TechieGroups

When iPhone 4S was announced earlier this month, one of the mightiest features was definitely Apple's new voice control software: Siri. Siri understands normal speech, so you can send text messages and set alarms and so on by speaking to your phone. While Siri is purely software, Apple has limited it to iPhone 4S. Other supported devices can upgrade to iOS 5, but Siri will not be included. However, it has been widely expected that Siri will soon be hacked to run on unsupported devices – and that day has now come. 

Developers Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) and @chpwn have managed to get Siri to run on iPhone 4 and fourth generation iPod Touch (uses the same A4 chip as iPhone 4, but has only 256MB of RAM). Even without the dual core A5 chip, Siri appears to run smoothly. Troughton-Smith said that Siri runs as fast on iPhone 4 as it does on iPhone 4S. The iPod Touch has some problems due to the inferior microphone (iPod Touch wasn't designed for calling like iPhone), requiring you to talk very loudly but the actual Siri software runs flawlessly. Below is a video of Siri running on the iPod Touch.

Owners of iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4G shouldn't get too excited though, as Troughton-Smith says a public release should not be expected anytime soon. There may also be legal issues of distributing Apple's code, making a public release impossible. 

Apple today announced a handful of minor updates to its iPod line: the iPod Nano and iPod Touch have received modest upgrades and price cuts. The iPod Classic, however, is MIA.

The Nano (9 for 8GB and 9 for 16GB) will retain the same basic form factor of last year's model, but is given bigger icons to improve navigation, improves Nike+ support, and is given some new clock faces for people who want to use it as a watch. It seems like a firmware update could do all of this for the old Nano, but no such update was introduced.

The iPod Touch (8GB for 9, 32GB for 9, 64GB for 9) remains the same on the inside, but gets new capabilities courtesy of iOS 5 (reinforcing the software-centric nature of these updates). It now also comes in white. Apple’s decision not to use the A5 in the iPod Touch reflects both the fact that the A4 is still Good Enough for most tasks, and the fact that Apple needs all the A5s it can get for its phones and tablets.

I expect the iPod Classic will be discontinued, but cannot confirm or deny this at this time – the product was absent from Apple's slides, for what that's worth. The iPod shuffle remains the same – last year's 2GB player for .

Last week Apple announced a complete overhaul of its iPod lineup including a new Shuffle, a new Nano (with multitouch screen) and a new iPod Touch. While the nano looks cool, it’s pricey and honestly I haven’t been interested in a dedicated MP3 player in about a decade.

The new iPod Touch however piqued my interest. With many of the same specs as the iPhone 4, I wondered if the new Touch might be a neat way to get most of the functionality of the 4 without the albatross of a contract AT&T hangs around your neck.

It turns out there’s a lot more than a cellular radio that separates the new iPod Touch from the iPhone 4.

TOYMAKER FOR THE WELL HEELED Apple has been ordered by Japan’s trade ministry to announce that users fearful that their Ipod Nano could catch fire can receive a new battery.

The ministry read Apple the riot act after 27 incidents of first generation Ipod Nanos overheating. The cappuccino company laid the blame on one of its battery suppliers and said that safety was a high priority.

Apple’s explanation led to the ministry issuing an order to publish an “easy to understand” statement on its website. That should allay fanbois’ fears of getting burned by the pint-sized music player.

Apple has offered users the option of replacement batteries and even advice, as Apple advises users to handle Ipods with oven gloves, though we imagine that tongs might work just as well. So far the company has yet to update its Japanese website to comply with the ministry’s order.

It seems that with the Ipod Nano, Apple has a device that can burn more than just its fanbois’ wallets. µ

UK ROAD RECOVERY SERVICE, the Automobile Association (AA), is warning drivers to be on the look out for ‘zombie’ Ipod users or ‘podestrians’, through its insurance arm.

“‘Ipod oblivion’ – a trance-like or Zombie state entered by some people using MP3 players, phones and electronic organisers on the move – can be lethal for pedestrians, cyclists and car drivers”, it warned when launching an awareness campaign.

These ‘zombies’, the AA said, wander blindly around the roads of the UK, probably listening to Dan Brown audiobooks, Kenny G, or avante-garde funk on their Ipods, with nary a second thought about traffic and other non-cool things like that.

“AA patrols have noted a marked increase in the number of ‘Ipod zombie pedestrians’ and joggers oblivious to traffic around them as they cross busy roads,” it said. “It is thought that pedestrians’ lack of attention may be a factor in some of the 500 pedestrian deaths or 26,887 pedestrian casualties last year.”

Ipods are not the only tool of the devil, and ambulance chasing solicitors and the AA also fingered smartphones and the band Motorhead in its release. “It appears that more people are using communication technology on the move,” it added, pointing its oily finger at email checking business men, heavy metal joggers and smartphone app using, restaurant hunting tourists.

The warnings do not just apply to pavement slugs that mooch into the road with the vacant air of the lobotomised, but also to drivers that wear headphones while in control of a car.

AA president Edmund King said, “We can’t stop the march of technology but we need to halt the ‘Ipod pedestrian, cycle and driver zombies’. Whether on two feet, two wheels or four, too many people are suffering from so-called ‘iPod oblivion’.

“When on the move our brains have much to take in and using technological gadgets means that our brains can’t always concentrate on so many things at once. This is when we walk into traffic, don’t hear the truck or drive cocooned from the outside world.”

The AA will look for the term ‘podestrian’ to catch on, and reports that more drivers making claims for minor shunts are citing ‘podestrians’ or Ipod wearing pedestrians as the cause than ever before.

It is urging people to be more concerned about their personal safety than whatever ear gum is coming next, or whatever foppish Facebook updates their friends might have made. µ