTstack project that we've covered before on TUAW, offers a way for iPhone and iPod touch units to communicate with arbitrary external Bluetooth devices. To date, it's been used to connect keyboards, mice, and wiimotes with iPhone software.

This system has now been extended to the first generation iPod touch, bringing all six iPhoneOS models into the Bluetooth arena. Since the 1st gen touch does not provide its own built-in system, it requires an external module. This video uses the dongle described at this blog post to demonstrate the keyboard connection functionality.

Although the 1st generation touch is an increasingly deprecated system, it's nice to know that it hasn't been left out of the Bluetooth picture. Old touch units make excellent hobbyist systems. When jailbroken, access to a full suite of Unix tools offers a budget-priced platform with great prototyping potential. With this new Bluetooth stack support, the 1st gen touch has just become an even more exciting system for projects like remote monitoring.

Found footage: Jailbreak BTstack support extended to 1st gen iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Found footage: Jailbreak BTstack support extended to 1st gen iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: Apple gunning for iPad trademark

Filed under: Hardware, iPod Family, Odds and ends, Apple, Mac Pro

Even though the WSJ pretty much broke the story on next week's tablet announcement (when the mainstream media prints something as true, it's true, right?), that hasn't kept the crazy tablet rumors from coming in. Earlier in the week, MacRumors and the no-comment-on-the-name JesusTablet.com delivered more evidence that Apple is fighting for the "iPad" trademark. While it's already nailed down the name elsewhere, in the US, Fujitsu actually originally applied for the moniker, though Apple has made the case to the FTC to pick it up since Fujitsu has "abandoned" it and no one else has used it. There are filed requests to keep the deadline open for complaints against Fujitsu's claim, with an FTC ruling that holds the trademark unclaimed through February 29th. Could be that Apple just wants to avoid confusion with iPod -- it could be the tablet's new name.

Of course, if Apple does name the tablet "iPad," I'll eat my hat. That's a terrible name, even worse than the already hated "iSlate." I can see why Apple would want to get the "i" in there, but what will be interesting is to see if they consider this device an extension of the iPod and iPhone lines or part of the Mac series. Personally, I'd much rather buy a Mac Slate or a Mac Reader (or just an Apple Slate) than an awkward name with the "i" squeezed in front of it. And yes, Canvas is pretty good, too. We'll have to see what the company eventually decides on later this week.

[via Mashable & MacNN]

Update: A legal source of ours says this is not tablet related -- not only does Fujitsu have more right to this trademark than Apple does, since they're the senior user and they've actually sold a product, but Apple is probably only filing for it so they can keep a lock on anything that sounds like "iPod," not because they want to call the tablet "iPad." False alarm. We guess that we'll see plenty of those in the runup to next week's announcement, so keep your cynical hats on.

Rumor: Apple gunning for iPad trademark originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rumor: Apple gunning for iPad trademark originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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