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Siri adds human element

HE launch of the Phone 4S was one f the more unusual roduct launches I can emember. Set against the passing of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, the iPhone 4S was quickly the second most important story in the Apple world.

HE launch of the Phone 4S was one f the more unusual roduct launches I can emember.

Set against the passing of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, the iPhone 4S was quickly the second most important story in the Apple world.

The launch event was not a smashing success, at least not in comparison to the normal frenzy that was the order of the day when Jobs hosted the events. But this was hardly a surprise in hindsight as the team launching the iPhone must have been aware of the dire health of Jobs, and it must have been exceedingly difficult to pour the sort of passion and celebration into the event that is the standard for Apple.

As a result, the phone was initially deemed a disappointment by the computer press, but the public felt differently, and record numbers were ordered. Now that the iPhone 4S has hit the streets there is a growing momentum surrounding it, mainly propelled by one feature - Siri, the virtual assistant in the iPhone 4S.

Siri may well prove to be a watershed product, changing everything in the mobile computer space. It literally turns the iPhone 4s into a

virtual personal assistant. You use voice commands to tell your phone what to do, or ask it questions.

You can say, for example, "Text my wife and tell her I will be late for dinner." It will do just that. Siri learns as you go, it adapts and evolves. It learns where you live and who you communicate with and applies that knowledge to serve your needs.

Siri is a game changer, it has upped the ante for all mobile devices and quite probably for tablets and computers as well.

Certainly if Google expects to keep up with Apple they need to deliver similar functionality and soon.

People are now buying iPhones just for Siri, a single feature that is compelling enough to encourage customers to shell out $600 long before their contracts are up.

Siri is a cloud-based service, all the heavy lifting is done by servers, at Apple's end. This allows for a more "human" touch. As a result Siri has made a splash in far more than a purely technical aspect. People are asking Siri the meaning of life, and other compelling "big" questions. Back at Apple the programmers are having a field day, putting pithy responses into the mix.

Some examples:

"Do you love me?" "I respect you."

"Who's your daddy?" "You are. Can we get back to work now?"

"Do you know HAL 9000?" "I'd rather not discuss what happened to HAL. But if you must: (displays button to perform a web search for HAL 9000)."

"Where are you from?" "Like it says on the box. - I was designed by Apple in California."

The net result is Siri is hitting home on several fronts, the whimsy makes it more appealing than a simple tool, and the fact that there is a human element in the programming means answers change over time, making the experience that much more appealing.

Siri is growing in popularity day by day, and is making the iPhone 4s a huge success. Out of one of the least impressive product launches of all time for Apple may actually come Apple's most compelling feature of all time.

Steve Dotto is host of Dotto Tech, Wednesdays at 6 p.m. on AM 650. Visit him online at www.dottotech.com or at www. facebook.com/dottotech.