Android's Andy Rubin Slaps Down Apple's New Siri
Android's Andy Rubin says you should talk to people, not your smartphone.
While Microsoft's Steve Ballmer was saying that it takes a computer scientist to use Google's Android OS, Android chief Andy Rubin was poking a stick at Apple's new voice-controlled assistant for the iPhone 4S, Siri. He said that smartphone owners should be communicating with other people on the other end of the line, not with the device itself.
"I don’t believe that your phone should be an assistant," the Android chief said in an interview on Wednesday. "Your phone is a tool for communicating. You shouldn’t be communicating with the phone; you should be communicating with somebody on the other side of the phone."
Last time we checked, Android devices were more than simple means of communication. The Google OS checks your email, will lead you in the right direction if the GPS is enabled, will send reminders about appointments and birthdays, will point out which star is what in the nighttime sky, and will even search the internet using voice commands. That, in our book, is a pocket-sized assistant.
What Rubin is really doing here is jabbing at Apple's Siri and how users can control their iPhone 4S using voice commands. He claims that the jury is still out on whether people will become accustomed to talking to their devices. What he failed to point out is that millions of people talk to their friends and family through a bluetooth earpiece which, to be honest, makes them look like asylum escapees talking to their invisible friends. That said, talking to an actual device shouldn't be a problem for most consumers.
“To some degree it is natural for you to talk to your phone,” Rubin finally admits. "We’ll see how pervasive [talking to the phone] gets."
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Kevin is ignoring one essential point, which is that the phone is NOT doing any of that; it is merely a conduit between the user and a server that does all the heavy pulling. Knowing Apple, it would not surprise me a bit to find that there is some army of poorly paid operators somewhere in China or India that are typing the responses, so it will look more A.I.-like interaction.
Either way, the phone is not doing any intelligent work; because of that, I prefer to do my searches using the traditional way instead of talking into a phone and expecting some "magical" responses out of it.
BTW, BT earpieces have a proven record in making our lives safer and more convenient (in a long phone conversation you will thank the BT earpiece inventor for not having to hold the phone to your ear for too long). Way to ignore that point, Kevin.
The only time I (and i assume everyone else) talk to my phone (WP7 HD7) is when driving (navigation/text messaging, etc). All smart phones do this just fine.
i think he is pissed that he didn't come up with voice control first
i have got a 4s and i will admit that siri has been a huge help for when i am driving i can send messages and have them read to me with out touching my phone
this guy is clearly an idiot of the highest kind
Is he on crack?
That's like saying, you just need a phone, not a smart phone... because you only use your phone, the thing loaded with all these features, for calling people...
Considering it's illegal to be using your phone while driving in most places, but using it handsfree is not, this is a pretty great inclusion. You'll be able to use the phone's features while driving, instead of just talking to people.
The real question is... will it matter when Google takes over the world?
On a more serious (or less serious) note, there is no way he is jealous because I am 110% sure that if Google wanted a voice feature for their Android OS, it would have one and it would be more intuitive than the Apple version. And like he admitted: if end-user's want it then you can bet Android will get it.
i think he is pissed that he didn't come up with voice control first
Neither did Apple, they bought the SIRI company.
Neither did Apple, they bought the SIRI company.
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That can't be!! Apple is the most innovative company in the universe! Siri had to come from Jobs' brain!
And I thought Ballmer was a douchebag!
What everybody misses here , is that this guy is not pointing fingers at SIRI`s voice activated commands , is about ppl actually talking to it like idiots ... you can see on youtube things like this and there`s even a song with it. Short story is :
SIRI - good for voice activated commands
SIRI - stupid/bullshit/useless for a chat companion, and to be honest you must be very lonely and sad person to actually enjoy a chat with your phone instead of another person
I agree Rubin's comments were not well thought through. However, while voice control isn't part of native Android releases, many phones have had voice control integrated for ages. The only innovation with siri is the marketing. The only world first with Siri is giving the voice control feature a marketable name before anyone else did.
If my phone should not be my assistant, then we all should buy Nokia 3210 instead, and dump Android, iPhone all together.
Is he on crack?That's like saying, you just need a phone, not a smart phone... because you only use your phone, the thing loaded with all these features, for calling people...Considering it's illegal to be using your phone while driving in most places, but using it handsfree is not, this is a pretty great inclusion. You'll be able to use the phone's features while driving, instead of just talking to people.
How about paying attention to the @#$%ing road instead of your phone when behind the wheel. That's the biggest problem today is people are too 'preoccupied' to properly operate a vehicle. Which is why auto accidents are one of the highest causes of death... Phones and all they distract us with contribute to that effect... Honestly, they should make an interruption system to block phone use in a moving vehicle... Hands-free voice calls only...
Ya, ya'll sit there and say 'pisha'... But when you're burring your own mother or best friend, as I have, due to someone who was 'on the phone... bla bla bla'... Only then, when it's too late, will you understand...
As for SIRI, Android has Vlingo... I've used both and see very little differences other than SIRI has caused me more problems with it trying to 'guess' what I want it really to do. Some people say SIRI has Vlingo beat and I do not understand this argument... So the software (which is now owned by a company publicly known for tracking user information... so...) tries to guess what you really meant. Though personally I don't like it over trigger-word type commands so you 'know' what it's going to do instead of hoping or assuming, it won't be long before others (Vlingo) follow suit with the more generic phrase recognition.
SIRI's biggest problem is Apple bought them and now the Android version is canceled... Honestly, this is a huge money loss and even possibly a total app killer in the end. If they at least had a port to Android, then they could make the sales from those devices also as well as increase their market-share instead of just the lower-market-share iOS devices anyhow. Especially for $200 million?!? You want to make that $ back, not potentially lose it cause you locked a product down to your own greed-filled products...
Sure, buying SIRI might have been a good move for Apple, but not locking it down... Plus, now that gives the competition like Vlingo, who will most likely catch up and/or surpass in due time, an edge with greater market-share with combined Android, iOS, Berry and Win support. In the end, if they don't change their ways, it'll be just another failure in the Apple history book...
Jealous much? Android has similar capability, but Apple is doing what Apple does best -- marketing it better. Its unprofessional, and extremely telling that the best Andy can come up with is to bash Siri instead of pointing out how Android users have had this capability, and didn't know it, or just don't use it (i.e. Vlingo).
Talking to a device in a natural way is the evolution of the voice interface. I'm pro google but this guy should not be talking.
As much as I dislike everything about apple..
its looks like someone is jjjeeeeaalllouuuss!!
Jealous much? Android has similar capability, but Apple is doing what Apple does best -- marketing it better. Its unprofessional, and extremely telling that the best Andy can come up with is to bash Siri instead of pointing out how Android users have had this capability, and didn't know it, or just don't use it (i.e. Vlingo).
The number of stories of iPhone users who have casual but pointless conversations with Siri (i.e. "what's your favorite color?") is on the rise... It is indeed being used for more than just better organization. To that end, it's amazingly arrogant for anyone at Apple to call Siri "groundbreaking" or "a game changer" since voice commands have been present, and worked well, on many many phones before the iPhone 4S. Andy's comments are pretty silly in their own right, but hey when you are playing a preschool game (the smartphone marketing war Apple has created) you have to use preschool rules.
Siri, is not new, Siri has been around for years now , and it was purchased by Apple. Why do people keep talking about Siri as though it's a new application????????
YOu could have downloaded Siri as an since the iphone 3, what the!!!!!!!!!!
"Worked well"? I think not. My Android voice command feature is laughable. After hearing the Head Droid say something as stupid as this, I'm seriously thinking of trading in my Droid smartphone for an Apple product that might possibly understand it when I talk to it.
And yes, I do want a cybernetic assistant, one I don't need a thick manual for and don't need to push ten tiny buttons to get it to do what I want. I want the Enterprise's computer...in my hand.
Neither did Apple, they bought the SIRI company.
OK so maybe he's pissed that he didn't think to buy it.
When your product lacks a feature that your competitor offers, you badmouth the feature. It's a lot cheaper than developing something to compete with it.
Anyone remember Motorola's voice controlled digital assistant Mya (2000)? I'm sure Apple will sue Motorola now that they have reinvented the wheel again.
How about paying attention to the @#$%ing road instead of your phone when behind the wheel. That's the biggest problem today is people are too 'preoccupied' to properly operate a vehicle. Which is why auto accidents are one of the highest causes of death... Phones and all they distract us with contribute to that effect... Honestly, they should make an interruption system to block phone use in a moving vehicle... Hands-free voice calls only...Ya, ya'll sit there and say 'pisha'... But when you're burring your own mother or best friend, as I have, due to someone who was 'on the phone... bla bla bla'... Only then, when it's too late, will you understand...As for SIRI, Android has Vlingo... I've used both and see very little differences other than SIRI has caused me more problems with it trying to 'guess' what I want it really to do. Some people say SIRI has Vlingo beat and I do not understand this argument... So the software (which is now owned by a company publicly known for tracking user information... so...) tries to guess what you really meant. Though personally I don't like it over trigger-word type commands so you 'know' what it's going to do instead of hoping or assuming, it won't be long before others (Vlingo) follow suit with the more generic phrase recognition. SIRI's biggest problem is Apple bought them and now the Android version is canceled... Honestly, this is a huge money loss and even possibly a total app killer in the end. If they at least had a port to Android, then they could make the sales from those devices also as well as increase their market-share instead of just the lower-market-share iOS devices anyhow. Especially for $200 million?!? You want to make that $ back, not potentially lose it cause you locked a product down to your own greed-filled products...Sure, buying SIRI might have been a good move for Apple, but not locking it down... Plus, now that gives the competition like Vlingo, who will most likely catch up and/or surpass in due time, an edge with greater market-share with combined Android, iOS, Berry and Win support. In the end, if they don't change their ways, it'll be just another failure in the Apple history book...
1 - Siri removes the need to look at the screen whilst driving, much like hands-free sets, which have been shown to massively increase safety. People will try to text when they're driving regardless, this gives them a better way to do that. Just like you can talk to people in your car whilst driving. Do you want to ban that too?
2 - Siri may have been worth a lot more had they not sold to Apple, but surely that means Apple got excellent value for money? An excellent strategic decision, too, given that now it can't be used on Android. Protecting their users from a similar move from other companies.
3 - Vlingo is not the equivalent of Siri:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/cell-pho [...] lingo/6780
http://www.pcworld.com/article/242 [...] wdown.html
Pretty much unanimous over the internet that Siri is far more advanced.
As for claims that the phone will 'catch up' in the future, surely that's proof that Apple is leading the way on this one.. you can't catch someone up if you're already level with them.
[citation]Microsoft's Steve Ballmer was saying that it takes a computer scientist to use Google's Android OS[/citation]
Ballmer is a dumb a55. My girlfriend is the least tech savy person in the world, it took me 45 minutes to teach her how to use the scanner....and she asked me again the next day to show her because she forgot.
But she manages some magical way to use her HTC Incredible like a pro. It's amazing! She even downloads apps, checks her mail/facebook...uses Skype....but according to Ballmer she is a computer scientist....well if she is the definition of a computer scientist, I wouldn't let one of them within 10' of my gaming PC in fear they would try to water it like a flower.
'' What he failed to point out is that millions of people talk to their friends and family through a bluetooth earpiece which, to be honest, makes them look like asylum escapees talking to their invisible friends.'' COme on!!! what a lame comment.!! People on the Bluetooth make sense when they are talking, not people saying ''menu'' or ''open itunes'' or '' go to www.tomshardware.com'' it's so much faster to think and type those commands. i Think the talk commands will never catch. Maybe if apple creates a mind reader it would be nice.
Well, I actually like the idea of telling my phone when to wake me up, and to remind me of things easily. Its much easier than going through a bunch of menus to set an alarm or phoning a secretary to mark things on a notebook. Yeah, phones are for communicating, but right now theyre all for much more. Dude sounds like a troll.
1 - Siri removes the need to look at the screen whilst driving, much like hands-free sets, which have been shown to massively increase safety. People will try to text when they're driving regardless, this gives them a better way to do that. Just like you can talk to people in your car whilst driving. Do you want to ban that too?
Really, could you please show a study showing this?
I have read studies which show that talking to someone in a car is much safer than talking to somebody who is not in a car and that hands free really does very little to improve the situation. All hands free does is give you a second hand, and seeing that other than when I need to shift, I rarely use my second hand.
The problem with phones is, they're a distraction from what's going on. Having hands free doesn't fix this. As the roughly 4 people on my drive home from work every day demonstrate as I'm holding myself back from going up to their car at a stoplight, telling the person they're chatting with that "I'm sorry, but this person is too stupid to operate a vehicle and talk at the same time." and hanging up the phone.
... i imagine scenarios for me using siri... it's adding to functionality, not replacing...
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/D [...] 05036.html
Studies show that just the act of participating in a conversation impairs a persons ability to drive about as much as driving with a BAC above legal limits. Putting down the handset isn't enough.
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That can't be!! Apple is the most innovative company in the universe! Siri had to come from Jobs' brain!
And now that he has passed away they keep his brain connected to some system that Steve also invented to keep milking it of ideas...
With that said, I think the consensus is that this guys response is overall ignorant. I'm up for a contract renewal (using a 3Gs) and was thinking about going Android this time. Siri and the hardware muscle of the new 4s are two reasons why I can't make up my mind. That and there is a new Android every 3 weeks. I waited months for the GSII and now it's the Galaxy Nexus. By the time that comes out something Tegra 3 will be on the horizon. BOOM. My head just exploded. This guy needs to stop making dumb comments and start creating an Android voice-control friend and make it better than Apple.