Apple Siri Versus Google Jelly Bean: Voice Search Showdown

One of the big enhancements in the Android 4.0 operating system update that Google announced on June 27 is improved voice recognition in search. You can now ask your Android phone questions in a natural way--meaning you no longer have to sound like a robot to get answers.

We wondered which service is better at answering questions: Android's Voice Search or Apple's much-touted Siri. To test the services, we assembled a list of 17 questions or commands, and asked them of a Galaxy Nexus running Jelly Bean and an iPhone 4S running iOS 5.

A quick disclaimer: Apple has greatly improved Siri in iOS 6, but we weren't able to get our hands on the beta to test it. And the version of Jelly Bean we received from the Google I/O developer conference was not the final version, which will come to phones in mid-July.

Our results? Siri and the new voice recognition software in Jelly Bean each have their fair share of pros and cons. In the end, Android came out ahead on 8 of the 17 questions and commands we posed.Here's a breakdown of how well each phone handled each question or task.

Question 1: "Where Is the Empire State Building?"Siri seemed to have trouble understanding this question, while Jelly Bean produced a map that gave us the address of the Empire State Building in New York. For now, Android has the upper hand when it comes to locating famous buildings.

Winner: Android Jelly Bean
Question 2: "Will I Need an Umbrella on Sunday?"

The first few times we asked this question, Siri gave us directions to the nearest department stores. We believe that it may have been trying to point us to places that sold umbrellas, rather than answering our weather question.

When Siri finally realized that we were asking about the weather, it informed us that it could not predict what the weather would be on Sunday, and showed us a graphic displaying the local weather forecast for the next five days. Android told us that we wouldn't need an umbrella on Sunday, and also produced a five-day forecast.

Winner: Android Jelly Bean
Question 3: "Show Me Pictures of Mount Rushmore"
Android automatically brought up a small grid of images, while Siri asked if we wanted to perform a Web search. Siri finally showed us what we had asked for, but it required an extra step.

Winner: Android Jelly Bean
Question 4: "Where Can I Get a Taco Around Here?"
Siri, which pulls its results from Yelp, brought up 20 restaurants in the area that had tacos on the menu. Android presented a map of places that served tacos, but only one establishment was nearby; the rest were spread throughout the city. We have to hand it to Siri on this one, due to the number of results and owing to how close they were to our approximate location.

Winner: Apple Siri
Question 5: "What's the Capital of Canada?"
Both phones came up with an answer, but Android was faster at fetching a result.

Winner: Android Jelly Bean
Question 6: "Get Me Directions to the California Academy of Sciences"
As with the Empire State Building question, Android immediately brought up a map with the location of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, and started opening Google Maps to give us directions.

Siri found two entries for the California Academy of Sciences, and required us to select the correct entry before proceeding to give us directions.

This article comes from:http://www.pcworld.com/article/258704/apple_siri_versus_google_jelly_bean_voice_search_showdown.html

An iPad mini in October? New report fuels rumours

With the runaway success of the Kindle Fire prompting even Google to jump on the mini tablet bandwagon with its Nexus 7, is Apple also going to join the party? There have been a number of persistent rumours that a miniature version of the iPad is on the way, despite there being no signs from the company to this effect.

In March a comment by a Samsung executive to a Korean newspaper fueled rumours, while in February a report in the Wall Street Journal stated that Apple was testing out products with 7 to 8 inch screens. Then in April rumors resurfaced, this time on a Chinese blog.

And after a relative lull in the iPad mini expectations, an analyst report has got the tech world buzzing all over again. The report by Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves predicts that Apple will introduce a 7.85-inch version of its tablet in October.

The report quotes Hargreaves as saying,“We anticipate an entry-level 7.85″ iPad with 8GB of NAND capacity to price at $299 with an initial gross margin of 31%. We estimate Apple will sell 10.0 million 7.85″ iPads in FQ1 (Dec. 2012) and 35.2 million in all of F2013. Based on estimated component order volume, we believe our iPad mini unit estimates are well within Apple’s production capacity. We anticipate 25% cannibalization of the larger 9.7″ iPad (for every four 7.85″ iPads added, we reduced our 9.7″ iPad estimate by one), so our total F2013 iPad estimate increases to 91.6 million from 65.2 million.”

CNet added that Hargreaves suggested that Apple would kill the $399 iPad 2, and could introduce a 16GB iPad mini for a similar price.Steve Jobs is famously known to have been against the idea of a smaller iPad, but now as demand for smaller tablets increase, will Apple depart from the visionary’s opinion?

Why it’s a good idea: A smaller tablet would help Apple further its lead in the tablet market.“From a competitive standpoint, we believe an iPad mini with a lower price point would be the competition’s worst nightmare, says Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee. “Most (competitors) already have a tough enough time competing against the iPad 2, as well as the new iPad.”

Apple has successfully fended off competitors who have tried to sell tablets in iPad’s size range. But last year, Amazon.com Inc. figured out how to crack Apple’s stranglehold on tablets by making a half-size, no-frills tablet. The result was the Kindle Fire, which sells for $199 —basically, the cost of production. Amazon has sold millions of them.

Apple sells the iPod Touch for $199, but its screen is about a quarter of the size of the Kindle Fire — a big disadvantage for people who want to enjoy books, movies and games. It also sells the older iPad model for $399. It has nothing in between.

Price isn’t the only reason customers might prefer a smaller tablet. A 7-inch model would fit in many handbags, unlike the current iPad.Wu says he’s seen evidence of Apple experimenting with both smaller and larger tablet screens since 2009, and doesn’t sense that the release of an iPad mini is “imminent.”

Why it’s a bad idea: A smaller iPad would be a headache for software developers.“Going to a different screen size ends up being a ton of work,” says Nate Weiner, the creator of Pocket, an application that stores Web pages and other material for later reading. “If you take, for an example, an interface built for the iPad and try to cram it into the Kindle Fire, it just doesn’t fit,” he says.

However, developers who have already adapted their programs to the Kindle Fire or other 7-inch tablets wouldn’t face a big hurdle in adapting to a third Apple screen size, Weiner say.


This article comes from:http://www.firstpost.com/tech/an-ipad-mini-in-october-new-report-fuels-rumours-363595.html

iPhone revenue hits US$150 billion within 5 years

Apple's iPhone has been a sales juggernaut since its launch. And a new study from research firm Strategy Analytics seems to drive that point home.

Since the iPhone's launch in June 2007, Apple has generated cumulative revenues of US$150 billion, according to Strategy Analytics. Neil Shah, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, told CNET in a phone conversation today that the number only includes hardware sales. Accessories, apps, and software and services, which typically represent 3 percent to 5 percent of Apple's iPhone revenue each quarter, were factored out.

Moving on to hardware units, Strategy Analytics said that 250 million iPhones have shipped globally.Despite the obvious good news for Apple, the research firm is not necessarily sure that Apple can hold on to the same level of profits it has secured in the iPhone market over the last several years.

"There are emerging signs that the iPhone's next five years could get tougher," Strategy Analytics executive director Neil Mawston said today in a statement. "Some mobile operators are becoming concerned about the high level of subsidies they spend on the iPhone, while Samsung is expanding its popular Galaxy portfolio and providing Apple with more credible competition."

According to Shah, the "concern" carriers are having comes down to economics. He told CNET that with Apple's US$600 wholesale iPhone price to carriers, companies like AT&T and Verizon are forced to take a US$300 to US$400 hit when they sell the device for US$199 or US$299 with a two-year contract. And Apple, seeing that it "has the selling power," is unwilling to negotiate that pricing, Shah says.

It's a much different story for popular Android-based devices like the HTC One X or the Samsung Galaxy S3. Shah told CNET that while the wholesale price on the Galaxy S3 is high--he believes it's about US$500 or US$550--carriers have been able to negotiate that down to US$400 or so, making the chances of them quickly getting their cash back much higher.

"The Galaxy S3 subsidy is considerably lower," Shah told CNET, adding that popular Android-based devices could make carriers think twice about playing so nicely with Apple. Still, not everyone is so sure that carriers will do much to change things. In a research note published last month, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said that all three US iPhone carriers are required by contract to provide certain subsidies, and those agreements will remain in place for years. What's worse for carriers, the contracts won't expire at the same time, effectively eliminating their chances of teaming up on Apple to lower subsidies.
Apple, meanwhile, is free to continue to rake in the cash.

This article comes from:http://asia.cnet.com/iphone-revenue-hits-us150-billion-within-5-years-62217180.htm

Enterprise Mobility: iPhone at 5: How Apple Changed the Smartphone, Business Mobility

Apple began selling the iPhone five years ago June 29, calling it "revolutionary" and "magical" and a "reinvention of the phone." The iPhone wasn't the first smartphone or the first phone to offer users access to their email or the Internet, but given the way people reacted to it and the tremendous changes the iPhone created—to the mobile industry, to people's lives, to the way business is done—it might as well have been.
 
The iPhone introduced the touch-based user interface, which, like the mouse, changed the way we interact with our devices. It made it more intuitive, simpler and more fun. The iPhone became immediately enmeshed in people's lives and so also their workplaces, making enterprise policy makers terrified for the security of their data—countless articles described tactics for keeping such rogue devices from infiltrating BlackBerry territory. A few security fixes and tweaks on Apple's end, and today the iPhone is so invaluable a tool that IT departments have likewise adjusted and tweaked, designing bring-your-own-device policies that take advantage of users' easy relationship with these robust, application-rich mobile machines.

 By the time the iPad was introduced, enterprises needed no convincing of their business worth. "iPhone ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones," Apple announced in 2007. If in a few weeks' time, after introducing the iPhone 5, Apple says the same thing, who will be surprised?

This article comes from: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/iPhone-at-5-How-Apple-Changed-the-Smartphone-Business-Mobility-346239/

iOS 6 unveiled with Siri enhancements, Passbook, new Maps

iOS 6, a new version of Apple's mobile operating system, was unveiled at the company's Worldwide Developer's Conference on Monday. The version will feature "significant enhancements" to Siri, Apple's own Maps app, a new app called Passbook, Facebook integration, changes to phone calls and FaceTime, and improvements to Mail, Safari, and Photo Stream.

Apple stated it has been working "very closely" with Facebook to integrate it into iOS 6. Users will be able to post to Facebook from different apps, similar to the level of Twitter's integration now. Users will see notifications from Facebook in the Notification Center, and Facebook events and birthdays will appear in the Calendar app.

Third-party apps can now be launched with a command to Siri—for example, "Play Temple Run" opens the app. Users can also now tweet from Siri, a formerly noticeable hole in the Twitter integration throughout the rest of iOS. In addition to hands-free mode, Siri now has "eyes-free" mode, where the app doesn't light the screen, but still reads responses out. Apple is working with BMW, GM, Jaguar, Mercedes, and Honda to bring a "Siri button" to their cars that will work with iPhones within the next 12 months.

Siri has become more knowledgeable about restaurants and theaters, said Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iOS software. Restaurant search results are now sorted by Yelp rating, and tapping on them takes the user into the Yelp app. OpenTable, a reservation booking app, is also integrated into the restaurant results. For movies, Siri can bring up artwork and the slate of movies playing at a nearby theater, along with information culled from Rotten Tomatoes. Siri is also now able to respond to questions about sports ("What was the score of the last Giants game?"), including queries on standings and player stats.

This article comes from:http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/06/ios-6-features-from-wwd/

Travelport launches mobile travel itinerary app for iPhone and Android

Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, has announced the launch of a new travel application for users of smartphones in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Following a successful launch in the UK earlier this year, the new app is now one of the first, fully integrated GDS powered travel itinerary apps available in these countries.


ViewTrip Mobile delivers time critical information and other valuable tools to enable travellers to be fully aware and in control of their travel arrangements at any time. Among the useful features are:
• Simple, one-time registration with future trips automatically synced to the mobile.
• Flight status with live flight alerts.
• Detailed airport and city guides offering easy to digest information.
• Location aware services - find offers on local restaurants, the location of your nearest bank and much more.
• Weather forecasts and currency conversion.
• Itinerary management - easily and quickly add other items to itineraries.

Travelport, through their development partner ManticPoint, are also offering a white label version of ViewTrip Mobile. The white label version will enable travel agents to:
• Brand the app and itineraries using their own logo and colours.
• Take control of content including agency specific help and advice and decide which affiliate content appears.
• Proactively manage and target communications with the traveller via the app when disruption or the travel environment changes.

"Mobile technology is playing an increasingly important part of a traveller's overall experience and our mobile strategy continues to result in new, innovative solutions for our customers," commented Rabih Saab, president and managing director, Middle East and Africa at Travelport.

"ViewTrip Mobile is an exciting step forward for travellers as it provides them with rich trip information along with a wide array of destination content and tools, all in the palm of their hand. We are constantly developing new products that satisfy the needs of the travel community and are thrilled with the positive impact ViewTrip Mobile is making," added Saab.

Travelport ViewTrip Mobile is available free of charge to all Travelport travel agency customers currently using the Travelport ViewTrip itinerary solution. To get started, travellers click the link included in their ViewTrip itinerary to register and download the app.

This article comes from:http://www.ameinfo.com/travelport-launches-mobile-travel-itinerary-app-304651

iPad gathers magic

12 million players around the world have enjoyed, collecting and building decks of Magic: The Gathering card game for almost two decades now. Expert board game designer Richard Garfield first unleashed the addictive game in 1993 and since that time it’s popularity has not waned, in the real world.

Now the virtual world (which has seen some M:TG titles in the past) is about to get a card-based shot in the arm anew with the release of Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 on a variety of platforms including an edition for Apple’s iPad.

Wizards of the Coast has unleashed Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 on iPad for the first time, along with Xbox LIVE Arcade, PC/Steam and PlayStation Network.* Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 is the first major release from Magic: The Gathering this winter, kicking off the Magic 2013 campaign that entices players to “Face A Greater Challenge” against the ultimate evil mastermind of the Multiverse, dragon Planeswalker Nicol Bolas!


Beginning today, Duels 2013 players will get the first look at approximately 100 cards that will be featured in the Magic 2013 Core Set launching July 13, 2012. In addition, with the purchase of Duels 2013, players receive a code to redeem an exclusive six-card booster pack - including a platform-specific promo card - at participating Wizards Play Network hobby stores.


“Today kicks off our summer-long Magic 2013 experience, and we couldn’t be more excited,” said Elaine Chase, Brand Director of Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast. “Whether you're new to Magic or just starting out, the integration between Duels 2013 and the Magic 2013 Core Set represents a seamless way for players to experience Magic however and wherever they want.”


Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 is the latest edition of the award-winning video game title, which was recently named one of PC Gamer’s Top 100 Games of All Time, and number four on the list of The 15 Best Games For Your Laptop.

This article comes from: http://www.itwire.com/your-it-news/entertainment/55369-ipad-gathers-magic