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Why is Siri only on the iPhone 4S?

Ars Technica wrote in a recent article...

"It’s clear that Apple’s decision to limit Siri to the iPhone 4S and not roll it out to previous iterations of the device was not motivated by the hardware constraints of older iPhones."

Really? Well, let's dig deeper into the article.

When a user speaks to Siri on a 4S, the phone records the audio and compresses it with the Speex codec, an open audio format that is optimal for voice. The recording is transmitted to Apple’s servers as part of a specialized HTTP request. The servers send back a zlib-compressed binary plist that contains the response data."

Records the audio... using the newer noise cancellation technology in the 4S to get a better recording.

Compresses it with the Speex codec... faster using the new dual-core A5 processor.

Transmitted to Apple’s servers... servers send back... twice as fast using the new HSDPA chip and improved antennas.

And then there's the improved IR sensor that makes the whole "lift to talk to Siri" thing possible.

Now, it's true that there was a old version of Siri on the app store. But it was fairly limited, and the Siri app developers are on record as saying that they had to make quite a few compromises in order to get Siri running on older devices.

And we all know just how much Steve Jobs liked compromises.

Now, would the current version of Siri "work" on an iPhone 4 or 3GS?

Probably.

But would it work just as well, just as accurately, or just as quickly?

No.

It's not that older devices can't do those things. It's that the 4S can do them better (audio recording with active noise cancellation) and faster (encoding, transmit/receive).

Both of which, it turn, make for a better user experience with higher accuracy and less waiting.

Let's take one of these: In one article, Siri developers complained about getting clean voice recordings for analysis.

Why? Because even slight noise can make a significant difference in accuracy. Ever listen to a video camera recording of people in a room? Notice the voices?

Even echoes off the walls can degrade accuracy.

How about speed?

Remember the old axiom web developers used about loading pages under 7 seconds? The longer you took, the more you increased your chances that your visitor would just click elsewhere. Google just overhauled their search box prediction code to shave fractions of a second off the delivery of the results.

Why? Because even slight delays can degrade the user experience.

And that's the key part, because if Steve felt that the experience on a 4 or 3GS would be less than optimal, then those phones simply wouldn't get Siri. 

Sounds like motivation to me.

The iPhone Upgrade Cycle

Ever notice how the really sweet iPhone upgrades appear in the middle of your two year contract?

There's a reason for that.

With the iPhone 4GS, we've now gone through four iPhone upgrade cycles, and from in the process we can now make a guess as to Apple's overall iPhone business strategy.

First, let's take a look at the major feature upgrades across versions:

The original iPhone: Touch-screen. iOS. 2MP camera. EDGE.

iPhone 3G: New form factor. True 3G support. GPS. Faster. Better battery life.

iPhone 3GS: Same form factor as 3G. 3MP camera. Video. Compass. Faster. Better battery life.

iPhone 4: Brand new form factor. IPS Retina display. 5MP camera. HD 720p video. Front-facing camera for use with Facetime. Faster. Better battery life.

iPhone 4S: Same form factor as 4. 8MP camera. Siri speech recognition. Faster. Better battery life.

So, starting with the 3G it would appear that we're in a two-year cycle: New form factor, then upgrades. New form factor, then upgrades.

Two year cycle? Hmm… What else runs in two-year cycles?

Oh, yes. Cell-phone contracts. So what happens if we look at things from the perspective of a user that bought the original iPhone on a two-year contract?

You purchased the original iPhone.

Then the 3G comes out with drool-worthy features (new body, 3G, GPS). Then the 3GS comes out with the same body. So if you went for the drool factor, you upgraded to the 3G. If not, you went with your contract and then upgraded to the much better 3GS.

Then the iPhone 4 appears. New body. Retina display. 5MP and HD. Drool worthy. If, however, you again stuck with your contract, you waited and can now get the 4S upgrade.

From our perspective, it appears that the new body styles and the majority of the important new features are placed in the "mid-contract" period, enticing current owners to spend more in order to upgrade early, in mid-cycle. We call this "major" cycle.

Major cycle: 3G to 4 to 5.

The "upgrade" periods occur during years where, for many, contracts expire and subsidized upgrades are available. No need for major new features, since people will be upgrading to the newest version of the old form factor anyway.

This is the "minor" cycle: 3GS to 4S to 5(x).

So, major changes for mid-contract upgrades. Minor end-of-contract upgrades.

But lets say uou bought a 3G. Then you're getting the major form factor changes and the majority of the major new features the year they occur, and of course you're going to upgrade.

On the off years, however, you're left pondering whether or not the "upgraded" version is worth the trouble.

Probably not. Then again, maybe you're into photography and the BSI 8MP camera has your blood pumping. Upgrade away.

Or you came in at 3GS, in which case you just started the minor cycle in the middle.

There are, of course, other reasons to maintain existing body styles. Maintaining the same style reduces manufacturing costs, and it keeps case makers from having to retool each and every year.

Still, if we get form factor redesign, a larger screen and another major new feature or two in 2012, then that places many of us back to considering yet another mid-contract "drool worthy" upgrade.

So, when that happens, will you upgrade mid-contract, or will you wait until next year?

Either way, Apple wins.

 

Android App Store Passing Apple's In Five Months? Hardly.

According to a new report from analytics outfit Distimo, if Google’s Android Market maintains its current rate of growth it will surpass Apple’s App Store to become the largest app store in number of applications in just five months.

You can see the blue growth line for Android set to pass the green Apple App Store line in the chart below:

Oddly, however, Distimo analysts chose to break out iPad applications into their own distinct category.

If you combine the iPhone and iPad numbers into a single iOS platform number, as I did, then Apple ends up being the top line in the chart, and that line seems to tell just a slightly different story.

Guess it was a slow news day.

[via All Things D]

Can Verizon Execute?

Verizon is getting a second chance at the gold ring, but even with the iPhone success is NOT guaranteed. Verizon is going to have to execute and make their customers happy.

The question is: Can they pull it off?

This is more than an academic question.

Yesterday, for example, it seems that interest in the Verizon iPhone was so high that Verizon's web site suffered several outages and disruptions in service. All eerily similar to the way AT&T's servers were slammed during the initial release of the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

You'd think that maybe, just maybe, someone at Verizon might have had the foresight to realize that one or two or even three people might just be interested in a Verizon-based iPhone, and made sure they had enough excess web site capacity to support the load.

They didn't.

And if their web site can't keep up, what about the rest of their systems? What about activation services? Support staff? Hell, what about their NETWORK?

There's a big difference between talking the talk and walking the walk, and Verizon's corporate executives have a very, very, very good chance of ending up with a good-sized egg on their faces if they're not too careful.

Time will tell, but Tuesday's little fiasco does not bode well.

[Harvard Business Review]

Why Android Will Win The Smartphone War

While reading yet another iPhone 4 review, one reader comment caught my eye. "Do these iBoys really believe the iPhone can win against the onslaught of Androids?"

Do we?

Well, maybe we need to first define "win". Are we talking mere numbers? Or shall we talk about profitability and margins?

Apple seems perfectly content to have let Windows "win" the PC market, while they have, what? Over 80% of the high-end personal computer market? While they sit on billions in cash? While their market cap now exceeds than of Microsoft?

From my perspective, I see no reason why phones will be any different. Android manufactuers are going to be handicaped trying to differentiate themselves from the scores of other Android manufacturers all installing the exact same software on the exact same commodity hardware. So what can they do differently?

Well, changing the color of the case always works. "We run Android 3.1 on our blue phone," says manufacturer A. "Don't buy a blue phone," says another. "Blue is so last season. Red plastic phones running 3.1 are much better!"

Alright, maybe not. Maybe they'll do an EVO, and talk about their semi-pocketable phone being a half-inch larger than the next semi-pocketable phone. But unless we get radically redesigned pockets in the near future, that feature can only scale up so far. (They could try for the smallest phone as well, but unless they're going to ship a microscope with every phone...)

So. With every phone running the same, identical OS, and no clear hardware differentiation, the end resul will be just like that the Window's PC market. Watch as, like Dell and HP, each manufacturer then races to the bottom in a consumer-price war, cutting costs (and quality). Each one, oddly enough, vying to get the least number of pennies per phone.

Being free actually works against Android in this situation, as that becomes another place to scrimp on software and design. "Skinning" Android will go away. It costs money, and manufacturers are also going to get tired of perpetually being behind the version number eight-ball.

"We have Android "Sense" 3.2!" They'll proudly proclaim. But while they were working on skinning 3.2, 3.3 was released, and 3.4 was just announced yesterday. Oops.

So, yes. Android will eventually "win". It's numbers can only grow, and in the process it will become the dominant OS on every POS "free" phone given away by the carriers.

If you can call that winning...

Is Apple stealing ideas from iPhone developers? No.

iPhone Atlas is running an article asking if Apple stealing ideas from iPhone developers. The Atlas article, in turn, is based primarily on accusations being made by Jonathan Zdziarski, best known for the iPhone 2.0 "emergency call" passcode hack.

Fundamentally, Jonathan accuses Apple of attempting to patent a home screen idea previously used by an application called Intelliscreen.

He writes, "At the worst, this is an attempt to steal a concept. At the very best, it's an attempt to patent something that was so obvious, a competitor figured it out long before Apple did."

So is it true? Is the big Apple ripping off some poor defenseless developer?

Quick answer: No. Apple did not rip off Intelliscreen.

Intelliscreen, however, could have ripped off Apple. Keep on reading for the proof.

Plug In Your iPhones: Software Update 2.1 Is Ready

If you have a 3G iPhone, or an original iPhone that you've upgraded to 2.0.2, then it's time to plug it into iTunes 8 and click that "Check for updates" button.

Why? Because the new iPhone 2.1 update is now available from Apple's servers. Weighing in at 237.8 MB , it promises:

• Decrease in call set-up failures and dropped calls
• Significantly better battery life for most users
• Dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
• Improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
• Faster installation of 3rd party applications
• Fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes for users with lots of third party applications
• Improved performance in text messaging
• Faster loading and searching of contacts
• Improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display
• Repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages
• Option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts
• Genius playlist creation

Will it deliver? I'll know in approximately 27 minutes.

Visit the Apple iPhone Software Update page for more information.

iPhone 3G Sales "In Perspective"

TechDirt is running an article placing iPhone sales "in perspective". Recent mobile handset numbers show that 282 million phones were sold in the first quarter of this year, and that Nokia alone appears to sell approximately 1.28 million handsets per day.

Mike concludes, "So, yes, selling 1 million handsets over the weekend is a nice round milestone -- and certainly other handset makers are probably jealous of the attention it's getting. But, it's not having a huge impact on the overall handset market just yet."

But let's compare Apple's to Apple's, shall we? According to Gartner, worldwide smartphone sales in 1Q 2008 totaled 32.2 million units, which would put the average daily sales of higher-end phones at roughly 358,000 units.

Or in other words, Apple sold -- singlehandedly, and per day -- almost as many smartphones over this weekend as all of the other manufacturer's combined.

Plus, if Apple meets its numbers of selling 10 million phones in 2008, they'll have gained roughly 10% of the entire worldwide smartphone market. Which, ignoring the low-end "free" handsets sold by Nokia and others, also just happens to be be the most profitable end of the market.

Just, of course, putting things into perspective...

iPhone Hackers Root Cause Of 3G Lines

The three and four hour long iLines of iCustomers waiting to get iPhones across the US arose from a perfect storm of three contributing factors.

First to shoulder their share of the blame are the consumers themselves, who got exactly what they demanded, and as such were effectively hoist on their own petard. More on that later.

Second was Apple's misguided decision to simultaneously release the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 2G 2.0 software update on the same day.

Finally, the third portion of blame needs to be placed directly at the feet of the iPhone hacker community.

Most of it, actually.

iPhone Lines - We're Waiting, We're Waiting

From a marketing standpoint, Appe's decision to require in-store activations guaranteed long lines and the appearance of high consumer demand as loyal customers patiently awaited entry into their local store.

But when you're the one forced to stand in one of those lines while each and every phone sold goes through a fifteen minute activation process, it takes on an entirely different perspective.

And one completely different from the original "pay for it and you're out of here" process.

Apple can only hope that the future experience of owning and using the new 3G iPhone will wash away the memory of those wasted hours and the dissatisfaction of that decision.

BTW, this entry was generated during one of those wasted hours...

The iPhone's Biggest Missing Feature

With both the WWDC and the iPhone's launch anniversary approaching, speculation is once again running rampant regarding the 3G iPhone.

When will it be announced? When will it ship? What features will it have? What chipset will it use? Will it have real GPS or fake? Will the back be metal, paper or plastic?

On, and on, and on.

Readers are asked again and again, "What features do you want?" What makes it a "must have", as opposed to being a total piece of garbage?

But in all of the articles and all of the replies, there's one "must have" feature that's continually forgotten and constantly overlooked. And one which would have me standing in line to upgrade at nearly any price.

And so would you, if you stopped to give it a second's thought.

A Reality Check On iPhone Restrictions

Many bloggers, developers, and people who should otherwise know better have been complaining about the "restrictive" native of the iPhone SDK and Apple's seemingly "arbitrary" limitations on iPhone applications.

Therefore it was with great interest that I read an article by Craig Hockenberry of Twitterific fame, which dramatically illustrates just what happens when Apple's guidelines are bypassed.

The iPhone SDK: Promises Broken, Promises Kept

Back when the iPhone was originally announced at MacWorld San Francisco, much was made of the fact that the iPhone wasn't just a phone, but a software platform in its own right.

Build on OS X we were told, Apple would be able to quickly and easily add applications and extend existing functionality.

But in reality, this never occurred.

Apple's Application Store: Not Just For iPhones?

In an earlier article I discussed how Apple new iPhone application store will promote an avalanche of applications as developers flock to both a super cool hardware platform and a marketplace designed to promote their creations to every iPhone owner.

In fact, the store is the only place where the average user can acquire third-party applications. A system described by many as being a "walled garden" around the iPhone and the iPod touch.

A point that has so many profound ramifications that one has to ask: can Apple enforce it? And if so, will they extend the concept to its obvious conclusion?

Why The iPhone Application Store Will Create An Avalanche of Applications

One of the announcements to come out of the iPhone SDK press conference was the creation of the "App Store", a place for developers to display and hawk their wares for both fun and profit.

In fact, the App Store is the only place where they can do so, which is bound to be a point of contention between Apple and the "information wants to be free" crowd.

Even so, I tend to think this is a good thing. Why? Well, one big problem software authors face is exposure. It's not enough to create a cool application. People have to know about it, find it, and download it. And in many cases simply getting paid for your work is a major hassle as well.

The App Store makes all of that happen.

Will Apple Build The Safari Pad?

The New York Times is running an article probing Apple and the possibility of its building a "Safari pad", basically a larger version of the iPod Touch more suitable for multimedia, internet browsing, and... reading.

Like most discussions on the subject, this one makes note of a comment made by Steve Jobs when the Kindle was announced. "Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore."

While it's true that Steve has been known to say one thing and do another ("no one wants to watch video on an iPod"), I find his book reading comment to be very interesting and highly informative for one simple reason: turn it around, and it says that sixty percent of the people in the U.S. read two books or more last year.

One hundred and eighty million readers? And just in the U.S.?

I don't know about you, but that sounds like one heck of a market to me.

[via NYT]

The Apple Ecosystem

A blue-ribbon panel of experts at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain agreed that Apple's iPhone was the best recent advance in mobile telecommunications.

The panel, whose title was It's the User Experience, Stupid agreed that iPhone represents a model for mobile operators to follow, but they reached little agreement on how to follow.

One suggested that operators manipulate users by identifying their "need states", while another said that they need to somehow tap into users' "neural networks" to navigate a mobile phone interface "using touch and pre-touch input."

But in focusing on the phone, and in asking how they can follow Apple's success, telcos and manufacturers are completely missing the big picture.

New iTunes Synchronization Features For iPhone

With iTunes 7.6 you now have several new ways to sync music, movies, and TV shows to your iPhone.

First, you can now turn syncing off.

That's right, now you can finally manage everything by hand, dragging songs, playlists, and individual video files directly to the iPhone icon. Just check the "Manually manage music and videos" checkbox on the iTunes summary page for your phone.

Second, in addition to the venerable sync "X most recent unwatched" options they've added the ability to sync the least recent unwatched episodes.

Why would you want this?

No Feature Length Films On iPhone

Avant-garde filmmaker David Lynch is on rant. His mission?

To convince you that watching a feature-length major motion picture on a 3" screen is—to put it mildly—sacrilege.

To quote, "If you're playing the movie on a telephone, you will never in a trillion years experience the film. You’ll think you have experienced it, but you’ll be cheated."

Which is on one hand true, and which on the other misses the point entirely.

"Glass Houses" Feedback

Ah, the Mac audience. Sing hosannas and they adore you. Express a little criticism, however, and the bugs scurry out of the woodwork.

On email I received said I was totally off-base (actually, his phrasing was a little more colorful).

Another reader, instead of refuting the article, resorted to the shotgun approach. "When was the last time you came out with a world class operating system? Developing an OS is closer to art than science. How many software project[s] hit their deadline[s]?"

This was echoed by another reader who said I was making much ado about nothing, as according to my article Leopard was "only" 119 days late.

Those Who Live In Glass Houses...

In a way, the iPhone was a godsend for Apple.

Not just because its revolutionary multi-touch technology boosted Apple's already stratospheric cool factor. Because it did.

And not because it gave Apple an important step into yet another major market. Because it did that too.

But because back in April 2007, the iPhone's upcoming June 29th release date gave Apple a much-needed excuse for delaying OS X Leopard.

Order Coffee From Your iPhone?

So you walk into your local Starbucks and stand in line. Reaching the counter, you ask the cashier for your usual half double decaffeinated half-caf with a twist of lemon, and hand over your credit card. And then wait for your order to be filled.

Typical beginning of a typical day.

But if Apple has its way, someday soon you won't need to speak to the cashier. Nor will you need to hand over your credit card. Nor even stand in line.

Just walk in, pick up your hot cup of java, and go on your way.

Smear-Proof iPhones?

A Technology Review article points to new advances in materials and coatings that repel oil and are able to clean themselves without the help of soap and water.

This could lead to a number of applications, including self-cleaning displays, something that cell-phone manufacturers have been working on for years.

My take? I'm all for it. As much as I love my iPhone, it's already lead me to new heights of personal hygiene in my attempts to keep the silly thing clean.

And a in minor search for the best iPhone cleaning rag.

[via Technology Review]

Review: V-Moda Vibe Duo Headset For iPhone

As much as I love Apple products, there are times when some of Apple's design choices just don't work for me.

A case in point are the ubiquitous white earbuds Apple ships with the iPhone. While the sound is pretty good for factory-provided 'buds, the darn things just won't stay put, always shifting position and sliding out of my ear.

The old "post-style" buds weren't too bad, but the new streamlined shape is simply too small. In fact, sometimes I think that they were designed specifically to fit the ears of a Japanese schoolgirl.

Enter the V-Moda Vibe Duo Nero Headset For iPhone.

Quick Tip: Resume Music Playback On iPhone

As you probably already know, you can click the iPhone's headset's microphone button to pause your music or your audiobook in case of an interruption, then click it once again to resume playback.

All well and good.

But sometimes you wait too long and you find your iPhone's decided to go to sleep. Now you have to get out your phone, press the "sleep/wake" button, do the finger slide, navigate to iTunes, press "Play", lock the screen using the "sleep/wake" button, and then put it away again.

A hassle.

But there's an easier way. Just reach into your pocket and press the "sleep/wake" button. Now, without doing anything else, click the microphone button on the iPhone's headset.

Boom. Playback resumes, and life is good.