First of all, huge hat-tip, kudos and all around thanks to Jeff over at iPhone J.D. for bringing Siri to my attention. Jeff has a great write up about Siri and I encourage you to go check it out. I’ve been using Siri on my iPhone for a few days now (based on Jeff’s review) and wanted to expand on one feature mentioned in Jeff’s review that I thought would be of particular interest to lawyers. Appropriate to this blog, I also wanted to give a few thoughts about how this app might be developed specifically for the iPad.
Quick overview: Siri is a voice guided personal assistant. You ask for information and Siri delivers it to you. That is a huge oversimplification, so go read Jeff’s comments about Siri to really understand the power of this program. Done? Good, now, a little more discussion about that feature of interest to lawyers:
Reminders. I am constantly having those “oh yeah, don’t forget to….” moments when I’m out and about. I’ve found the best way to make sure I don’t forget them is to capture them immediately. Siri makes this absurdly simple. To set a reminder for yourself, simply ask Siri to remind you of something and when you want the reminder. Siri will parse your request into a to-do item and then send you an e-mail at the time you requested. Simply tell Siri “Remind me to…” followed by your request. For example, the request “Remind me to call client tomorrow at 4:00″ will be turned into a e-mail reminder that you receive the next day at 4:00. Reminders can repeat as well. Have a weekly status conference call until the merger is closed? Tell Siri to remind you weekly and you’ll get a repeating email.
You can use the emails Siri generates as reminders or turn them into more permanent fixtures on a to-do list or calendar when convenient (Siri does not yet integrate directly into calendar or task systems).
Siri on iPad. If Siri is adapted for the iPad, I think the main difference will be showing the results of your searches alongside the transcribed text of your searches. This isn’t much difference from how the application works now, with results presented in a “stream” similar to an instant message chat. You simply flip up and down to view your search history. Putting the results alongside the queries will allow you to see more search results and context at the same time adding context and easing access. That said, I think Siri really shines as an iPhone application. Its best application or for those quick questions while on the go (rather than sitting in your favorite chair or coffee shop with an iPad).
While not an iPad specific improvement, I’d also expect Siri to develop hooks into calendar and task applications, allowing users to avoid the step of transcribing an email reminder into a calendar entry or task list item.
Siri’s voice transcription technology is powered by Nuance, the folks that do Dragon Dictation and Jott, so the voice recognition is pretty good (and surprisingly fast). I used to use Jott to capture those on the go to-do reminders, but didn’t use it enough to justify paying for it when Jott went to a fee service (Siri is currently free). Jott has the hooks into other task management applications and it works well to turn your voice into text.
What do you think Siri could do to enhance its application for the iPad?
If my wife knew about this app, she’d insist that I get it and use it…