Nokia accuses Apple’s Siri of being biased against other smart phones
A man uses ‘Siri’ on the new iPhone 4S. The widely anticipated new mobile phone from Apple saw customers line up in cities around the world for hours to be amongst the first to buy the device. Apple is now facing a class-action lawsuit from customers disappointed with Siri’s performance.
Apple's Siri might seem "fair and balanced," but she's actually biased against other smart phones, Nokia is charging.
Last week, iPhone 4S users discovered an odd quirk. If they asked Siri to rate smartphones, the iPhone didn't actually come out on top.
Asking her, "What is the best smartphone ever?," instead brought an unexpected response: the Nokia 900.
The reason? For this question, Siri depended on the search engine WolframAlpha, which pooled reviews and comments from the Best Buy website, BBC News reported.
More from GlobalPost: Promises, pitfalls await investors in Burma’s frontier
The WolframAlpha ranking that puts the Nokia 900 at number one doesn't even put Apple in the top ten. On its list of best smart phones, the iPhone 4S is ranked number thirteen.
Nokia is not happy.
"Apple positions Siri as the intelligent system that's there to help, but clearly if they don't like the answer, they override the software," Nokia spokeswoman Tracy Postill told the Sydney Morning Herald. Apple would not respond to the Sydney Morning Herald's requests for comment.
Without federal support, local stations, especially in rural and underserved areas, face deep cuts or even closure. Vital public service alerts, news, storytelling, and programming like The World will be impacted. The World has weathered many storms, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to being your trusted source for human-centered international news, shared with integrity and care. We believe public media is about truth and access for all. As an independent, nonprofit newsroom, we aren’t controlled by billionaire owners or corporations. We are sustained by listeners like you.
Now more than ever, we need your help to support our global reporting work and power the future of The World.