Siri

Nuance Communications' technology is what powers Apple's mobile voice assistant Siri. The company's voice recognition engine can also be found in dictation software like Dragon Dictation and even in devices like Smart TVs. Nina is the company's response to the growing popularity of intelligent personal assistants that are popping up on all Android and iOS devices

Nuance Communications describes Nina as "the first virtual assistant customer service app to incorporate both speech recognition and voice biometrics into a single integrated solution." Nina uses a combination of Nuance technologies like speech recognition and voice biometrics to understand what a speaker is saying and to identify who is speaking. This allows Nina the potential to perform such tasks as paying bills, or the ability to use other personal services without the need to enter a password.

HiddenHelper, the new jailbreak tweak for the iPhone, allows you to use Siri without the Siri interface popping up on your Home screen. This can be helpful when you want to set your alarm or dictate a note on your iPhone while you are using the device for something else, and you don't want Siri to interrupt. For example, Siri will not interrupt your Angry Birds game by displaying the note you just dictated to her. It's a great multitasking tool.

HiddenHelper also allows you to decide which Siri snippets you want displayed, and which snippets you want disabled. Asking Siri to tell you about the weather is useless without the UI because Siri displays the temperature instead of reading it to you. Wolfram Alpha queries are also pointless without Siri displaying the results.

One of my biggest gripes with Siri has been fixed thanks to a new jailbreak tweak called PersistentAssistant. The new jailbreak tool allows Siri to keep listening after you ask her a question. This eliminates the need to keep tapping the button every time you want to use Siri, allowing you to have a continuous conversation with the voice assistant.

This is the perfect tweak for impatient people who are always turning Siri on and off before she has time to do her job. It's also great for those drunk nights when you're trying to show her off to your friends because it makes her much easier to use. You can tap Siri a second time or let her automatically shutdown if you only have one question.

Two different iPhone 4S owners sued Apple for "false and misleading" advertising in March, which helped kick off a few different class action lawsuits. David Jones filed a complaint with a U.S. District Court alleging "Apple disseminates false and deceptive representations regarding the functionality of the Siri feature." Other complaints ranged from not being able to recreate Apple's the ‘Rock God’ Siri commercial in real life, and Siri not giving proper directions.

Apple has responded with a motion to dismiss the class-action lawsuits:

"They offer only general descriptions of Apple’s advertisements, incomplete summaries of Apple’s website materials, and vague descriptions of their alleged—and highly individualized—disappointment with Siri. Tellingly, although Plaintiffs claim they became dissatisfied with Siri’s performance “soon after” purchasing their iPhones, they made no attempt to avail themselves of Apple’s 30-day return policy or one-year warranty—which remains in effect. Instead, they seek to take an alleged personal grievance about the purported performance of a popular product and turn it into a nationwide class action under California’s consumer protection statutes. The Complaint does not come close to meeting the heavy burden necessary to sustain such claims."

iOS 6 rumors are heating up now that the WWDC is about a month away. Here is what Apple is expected to unveil or at least preview at the event.

AllThingsD has confirmed an earlier report by 9to5Mac that claimed Apple would ditch Google Maps in favor for a new Maps app.

“Sources tell 9to5Mac that Apple will abandon Google’s mapping backend in the next major iteration of iOS, replacing it with a brand new mapping application powered by Apple technology. We’ve independently confirmed that this is indeed the case. Sources describe the new Maps app as a forthcoming tent-pole feature of iOS that will, in the words of one, 'blow your head off.' " - John Paczkowski from AllThingsD