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Siri sort-of comes to the new iPad, does voice dictation only
Ever since Siri showed up on the iPhone 4S, she's been put to work in a variety of non-Apple approved ways and unofficially ported to other iDevices, including the iPad. Now Apple's next-gen iPad has made its auspicious debut in San Francisco with a splash of Siri on board. It's not the full voice assistant, but the new tablet does have voice dictation software that supports US English, British, Australian, French, German and Japanese. Not only that, but the dictation feature is available in third-party apps as well, so you'll be able to speak your tweets and status updates on Apple's new slate. For more coverage of Apple's iPad event, visit our hub!
Samsung unleashes Smart Touch Remote and Wireless Keyboard, we go eyes-on (video)
Along with announcing the official release details for its 2012 Plasma and Smart Interaction TV lineup today, Samsung also introduced its Smart Touch Remote and Wireless Keyboard. Essentially serving as the replacement for its 2011 Qwerty remote, the new Touch variant will come included with the ES7500 and ES8000 LED models and E8000 Plasma display. The retro-looking slab features tactile controls for channel switching and adjusting volume on its edges, while the middle section is dedicated to gesture controls for interacting with services like Smart Hub. Notably, the remote also features a built-in microphone which will assist with voice controls if ya happen to be far away from your TV. Moving along for those who like to type, the Wireless Keyboard will be available separately and features most of what you'll find on the remote cleanly affixed on its right side. We're also told that it's compatible with both models of the Galaxy Tab 2. We haven't heard any word on pricing or availability, but check out the gallery below and a cameo of the remote in the video past the break for further details.Update: Sammy reached out and let us know that its new Wireless Keyboard will be priced at $99 once it hits shelves. %Gallery-149798%Edgar Alvarez contributed to this post.
The best Kinect to come: Microsoft's Xbox 360 spring showcase
Like the Nintendo Wii before it, Microsoft's Kinect has been braving the storm of new peripheral adolescence, awkwardly shuffling users through jump, wave, lean and jiggling gameplay, typically at a leisurely pace. Sure it's had its moments on the dance floor, but aside from being a good listener, the spatially aware sensor hasn't exactly redefined core gaming. Almost a year and half after its launch, however, the often hacked device is taking another crack at reaching the hardcore. We dropped in on Xbox's spring showcase this weekend to find out how that effort is going -- see what we found after the break.
LG's Magic Remote is powered by Nuance
It was Monday morning at CES when LG unveiled its Magic Remote: a television zapper that recognized Wii-style motion control and voice recognition -- stripping out the fiddly array of buttons that most TiVo users are familiar with. Nuance, of Dragon Dictation fame, got all excited and lifted the lid on which company's voice recognition technology was powering the unit (hint: it's Nuance). Thanks to the handy press release after the break, we've learnt that if you bellow "Lady Gaga" into the unit, it'll return materials related to Ms Germanotta herself -- although if you've seen Jack Donaghy's voice-activated TV from 30 Rock, you might not be too convinced that you can kiss goodbye to buttons just yet.
Samsung Smart Interaction gesture controlled HDTV demo (video)
Samsung revealed some of its 2012 HDTVs would include a built in camera and mic to enable a feature it calls Smart Interaction, which is just a brand name for voice and gesture control. We stopped by the company's massive CES booth today and squeezed between all of those 55-inch OLEDs to get a quick demo, and found it mirrored the suddenly common Kinect functionality we've become accustomed to closely. Like Microsoft's add-on, Samsung's setup has a keyword that activates it (Hi TV) and like the recently upgraded Xbox 360 dashboard, there has been a lot of work done to make sure it recognizes many real words. A key difference from the Kinect however, is that Samsung has also developed a Bluetooth-connected IR blaster that can sit in front of your cable box and extend the control to other devices that way. As you can see in our video of the presentation the control was generally tight and responsive, however it still lacks truly natural communication and the test volunteer had some trouble turning the TV off. Check out the video after the break and see if a future of talking to the TV is for you -- we'll be on the couch with our remotes.
Samsung has Smart TVs with dual core CPUs, cameras and more
Samsung's CES 2012 press conference is going on right now, and it's unveiling new products including the top of the line ES8000 LED model that packs a dual core CPU to run its apps, and an integrated camera and microphone for "Smart Interaction". Beyond that, the "Smart Evolution" feature will let users swap out that dual core processor for something heftier later on if they want to upgrade. Finally "Smart Content" is the umbrella term for a wave content and apps including, of course, Angry Birds, and an upgraded version of AllShare that pulls from the cloud, and can even control other compatible devices. The ES8000 edge lit LED line ranges in size from 46- to 65-inches, and features Smart Interaction cameras and mics for videoconferencing as well as voice and gesture control. Check after the break for the press release with all the details, or follow along with our liveblog.
ActiveVideo Network's CloudTV H5 links up with Siri, brings voice control to set-top boxes
So you ignored the same old design and moderately bumped specs, plunked down your plastic and picked up an iPhone 4S -- presumably on the allure of Siri. Well, that bodiless, digital lady helper's about to work her concierge magic on your cable TV. ActiveVideo Networks plans to demo an implementation of its CloudTV H5 apps platform -- including iVOD, amongst others -- to bring voice navigation to living rooms via your set-top box. After routing a user's requests over a cellular network, the company's servers do the heavy lifting and deliver the intended content and search results all supposedly in the time it would take to use a remote control. We'll be sure to get some up close and personal time with this voice-based interface at CES this week and let you know how it all pans out.
Air Dictate app brings Siri's voice control to Macs, makes you feel just a little more important
Well, this was probably inevitable. Given that we've already seen Siri respond to custom commands, replace your remote and adjust the temperature in your house, it shouldn't come as a surprise that someone, somewhere has figured out how to make her control Macs. That's what's going on with Air Dictate by Avatron, a new app that allows you to dictate memos and other Very Important Business so that it appears in your text editor, without you having to type it yourself. Once you download the $1 app, you'll need to visit Avatron's website, download the Air Dictate Receiver software for your Mac and make sure the two devices are connected to the same WiFi network. So far as we can tell, it should work with any application that accepts text input, though for now it's only compatible with Macs and the iPhone 4S (sorry, jailbreakers).
LG's Magic Remote enables voice control for its smart TVs
LG was quick to introduce Wii-style motion controls and pointing to its smart TV controllers, but its new Magic Remote also adds voice recognition, allowing you to enter search terms without ever contemplating the alphabet. In a radical move, it also conjures up a scroll wheel -- perhaps for no reason other than to spite Samsung's now dowdy-looking QWERTY rival. The fact that it can control your LG Cinema 3D TV without forcing you to star-jump is a happy bonus. There's a full PR after the break, although no sign yet of availability or pricing.
Rumor: Google working on Siri competitor codenamed "Majel"
Android and Me has reportedly come across some secret details regarding "Majel," which is Google's voice control project that sounds very similar to the popular Siri. Before you start crying foul that Google is jumping on the voice control bandwagon, don't forget that Google actually included voice controlled actions and search in its own iOS app already, and Android has had functions like voice-to-txt baked in for a while. Of course, those kind of interactions don't hold a candle to the kinds of things that Siri can do, which is why Google is reportedly working on putting together "Majel." The system is named after Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, the wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, and the voice for many of the computer interfaces in the sci-fi series. The project is being developed by Google's Google X experimental labs, and when it does finally appear in a way the public can use it, it will likely only do Google Searches. But the final plan is, according to a Google rep in a previous interview, that "every piece of computing surface, everything is voice-aware. It's not that there's a personality, it doesn't have a name, it's just Computer." Sounds interesting. Competition for Siri is a good thing for us users. It sounds like Google is taking a slightly different approach than Apple, and given that Apple actually bought Siri instead of trying to develop it from scratch, odds are that whatever Google puts together might won't exceed Apple's offerings in innovation. But that's fine -- if Google comes up with something really cool, odds are we'll still be able to run both on our iOS devices anyway.
Xbox 360 Dashboard update review (fall 2011)
Kiss that old "New Xbox Experience" goodbye -- the Xbox Dashboard just went full Metro. Microsoft teased the console's latest overhaul back at E3, promising to "change living room entertainment forever." The following months saw leaks, previews and betas, all leading up to today, the eve of the Xbox 360's Fall Dashboard update. Is the new dash the game-changer it hopes to be? Hit the break, and we'll find out together.%Gallery-141009%
MyFord Touch Upgrade inbound, brings 'faster, simpler, easier' infotainment to your late-model whip
For better or worse, Ford owners have been basking in the overzealous infotainment ways of MyFord Touch for over a year now. Since then, the service's been updated with amenities such as integrated Nuance voice recognition for SYNC, but now the Dearborn-based automobile monolith is taking things a few steps forward. Penned for release "early next year," the MyFord Touch Upgrade will usher in a massive revamp across every nook and cranny of the system as a whole. Starting with the 2013 model year Flex, Taurus and Escape, drivers will be greeted by over 1,000 revised screens implementing an "improved look," with an up to 40 percent increase in font sizes, a simpler -- and more cohesive -- GUI focused displaying only important info (for less clutter) and notably, doubly fast response times for touch and voice-based inputs. And oh yes, it gets even better. Those with tablets will be pleased to know that multimedia playback will be supported via USB, while mobile phones will benefit from quicker automatic Bluetooth pairing and better echo and noise-cancellation. Ford has also baked-in voice support for sports buffs with Sirius Game Finder, as well as bibliophiles with Audible.com integration (which can also be touch controlled, should you desire it). Best of all, you'll no longer need to recite any parenthetical or bracketed album info your music tracks may have, or the direction of street names when inputting addresses for directions. Speaking of, the TeleNav-enabled nav system will have further map detail courtesy of Navteq, with enhancements like more 3D imaging, "photorealistic" signage and better route planning thanks to "a database of historical traffic patterns." If you've already got some miles on an existing MyFord Touch-enabled ride, no worries -- Ford will give your system the upgrade pro bono when it's available, taking all but a (hopefully) quick visit to your local dealer. Potential and current Ford owners will find more visuals in the gallery below and full details in the press release past break. Update: Ford has let us know that existing owners will not be required to visit their dealer for the upgrade, and will be receiving a USB drive allowing for a self-install in the mail. That said, you can still drop by your dealer after getting it to have the install done there. %Gallery-138462%
Siri being tested in jailbroken iPad 1
It's been ten days since Siri hit the scene and the virtual assistant is in the process of being torn apart by the hacking community. Siri, as it exists on the iPhone 4S, has been ported to the iPhone 4 and now the iPad 1. Developer Steven Troughton-Smith, who worked on the iPhone 4 port, has shared his progress with @jackoplane who has successfully ported the app to the iPad 1. Several images of Siri running on the tablet device document this achievement. Unfortunately, neither the iPhone 4 nor the iPad port is fully functional at this point. Siri still needs to connect to Apple's servers to work and the servers are configured to accept requests only from the iPhone 4S. Potentially, these devices could be spoofed to look like an iPhone 4S which could open this functionality to jailbroken devices. Jailbreaking and porting may be the only solution for owners of older hardware who want Siri on their iOS devices. It's doubtful that Apple will bring Siri to the iPad 1 or the iPhone 3GS. Apple may not want to support this older hardware and these models may also lack the processing power required for the voice assistant. But as some of you pointed out in one of our latest "You're The Pundit" posts, Apple could decide to bring Siri to the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2 once it comes out of beta. [Via Jailbreakstory]
Dear Aunt TUAW: What is this "Voice Control" thing?
Dear Aunt TUAW, I discovered by accident that I can hold down the home button on the iPhone 4 and it brings up Voice Control. I don't remember this being there before. Is this some sort of Siri light functionality for the iPhone 4? I can use it to makes calls and FaceTime someone, but not much else. Your loving nephew, Douglas Dear Douglas, Think of Voice Control as Siri's, well, not Mom...maybe Siri's Aunt? Yeah. Exactly. Voice Control is basically an older, less stylish version of Siri -- far more approachable, slightly less sexy. And with a worse sense of humor. First introduced on the iPhone 3GS, Voice Control offers hand-free dialing and basic music controls. As with Siri, you can press and hold the Home button to bring up the assistant. There you can say "Call Dave at Home" or "FaceTime Steve" or "Next Track" or "Play Songs by Parry Gripp" (Auntie is a huge Parry Gripp fan). When Voice Control is running, recommended, speakable phrases scroll across the screen. You can use Voice Control on the 3GS and later and on newer model iPod touches. If you disable Siri on the 4S or haven't gotten around to enabling it, the 4S uses Voice Control instead. Apple has never really done the whole hands-free thing on the iPad, which is a shame because Auntie thinks that Siri would rock on the iPad, but that's the topic for a whole different post. Hugs, Auntie T.
Kinect voice control reaches Australia, Harold Bishop and Donald Fisher will be pleased
Holy dooley! (oh my!) Microsoft's being a big-note oneself (bragging) about getting Xbox 360 voice control working for the Aussies (Australians.) It's invited all the journos (journalists) to a rage (party) down under (in Australia) to show off the system that had difficulty understanding Australian English. Haven't a clue why.
Siri gets lost internationally, promises to do better next year
The iPhone 4S' Siri integration may be a potential game changer, but she's not quite the world traveler some of us would like her to be. In fact, it seems she's as lost outside of US borders as any unprepared tourist. Looking for a pub in London? Better find a traditional map. Need to know the time of day in Canada? Siri admits she has no idea, go buy a watch. Business search (via Yelp), directions, and traffic data search all appear to be US-only features for now, and Wolfram Alpha only works in English-speaking countries. The automated assistant's international failings aren't too big of a surprise, however -- Apple's own Siri page outs the service as a beta, noting that some features may vary by area. Stuck with sub-par international support? Sit tight, it's coming: Apple's Siri FAQ states that additional language support (including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian and Spanish), maps and local search content are set to go international in 2012. Update: Wolfram Alpha works outside the US in English speaking countries, thanks to everyone in the comments for the clarification.
Why Siri should (and probably will) come to iPad 2
Since the iPhone 4S features the same A5 processor as the iPad 2, owners of Apple's current-gen tablet have wondered if it's possible that Siri, Apple's new voice assistant, might be offered on the iPad 2. While my colleague Erica Sadun's answer to that is "Don't hold your breath," I only agree with her up to a point: I don't think there are any technical hurdles whatsoever to running Siri on an iPad 2, and the fact that the device doesn't currently feature voice controls is meaningless. I think Siri will come to the iPad 2 eventually -- certainly not right away, but possibly within the next six months. Voice Control as it now exists on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 doesn't function on the iPad or iPad 2, but there's a reason for that: the existing commands would be essentially useless on those devices. The pre-Siri version of Voice Control allows you to use voice commands to control music playback, dial phone numbers or initiate FaceTime calls, and ask the device for information about the current time or currently playing song. That's about all Voice Control does. Those functions are all useful features on a device that spends much of its time in your pocket, but on an iPad they make very little sense. On the other hand, Siri's commands would be immensely useful on the iPad. The same things Apple showed off at the "Let's talk iPhone" event, like setting up Reminders and Calendar events or looking up information on Wikipedia or Wolfram Alpha, would be very handy to have -- so handy that I don't see why Apple wouldn't offer them. Apple has long been a company that designs products its own workers want to use, and it's hard to imagine that no one in Cupertino has thought about how Siri could vastly expand the power and capability of the iPad 2. Since the iPad 2 has both a microphone and the same A5 as the iPhone 4S, there shouldn't be any technical reason why Siri wouldn't function well on that device. Some have speculated that the iPhone 4S has 1 GB of RAM to the iPad 2's 512 MB (a claim that will have to wait for an iFixit teardown before it can be proven or disproven), but my TUAW colleagues don't believe that Siri's functions should be so RAM-intensive that they require such massive amounts of memory. In fact, we've done some digging into Siri and found that most of the actual work of understanding voice commands gets offloaded to external servers. In essence, the iPhone 4S and its built-in processing functions determine what you said, while Apple's servers translate that into what you meant and send that information back to your iPhone. The pre-processing that takes place on the device itself may be too taxing for an A4 processor, but the iPad 2's A5 should theoretically be able to handle it just fine. Perhaps even better -- Apple has a habit of underclocking CPUs for the iPhone in the interest of power management, so the iPad 2's A5 is likely to outperform that of the iPhone 4S for many functions. The fact that Apple hasn't yet said one way or another whether Siri will come to devices other than the iPhone 4S also doesn't mean much. The iPhone 4, 3GS, and newer iPod touch models had an exclusive on multitasking for almost exactly six months before iOS 4.2 debuted and brought that feature to the iPad, and the same thing may end up being true for Siri. Here's what I think is the most likely scenario: Siri will remain an iPhone 4S exclusive at least until the third tier of international rollouts completes in December. In fact, Apple will probably wait until after the end of the holiday quarter and bring Siri to the iPad 2 in the first quarter of 2012. Not only will this give market incentive for people to buy the iPhone 4S by having Siri as a device-exclusive feature during the holiday period, it'll also give Apple's servers and Siri's algorithms time to adjust and scale to the number of inquiries it'll receive. Once Siri's beta period ends and international rollouts for the iPhone 4S are reasonably complete, that's the perfect time to bring Siri to the iPad 2 in a dot-update to iOS 5. By that time Siri and its supporting infrastructure will be more mature and able to handle the extra load of adding support for one more device type, and it should also help alleviate the typical post-holiday quarter sales slump. As for the other devices in Apple's iOS stable, like the iPod touch, iPhone 4, and iPhone 3GS, I don't expect them to ever see support for Siri. Siri's developers have already confirmed that many compromises were required to get the service running on the iPhone 3GS, and it's probably the same story for iOS devices with an A4 processor. The 2012 model iPod touch will likely be updated to an A5 processor, however, so we might see Siri support for next year's iPod touch. For the time being, Siri remains an iPhone 4S exclusive and one we have yet to test for ourselves. We look forward to putting this innovative feature under our interrogation lights once the iPhone 4S is released on October 14.
Microsoft reveals new TV providers including Verizon and Comcast coming to Xbox 360 (video)
Just as the rumors indicated, Microsoft is bringing video from a number of providers beyond the ones it initially announced to the Xbox 360 in its fall update, including big guns like Verizon and Comcast. While Verizon is promising "a selection" of its live TV channels on the Xbox 360 as expected, Comcast is only bringing its Xfinity TV video on-demand offerings (no AnyPlay powered live TV -- yet) to subscribers when it launches "in the coming months." Other notable providers include Lovefilm (UK, Germany), BBC TV (UK), HBO Go, and Syfy. As promised during E3, the services integrated with Xbox will offer support for search across all available video, as well as support for Kinect voice and gesture controls. The universal search is looking good since it pulls together various services into one UI (as we discussed on our podcast yesterday), but the reality is content providers and geographical limits on what services you can pick from are still throwing up walls between users and content. Check after the break for PR detailing what you'll be able to access and where, as well as a video intro to all the tasty new TV services. %Gallery-135845%
Original Siri service is dead, long live Apple Siri
If you scoffed at the news that Apple's Siri would only be available on the iPhone 4S, thinking that you could just use the standard Siri app that was still available on the App Store, then scoff no more. The freely available Siri app has been removed from the App Store completely, and as TechCrunch reports, the whole service is being taken down in advance of the official debut of the app as part of iOS 5. TUAW reader Luc reports that the current app now gives a note as it starts up that the app will be "leaving for home" on October 15th, so you have until then to enjoy the app as is if you happen to still have it installed. Presumably at that point, the old service will end, and you'll have to buy an iPhone 4S if you want access to the new service. This basically makes sense: Apple's trying to sell devices, and it wouldn't really work to have a version of the service out there running around for free, even if that service isn't as integrated. Apple's done the same thing with other companies they've picked up and made official, including CoverFlow back in the day. Unfortunately, if you're currently a big Siri user, then you'll have to upgrade your handset to keep using the service as is -- there is no built-in plan to let you keep using the current app.
Apple (re)introduces Siri as iPhone voice control assistant for iPhone 4S
Apple picked up mobile assistant app Siri quite a while ago, but only at today's event did we finally see why. The company is relaunching the app as official, though it will keep the name Siri. To access it, all you'll have to do is hold down the home button, and then a little purple mic will pop up, listening in to whatever question you ask. From your question, Siri will then find any and all pertinent information, including data about the weather, stock and clock information, and even searches for local restaurants and businesses. You can ask for directions and get them right away, or even get messages read off to you via Bluetooth, and create calendar appointments and replies right inside the Siri system. The whole thing is very impressive, and if it works as well as Siri did, Apple's phone has yet another killer feature on it. Unfortunately, Apple said that Siri is "the coolest feature of the new iPhone 4S," so presumably you'll need the new handset to make use of the feature. We'll double-check on that going forward, but all indications are that Siri will be 4S-only.