[Partial]

Siri is cool but once the novelty wears off there's not much to it. I've only used it in the 9 hours I'm at work to show people how it works. I do use it to set alarms to wake up to, though.

I used my iPhone heavily today doing regression testing of a set of applications. Really, really hit the thing hard today. At any rate, I have 67% battery left at starting that day at 8am at 100%. This includes 2.5-3 hours of constant usage, moving quickly through my companies 5 apps, hitting service calls, rendering stuff, etc. It was intense!

Well done Apple. The battery life is amazing!

[torifile]

I've found the opposite with Siri. At first I thought it would be just a novelty but it's become more and more a part of my use. It helps that the audio is routed through my car's stereo system so it works well in the car. Just today, as I was leaving the office, I set a couple of reminders to myself for when I get back there tomorrow.

Anyone who has had the experience of remembering 7 things just as you're walking out the door should be able to appreciate Siri.

[Escher]

Originally Posted by torifile Anyone who has had the experience of remembering 7 things just as you're walking out the door should be able to appreciate Siri.

Right on, torifile! Perfect for people with ADD!

You can use Siri kind of like those small tape recorders of yore, except that Siri can act based on your verbal notes, as opposed to you having to re-play and act upon your own notes. For anyone who is comfortable with talking to Siri, while others might listen and think they are crazy, to overcome their organizational shortcomings, Siri could be quite revolutionary. For myself, the more I think about it, the more I want an iPhone 4S just for Siri.

[torifile]

Originally Posted by Escher Right on, torifile! Perfect for people with ADD! You can use Siri kind of like those small tape recorders of yore, except that Siri can act based on your verbal notes, as opposed to you having to re-play and act upon your own notes. For anyone who is comfortable with talking to Siri, while others might listen and think they are crazy, to overcome their organizational shortcomings, Siri could be quite revolutionary. For myself, the more I think about it, the more I want an iPhone 4S just for Siri.

The best thing about it is that you can have it activate when you hold it up to your face like you're making a phone call. So, walking down the hall, you can just hold it like you're talking on the phone and say "remind me to call John when I get to the office". Tada! Reminder created. And it sounds like you're talking to a secretary or assistant.

[Partial]

How come notification center doesn't extend to audio/physical/etc notifications?

Mute Switch Off:
Phone Ring
Configurable vibration for everything else (Typically on)

Mute Switch On:
Phone Vibrate
Configurable vibration for everything else (Typically off)

Is this possible and I'm just missing it?

Beyond that, it would be really cool if you have time durations assigned to these too, so the behavior changes based on the time of day (for example when I'm asleep or awake).

Mute Switch Off (Day):
Phone Ring
Configurable vibration for everything else (Typically on)

Mute Switch Off (Night):
Phone Ring
Configurable vibration for everything else (Everything else Off)

Mute Switch On (Day):
Phone Vibrate
Configurable vibration for everything else (Typically off)

Mute Switch On (Night):
Phone Vibrate
Configurable vibration for everything else (Everything else Off)


Does this make sense?

[torifile]

Partial, that makes no sense. Sorry. Not getting what you're saying. But it looks like you think you're using an Android phone.

[Partial]

Originally Posted by torifile Partial, that makes no sense. Sorry. Not getting what you're saying. But it looks like you think you're using an Android phone.

Summary:

I can make my phone only vibrate when I get a text, but also ring. This is reasonable.

I cannot make my phone only vibrate and make my text messages completely silent.

I could do this, but it's a pain to toggle the sms setting twice a day (when I wake up, and before I go to sleep). There should be a behavior option for "silent" and "not silent" for notifications.

To clarify:

This is what I want and it's not easily attainable I don't think.

When not silenced:
Phone - Ring, Vibrate
Msg - Text tone, Vibrate

When Silenced:
Phone - Vibrate
Msg - No tone or vibrate

Does that make sense?

[torifile]

That makes more sense now. I agree - I wish there were a way to have finer control over the system sounds, etc. Personally, I just wish the phone would be silent when I have something scheduled and ring other times. As it is now, I have my phone on vibrate all the time. There should be a better way. But I'm not holding my breath.

[drewprops]

Apple doesn't plan on indexing the web, do they?
If not, then they'll need to use some other company's service, right?


...

[Maciej]

Originally Posted by torifile That makes more sense now. I agree - I wish there were a way to have finer control over the system sounds, etc. Personally, I just wish the phone would be silent when I have something scheduled and ring other times. As it is now, I have my phone on vibrate all the time. There should be a better way. But I'm not holding my breath.

That would be brilliant. I also would like finer control of the system sounds. Seems reasonable to me Partial.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by drewprops Apple doesn't plan on indexing the web, do they? If not, then they'll need to use some other company's service, right? ...

They're already tied into Wolfram-Alpha.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by Maciej That would be brilliant. I also would like finer control of the system sounds. Seems reasonable to me Partial.

I would like to (de)activate Bluetooth with a simple command vs. the Settings app drilldown hoedown I have to do today.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by Escher Right on, torifile! Perfect for people with ADD! You can use Siri kind of like those small tape recorders of yore, except that Siri can act based on your verbal notes, as opposed to you having to re-play and act upon your own notes. For anyone who is comfortable with talking to Siri, while others might listen and think they are crazy, to overcome their organizational shortcomings, Siri could be quite revolutionary. For myself, the more I think about it, the more I want an iPhone 4S just for Siri.

Me too!

[MBHockey]

So -- My mom picked up one of those free 3GS iPhones from AT&T yesterday (2 year contract, of course).

I have been trying to get my mom to get an iPhone for a long time. She could not grasp the concept that something that did so much could be so easy to use. She assumed, for years, it must be harder than her dumb phones to use. She isn't at all tech-savvy, but now she finally has an iPhone.

It was great to hear her say things like this:

-"wow, it moves so much nicer than my old phone!" referring to scrolling of her contact list. Her old phones all sucked. You would hit the screen to initiate a scroll and it would select a contact instead of realizing you were trying to swipe. I had a very difficult time using her old phone to scroll lists.

-"well yeah, it's a picture of a camera, i mean, i can figure THAT out!" responding when I told her to tap the camera icon if she wants to take a picture

-"oh look! i just saw it get sucked into the little box!" referring to knowing how to access a picture she just took with the camera

-"Safari? Like on my computer? I can go to web sites? COOL!"...awesome.

-"iPod? You mean I can bring some of my audiobooks on this thing? ALL OF THEM? AT THE SAME TIME? WOW!" ....awesome.

Maps proved a little more troublesome. It does have some cryptic icons that don't really make obvious what their functions are. I'm not sure she'll be using it that much.

There were some other gems but I have to get back to studying right now.

PS -- the 3GS runs iOS 5 like a champ!!

[torifile]

Why would you let her get the 3GS? I know it's a competent phone but it's so much worse that the 4 and it's only $99 cheaper.

[MBHockey]

Originally Posted by torifile Why would you let her get the 3GS? I know it's a competent phone but it's so much worse that the 4 and it's only $99 cheaper.

It was a hard sell to get her to shell out money for ANY phone because all of her past experiences were so terrible, because she is used to getting phones for free with a contract, and because her monthly plan was increasing by $15. The 3GS is also more durable than the double-sided glass 4 and 4S, which suits her because she's a bit rough with her phones. It was just all around a better fit for her.

I'll probably end up giving her my current iPhone 4 when I upgrade to the 5 too.

[psmith2.0]

You know something funny? A while back we had this discussion about "snobbery" and how it relates to some recent commercials for the iPhone ("If you don't have an iPhone, you don't...have an iPhone") and how that tagline was off-putting, or otherwise unattractive, to some.

The weird thing, I get that weird, creepy feeling from this latest batch of 4s/Siri-centric TV spots.



Seriously...something about seeing a grown man walking in the park with his (expensive, I'm sure) coffee (and eyewear ), asking his phone to read a half-sentence, totally meaningless text message ("...see you soon", and then smiling about it like he just received an important message from the space shuttle about the existence of God and the Millennium Falcon) just makes me think "what a bunch of pampered pussies we've become." Read the text, you twit, as the aforementioned God has intended.

I do dig the kid asking about snow (who wouldn't, at such a young, inquisitive age...so don't think I'm bashing the hardware or Siri, because I'm not), but when I see the grown-ups in these commercials asking such silly, stupid questions...I don't know, it just rubs me wrong.

I know, I know...all the 4s owners and Siri nuts are going to cut me a new one, etc.



But I just see some of these parts of these commercials and if I wasn't already into this stuff, I'd think "ugh...can they be more heavy-handed and geared to a certain pain-in-the-ass demographic?"

That demographic, of course, being "young professional urban hipsters too freakishly busy with their so-important, appointment-filled lives to take two seconds for a couple of finger-flicks, and are asking such little things of their phone."

To me, that's an annoying, off-putting bit of advertising!

"WTF is wrong with these people?!"

We're going to lazy/stupid ourselves into irrelevance. We're already more than halfway there, IMO, don't glorify it in a multi-million dollar marketing campaign!



YMMV, obviously. But if you want to talk about Apple advertising leaving a weird, bad taste in one's mouth, it would be these...





...and if you take the above too seriously, and feel the need to step on my nuts about it in any serious sort of way (and you know who you are), count to 10, and STFU, instead because it's done (mostly) in good-natured humor and isn't a serious slam on anything or anyone.

[kieran]

I haven't used Siri in the way that the commercials are using it, but it is damn useful in everyday life.

I use it to set reminders, set alarms, read and reply to texts while driving, find out the weather quickly, etc..

It's not something that I use all day every day, but for some things, it really is just easier to hold the button and ask it.

[addabox]

Yeah, maybe Apple should make some commercials showing average people using Siri to do average stuff without having to dick around with a fiddly little UI.

I don't guess I entirely agree that the demographic being shown are young hipsters too busy for a few flicks, however-- it reads to me more like "youngish" (mid thirties to forties) affluent professionals who are doing other things (helping a kid get ready for school, walking with coffee in one hand, driving kids to or from dance class, trying to tie a bow-tie, jogging, packing) who can still conveniently use their phones.

And then there are a couple of instances of people looking slightly harried asking for directions, which arguably is a much more natural thing to do than opening a map application and laboriously entering a place name, then hitting the walking or driving direction icons.

Which I think is the point of the ad, the apparent income of the participants notwithstanding. That Siri lets you use the vast resources of your phone fairly effortlessly, which is less about being too busy to bother to open apps and more about pitching a new way to use for phone, as depicted by nice looking successful people.

[Escher]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 That demographic, of course, being "young professional urban hipsters too freakishly busy with their so-important, appointment-filled lives to take two seconds for a couple of finger-flicks, and are asking such little things of their phone." To me, that's an annoying, off-putting bit of advertising! "WTF is wrong with these people?!"

Funny, as always, Paul!

Seriously, though. The demographic targeted by Apple's iPhone ads, which is the demographic that annoys you (and me sometimes), is also the demographic that is most likely to be able to afford the latest iPhone and the exorbitant monthly data plans and multi-year contracts to go with it.

Personally, I just cannot get myself to sign up for any monthly plan, much less a 2-year contract. Living in Africa and refilling my phone with codes from $2 and $10 scratch-off cards that I buy in the street, I've come to appreciate how affordable cell phones can be. I've now got a pre-paid SIM card from T-Mobile. And even if I were to splurge on an unlocked iPhone 4S, I will probably stick with Wi-Fi for data.

Call me a scrooge or a cheapskate if you want!

Still, I could never live with Windows or Android (given the choice).

[psmith2.0]

I love the technology, don't get me wrong. And I love the time-saving aspect. I do think I'd use Siri to set my alarm constantly because that would indeed be a time-saver (and it's something I do quite often). And asking about the weather, etc., definitely!

I don't know. Something about the casting/tone of some of these spots just gets me.

Can't even fully put a finger on it, other than I tend to hate any sort of commercial or marketing where Serious, Busy People are shown "coping with life". Everyone slow the hell down and breathe a little, from time to time.

We bitch about our busy lives and hectic pace, but it's all self-created. We create our own insanity and prisons, living the way we do!



Don't enroll all four of your kids in seven activities each (and be so obsessed about keeping up with the Joneses that all you ever do is work to afford more, and bigger, friend/neighbor-pleasing shit), and you won't have to ask your phone to schedule time to blow your nose.

I think Apple could focus more on regular folks in some of these.

I don't hate them, they just make me and mutter "oh, give me a break...".

Originally Posted by addabox Which I think is the point of the ad, the apparent income of the participants notwithstanding. That Siri lets you use the vast resources of your phone fairly effortlessly, which is less about being too busy to bother to open apps and more about pitching a new way to use for phone, as depicted by nice looking successful people.

True. I'm just being a crab-apple. I figure this will all become common and second-nature in time, with Siri (or future generations, whatever it's called) reaching into more areas and being able to do more.

It is impressive, the mapping aspects. I'd love to just be able to ask "how do I get to Target from here?" if I'm in a strange, new town, vs. launching Maps, typing in "Target" and seeing what happens.

[addabox]

Funny, though, how (at least here in the States) extravagant tech expenditures become typical become just part of the cost of being a citizen.

For instance, there was a time when only fancy pants professionals had answering machines, and when they started showing up at peoples home numbers it was easy to suspect they were trying a little too hard. Why couldn't they answer the phone like normal working people? What, were they so important they they simply couldn't afford to miss a call?

Then there was broadband internet, affectation of the well-to-do and seriously geeked. Dialup was good enough for my daddy, what in the hell do you need to see on the internets so damn fast?

DVRs, cable TV, hell, smartphones themselves-- once were once luxuries are now practically necessities.

Not saying it's good or right or sensible, just that the class distinction thing has a history of fading rapidly in the face of widespread uptake. The idea that only swells can afford data plans is already a distant memory (again, at least here in the States) and I suspect that things like Siri will quickly become as normative as TV remotes and automobile navigation systems.

[psmith2.0]

I'm sure. In fact, I see Siri (or Siri-like things) playing a huge role in that. In fact, in my mind, I have a very solid idea of what the next-generation tv should be like, knowing what we know now...

$5 says I'll be closer than not.

It definitely has a purpose, I just don't like these specific commercials (certain parts of them), that's all.

I remember when cable modems got big. I was living in San Diego at the time and a co-worker got it for his house and I remember thinking, "man, I get online just fine..." (I had a USRobotics 33.6 dial-up modem, via Earthlink).

What the hell did I know about anything?

[addabox]

Nah, but I do get what you mean Paul. These particular people are the kind that are usually in American Express commercials striding through airports with that weird little "I rule" smile.

If any one of them cut me off in a Beemer or Audi or Porsche I'd be the first to go the full homicidal. It would be nice if Apple could get around to showing a guy on a job site using Siri to check a scale conversion or input a reminder to call a client when he gets to the lumber yard. Or a tired looking college kid setting an alarm, or a older guy doing the anniversary reminder or asking where the nearest soda fountain is.

It's funny, because it's not like Android is making the pitch to mom and pop America. They're only interested in selling to 13 year old boys of all ages, as best I can make out. I think your right that Apple's missing an opportunity to pitch the iPhone squarely at the people that don't have a smartphone yet, and that probably isn't the kind of people with $150 haircuts.

[ezkcdude]

What's the deal with the battery? Are you guys having problems with it? Are all the complaints at the Apple forum bogus? I'm starting to think so.

[turtle]

It's real for me. My battery is down to 77% right now and I un plugged it at about 10AM. I'm working through different things trying to isolate it now. But my battery life sucks compared to most phones I've had.

Not making a big deal about it because I know it's temporary.

[psmith2.0]

Hell no it's not bogus. Since putting iOS 5 on my iPhone 4, my battery performance has taken a swan dive.

Before iOS 5, I'd wake up in the morning, disconnect it from my charger (start my day at 100%). By mid-late afternoon, with moderate-sometimes heavy WiFi surfing/e-mailing, a phone call or two, some texts, maybe a few rounds of Scrabble or Boggle, a bit of Google Mapping, etc., I'd still be at 80-something percent! That thing would go like a champ...all day, every day.

Today, I unplugged, did my usual routine/usage and was down to 72% by 10:30am. And I wasn't doing anything demanding at all. Just surfing, sent a couple of e-mails and stuff like that. No games or streaming media or anything like that.

So, yeah...there's something going on. Reading online, I've disabled Compass Calibration, Diagnostics & Usage, Location-Based iAds and Setting Time Zone in my System Services section of the Location Services system preferences.

But I've seen no improvement.

It's a bite, because I was going two full days with not having to recharge. Now, I have to wind up recharging by early evening on many days since iOS 5 was installed.

I hate it. My iPhone 4 is acting like my original iPhone did in the last month or so of its life/usage...I can just sit and watch the battery indicator slowly tick down 1% at a time over a certain time span. Something is draining it, but now that I've turned off all the crap that everyone online is saying to turn off (with no help or change), I'm getting a little bummed because I was hoping, after a couple of weeks, Apple might've put out a statement or, better yet, a software update to fix it.

[Mac+]

Same here. Finally updated my iPhone (and the jump from 3G to 4S is great) but the battery draining issue is real and even after following advice and tips online I'm yet to see any improvement. Not getting too uptight about it yet, as I'm placing faith in Apple being able to provide a remedy.

[709]

There was a post yesterday on MR about turning off time-zone sensing. Maybe that would help? I haven't experienced the battery drain thing in iOS 5, but I turned off the above just because. It seemed unnecessary anyways.

[psmith2.0]

That was the first thing I turned off, yesterday. Saw no difference. Read about the other things on various sites and turned them off last night. Today, my battery life is just as bad as it's been since upgrading to iOS 5. So I've yet to nail it down on my end. There's no telling what it is. It's happening on some 4s models, and not on others. Happening on the 4, but not all. But iOS 5 is the common factor across it all, so there's something in there...