I finally joined the cool kids.
I bought an iPhone 4S. I have wanted an iPhone for some time, but two things kept me from taking the plunge. First, I have been a Verizon customer for about 13 years and was a bit nervous about switching to AT&T. My last experience with them in 2004 was not a good one due to their lack of coverage in most of Southern NH. Sure, Verizon has their version of the iPhone, but due to the way their network is set up, you can’t talk to someone and use an Internet app at the same time (you can if you are on a wireless network, but not on Verizon’s CDMA network). Second, there were so many rumors that a new iPhone was coming, and I didn’t want to lock into a two-year contract only to have the next version arrive shortly thereafter. After using the 4S for a week, I am glad I waited.
My main reason for using a 4S, other than the obvious “it’s an iPhone,” is Siri. Siri is like a built-in assistant who is always at your beck and call. Simply hold the Home button (or the button on your earpiece) until the microphone pops up, ask a question, and Siri will give you an answer. Or, you can tell it to do something, and it will do it. If you wanted a weather forecast for the weekend, you could click on the Weather app, or you could ask Siri “what’s the weather like this weekend?” I just did that now, and Siri popped up a weekly forecast and told me “maybe not so nice this weekend.” We’re actually expecting snow tomorrow in some areas.
This morning I realized I was overdue for a haircut (something people around me have known for weeks), so I tried to make an appointment for a trim. Siri can be used for voice dialing, but when I tried to call the woman who cuts my hair, Siri told me I had no such contact. I guess I forgot to move that one when I changed phones, but not to worry—Siri offered to search local businesses for the number. Neat! I said yes, and within a few seconds Siri had the number and asked if I wanted to dial it. Once I made the appointment, I then told Siri to “Remind me I have a haircut at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.” Siri added a note to the built-in Reminders app (which syncs with iCloud).
I was driving and listening to a podcast on my iPhone, which was playing through my truck’s radio using an iTrip. Someone called me, the podcast paused, and the ringer came through my truck speakers. I use a Bluetooth earpiece, so I hit the button to answer the call. When the call was done, I hit the earpiece button to tell Siri to make a note of the call, then said “Play.” Siri started playing the podcast again. All this was done without taking my eyes off the road or fumbling with the iPhone to hit the correct buttons.
So far, I only have run into two issues. First, I talk too fast. This sometimes causes Siri to tell me that she can’t make any sense out of what I am saying. Second, I was inside a building where there was no 3G access, and I was unable to use Siri for voice dialing. Instead, I kept getting “Siri unavailable, connect to the Internet.” I understand that Siri needs Internet access in order to look things up, but to call someone in my contacts list? That should work regardless of my data connection.
If you already have an iPhone 4S, here are some funny things to ask Siri:
“What do you think of Windows?”
“What’s the meaning of life?”
“Open the pod bay doors.”