Apple’s Siri Eyes Free feature is now beginning to make its way into car brands all over the US. Chevy’s Spark and Sonic models will be the first cars to get Siri Eyes Free integration after the company promised late last year that it would be included. The feature is also slated to be included in other car brands such as Hyundai, which added support for the feature earlier this year.

The Siri Eyes Free feature was introduced alongside iOS 6 and is slowly becoming standard with car manufacturers. Other companies to include the feature are BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Toyota, Chrysler, and Honda.

With Siri Eyes Free, Chevy’s Spark and Sonic will allow drivers to perform a number of tasks via Siri, including make calls directly through their phones, listen to texts, and play music without having to go through a layer of software from the car manufacturer.

In the 2013 Spark and Sonic vehicles equipped with MyLink, owners can use Siri in Eyes Free mode to:

– Make voice-activated, hands-free calls to Contacts on their iPhone
– Play songs in their iTunes libraries, and even switch music sources automatically from AM/FM/XM radio to iPod mode
– Listen to, and compose and send an iMessage or text message to a phone number or anyone in saved Contacts
– Access Calendar and add appointments
– Minimize distraction even more by keeping the screen of the iPhone from lighting up even when Siri answers simple questions such as game scores or the dates of national holidays

The feature, which will be available to drivers of the 2013 Chevy models requires an iPad, iPhone or iPod running iOS 6. Owners of a 2013 Spark and Sonic that do not currently have the feature will be allowed to upgrade their MyLink radios for Siri integration in March. Honda’s Accord, Acura RDX and ILX cars will also receive Siri Eyes Free integration later this year.

Apple’s Siri Eyes Free feature will likely become standard in all cars in the next several years as the company continues to make improvements to the voice assistant. If Apple’s Maps application gets more stabilized in the future, car manufacturers could look into tuning that into their systems alongside Siri Eyes Free.

{Via MacRumors}

Apple is looking to improve Siri, its digital voice assistant for iOS devices. The Cupertino, California company posted a job listing on social networking site, LinkedIn and is specifically looking for writers that can help to improve the personality of Siri.

We’re looking for a uniquely creative individual to help us evolve and enrich Siri, our virtual personal assistant. Siri’s known for ‘her’ wit, cultural knowledge, and zeal to explain things in engaging, funny, and practical ways. The ideal candidate is someone who combines a love for language, wordplay, and conversation with demonstrated experience in bringing creative content to life within an intense technical environment.

Siri is currently included in Apple’s newest iPad, iPhone lineup, as well the fifth generation iPod touch. Siri, despite initially launching to popularity has become a secondary feature for some users, who would rather do searches and scheduling themselves instead of relying on the digital assistant.

Apple is looking to improve the usability of the service, which has been somewhat of a failure and has partially contributed to the ousting of iOS chief Scott Forstall from the company. Apple appears to be molding Siri in order for it to become as similar to a human conversation as possible. During the introductory keynote, Forstall noted that Siri truly understands what a user is saying and responds as such. With this position fulfilled, Siri will continue to gain far more responses to prompts than it currently has.

{Via iMore}

Apple is looking to continue adding to Siri’s features with 9 more languages reportedly coming to the personal voice assistant, currently operating on the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5. Belgian site Apple Nieuws Vlaanderen noticed earlier this week that Apple had posted a job listing for Cloud Services Engineering Interns for those who can speak Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Korean, Norwegian, and Swedish.

On the listing, Apple noted this was for “delivering Siri in different parts of the world.” Currently, only Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish are not supported on Siri, however, may be in the next several months if Apple hires interns an improves Siri. Apple currently supports the following languages and will continue to expand to include more

• United States (English, Spanish)
• United Kingdom (English)
• Australia (English)
• France (French)
• Germany (German)
• Japan (Japanese)
• Canada (English, Canadian French)
• China (Mandarin)
• Hong Kong (Cantonese)
• Italy (Italian)
• Korea (Korean)
• Mexico (Spanish)
• Spain (Spanish)
• Switzerland (Italian, French, German)
• Taiwan (Mandarin)

With iOS 6, Apple has continued to improve Siri, adding in new features such as Sports scores, stats and information, as well as the ability to buy movie tickets, and even support for Passbook. By adding in new languages and more support for external applications such as Passbook and Yelp, Siri is becoming more integrated into the iOS ecosystem. During its initial release, many users complained that Siri was very limited and couldn’t interact with third party applications.

{Via MacRumors}

Since the introduction of Apple’s popular iPhone 4S last October, the company has gone ahead to air a number of ads for the smartphone’s groundbreaking personal assistant, Siri. Late Monday, Apple began to air a new commercial for Siri, this time using a different celebrity, director and producer Martin Scorsese.

Scorsese is best known for his work in popular and classic movies such as Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, and Raging Bull. In the ad, Scorsese uses Siri to search for traffic in Manhattan, find his friend, and reschedule appointments. The ad begins with Scorsese in a cab in New York City and continues on as follows:

Scorsese: What’s my day look like?

Siri: Another busy day today.

Scorsese: Are you serious?

Siri: Yes, I’m not allowed to be frivolous.

Scorsese: Ah, OK. Move my 4 o’clock today to tomorrow. Change my 11AM to 2.

Siri: OK, Marty. I scheduled it for today.

Scorsese: Is that Rick? Where’s Rick?

Siri: Here’s Rick.

Scorsese: Oh, no that’s not Rick. Now, how’s the traffic headed downtown?

Siri: Here’s the traffic.

Scorsese: Oh, it’s terrible, terrible. Driver, driver, cut across. Cut across. We’ll never make it downtown this way. I like you Siri, you’re going places.

Siri: I’ll try to remember that.

In the ad, Scorsese uses many apps, including Find My Friends, Maps, and Calendars. The ad then ends with Scorsese complementing Siri, saying, “I like you Siri, you’re going places” and Siri responding, “I’ll try to remember that”.

This is the fourth and most recent celebrity ad done by Apple to promote Siri. Apple has done Siri/iPhone 4S ads with Samuel L. Jackson, Zooey Deschanel and, John Malkovich in the past.

{via MacRumors}

Apple’s popular iPhone has been on the market since 2007 and has picked up a number of new features since then, including video chat capabilities, and even Siri, a voice controlled personal assistant. However, even with a variety of innovative technology, the iPhone always fell short when it came to emergency notifications or access. As a result, Apple is now working in tandem with the national government to provide users with automatic alerts in the case of a national emergency in iOS 6.

The new feature in iOS 6, named “Government Alerts” will provide any information regarding national security as well as any major announcements from the local, state, or federal governments. The feature is even being utilized by the National Weather service which will be allowed to issue whether emergency notifications directly to iOS 6 users, and is expected to be up and running later this month.

Users can opt out of receiving the notifications, which can be switched off in the Settings app although it is unclear whether the feature is already running when the device is purchased. The new feature will be available in the iOS 6, and will work on all iPhone models capable of running the next iOS software update, including the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4.

{via AppleInsider}

Apple introduced Siri with the introduction of the iPhone 4S last October. During the company’s WWDC keynote event, SVP of iOS Software Scott Forstall took the stage to announce new updates to the personal assistant, Siri, to be included in iOS 6. The software update includes improved features such as asking Siri for sports scores, history of college and professional sports teams, as well as stats, and detailed info on other professional athletes. It also provides up to the minute updates on live sports games.

With Siri on iOS 6 now being able to provide sports information, users will no longer have to go to websites to see updates and scores. Apple also improved on Siri’s abilities to access applications on the device, by allowing Siri to open applications via voice command. Upon a command, Siri does not pull up a menu or navigation menu of any sorts and instead, jumps directly into the app and begins to run it.

The Cupertino company also improved on Siri’s movie and restaurant search capabilities. With restaurant searches, Siri on iOS 6 utilizes data from Yelp, giving information on prices, and reviews and is also connected with OpenTable for quick reservations. Siri is also hooked up with Rotten Tomatoes for movies, giving users direct access to reviews of the movie and the option to watch the trailer without closing the queue. Siri can now also provide quick access to information about directors of movies, actors, actresses and a variety of other details.

Other features include Eyes Free and Facebook integration. Apple introduced Eyes Free by teaming up with a number of car companies to directly build Siri functionality into new models of their cars. The feature can be directly accessed via a button on the steering wheel and will not switch on the screen of the iPhone but will entirely operate through voice commands. Facebook integration operates similarly to Twitter on iOS 5 and allows users to post photos, web pages, and other forms of media through a pop-up menu anywhere in the OS. The company also released this feature as a public API to give developers the option to build this feature into their own apps.

Forstall introduced these updates, and following the explanation of all of the features, mentioned that Siri would now also be coming to the new iPad as well, following the public release of iOS 6 later this year. iOS 6 will be introduced later this year, during the same fall timeframe that the next generation iPhone is expected.

Apple for the first time ever began to use celebrities in its iPhone TV ads only about a month ago. The first ads to use celebrities were for the company’s popular personal assistant Siri, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Zooey Deschanel.

After receiving very positive feedback of the work done by the Chiat/Day ad agency, Apple is continuing to use celebrities in its ads. In the latest series of ads, the Cupertino company is featuring John Malkovich to star as a user of Siri.

As of Wednesday, two different ads have aired starring Malkovich, the first called “Life” and another called “Joke”. In “Life” Malkovich talks to Siri about life and has the personal assistant explain the meaning of it. “Joke”, however shows off the more humorous side of Siri. The conversation between Siri and Malkovich in “Life” goes as follows:

Malkovich: Life.

Siri: Try and be nice to people. Avoid eating fat. Read a good book every now and then. Get some walking in. And try to live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.

Malkovich: That’s pretty spectacular advice, actually. Thank you. I enjoyed this chat immensely. You are very eloquent.

Siri: That’s nice of you to say.

The ads take on a humorous tone and play on Malkovich’s odd persona and acting style. Appearing in films such as Dangerous Liaisons and of Mice and Men.

The ads are now airing across the country and will likely be added to other channels as the Cupertino company receives more information on the feedback of the ads.

{via MacRumors}

On Tuesday, a report from Bloomberg suggested that Apple Inc. (AAPL) and parent company of ESPN, Disney, were in talks to bring the popular WatchESPN app to the Apple TV. The report mentioned a statement from ESPN executive Sean Bratches that the deal wasn’t imminent and is currently being hashed out between the two companies.

If AAPL were given the go ahead to bring the app over to the Apple TV, subscribers of select cable networks or subscribers of ESPN would be able to stream live games through the app. The WatchESPN app is currently available in Apple’s App Store and can be streamed on the iPad and iPhone as well as on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming console. Bratches, the executive interviewed by Bloomberg also cleared up the negotiations between Apple and ESPN and explained the benefits of such a deal.

We’re a platform-agnostic company. To the extent that in the future there’s an opportunity with Apple to authenticate through the pay-TV food chain as we’re doing with Microsoft, that’s something we’ll participate in.

This wouldn’t be the first application pertaining to accessing live streaming sports on the Apple TV but would be one of the first major collaborations between the two companies. Currently, the Apple TV allows users to access NHL Gamecenter, MLB.tv and NBA League Pass.

If Apple strikes this deal with ESPN and brings the WatchESPN app over to the Apple TV, the company will likely be setting up for its rumored television set, which may incorporate an App Store of some sort, personal assistant Siri, as well as integrated features from the current Apple TV.

{via AppleInsider}

During today’s iPad 3 live keynote event Apple will finally unveil the third-generation tablet and release date is expected within two weeks from today. iPad 3 is widely expected to feature retina display with a resolution of 2,048 by 1,536 pixels, faster processor with improved graphics, better cameras and more.

iPad 3 is rumored to use Dual-Core A5X SoC that will not only be faster but also deliver enhanced graphics and include 1GB RAM. The design is not expected to see major changes however, it is believed that the new iPad will be 0.8 mm thicker when compared with the second gen tablet.

Apple could share an update related to iOS 5.1 software update and could announce its immediate availability. While we haven’t heard about any conclusive evidence which points to inclusion of Siri in iPad 3 Apple could be looking at bringing the “personal voice assistant” to the tablet.

What are your expectations from this years event? Let us know in the comments section.

Check back soon for the iPad 3 live coverage.

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Sources: Engadget, Ars Technica, The Verge, gdgt

Apple Inc. (AAPL) recently launched a new TV ad called “Harmony” which in 30 seconds highlights iCloud service for iOS and OS X. AAPL has been posting a series of iPhone 4S ads which show the all-new voice assistant Siri and the much improved camera and now with the latest ad the focus has turned to iCloud.

iCloud automatically stores music, photos, apps, calendars, contacts, documents and keeps all your iCloud enabled devices in sync. When Apple introduced iOS 5 during WWDC 2011 Steve Jobs took to the stage to talk about iCloud and repeatedly said, “it just works”. The new TV ad in a similar theme conveys that iCloud is “Automatic. Everywhere.”

The ad begins with the all-new welcome screen in iOS 5 which gives you an option to use iCloud and then goes on to show an album being purchased on iPhone 4S which then shows up on iPad 2 and MacBook Air. Then photos, calendar, app purchases, contacts update and iBooks are all shown to sync between different devices.

With the introduction of iCloud users can not only keep their iOS devices in sync but can also backup to the cloud, set up the device without connecting to iTunes and with iTunes Match they can upload their entire music library to the cloud.

iCloud is a free service available on devices running iOS 5 or higher however, if you need to add more space for backup then you could purchase additional storage right from your device.

Apple introduced Siri with the iPhone 4S, a virtual personal assistant on a mobile phone, and providing users access to voice activated commands. Wolphram Alpha is integrated with Siri on iPhone 4S running iOS 5. The service is a collection of information and can provide anything from flight info, to searches of people, and even math problems.

Since its introduction in October, Siri has grown increasingly reliant upon carrier’s 3G networks and Wolphram Alpha to provide users with information, therefore, it is not surprising that Siri makes up 25% of Wolphram Alpha’s searches.

On Tuesday, it was reported by The New York Times that Apple’s Siri software accounts for 25% of all searches on Wolphram Alpha’s information database.

Less than three years ago, Dr. Wolfram created a new kind of search engine, called Wolfram Alpha . Unlike Google or Microsoft’s Bing, Wolfram Alpha does not forage the Web. It culls its own painstakingly curated database to find answers. […] the technology has come a long way, including delivering many answers for Siri, the question-answering personal assistant in the Apple iPhone 4S.

Wolphram Alpha was originally introduced for math and science queries but has now grown to incorporate local show times or calculating distances. It is also used by other search applications and mobile devices, which provide their users with information from the web.

Siri accounts for about a quarter of the queries fielded by Wolfram Alpha, whose staff has grown to 200.

Apple sold over 37 million iPhones last quarter, resulting in the iPhone claiming the number one spot for smart phone popularity, and putting Siri and Wolphram Alpha’s software into the hands of millions of people. With this increased adoption of the iPhone 4S, there is no doubt that 25% of Wolphram Alpha’s searches derive from iPhone users.

{via iMore}

Apple earlier today sent out invitations for a special media event scheduled for October 4th with a tag line “Let’s talk iPhone.” Apple’s CEO Tim Cook along with other executives are expected to unveil the iPhone 5 during this event.

The invitation confirms earlier reports about iPhone 5 release date event that was rumored to be held in the first week of October. Apple’s invite carries iOS icons for Calendar, Clock, Maps and Phone all depicting the details about the launch event.

Unlike, previous launch events this year Apple will announce the iPhone 5 / 4S at the company’s Town Hall auditorium at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. The event will begin at 10:00 AM PT.

The use of the word “talk” and one notification on the Phone icon could point to speech features in the fifth-gen iPhone and only one model being announced. Many analysts have been debating about the possibility of a low-end iPhone and we’ll just have to wait and see what Apple has in store for us on October 4th.

According to various reports Apple could make the iPhone 5 finally available for sale around October 15th and would probably start accepting pre-orders a week before that. iOS 5 is also expected to be a part of the special media event.

We’ve been reporting on possible features of iPhone 5 and it’s widely expected to feature 8 megapixel camera, higher RAM, include new “Assistant” feature and have a thinner design.

{via Mac Rumors}