Report: Siri 'struggles' in Japanese debut

Siri, Apple Inc.'s voice-activated assistant for the iPhone 4S, may have trouble learning Japanese, an Apple enthusiast site has reported.

 

AppleInsider.com cited a video on YouTube showing Siri can understand basic commands but has trouble processing "more advanced requests."

 

The site cited a YouTube video showing a man performing a side-by-side Japanese comprehension comparison of Apple's Siri and DoCoMo's own voice-recognition feature Syabette Concier.

 

"(W)hen asked, 'Is it cold outside?,' both Siri and Syabette Concier provided weather data. When the speaker said, 'I have a stomach ache,' Siri did not understand, while Syabette offered information on the nearest hospital," AppleInsider reported.

 

The AppleInsider report said a request for the next day's schedule was accurately responded to by Syabette, but Siri only understood the schedule part.

 

It added Siri was unable to provide a map of Chigasaki because it is limited in the location data that it can call up outside the United States. In contrast, Syabette easily accessed the map.

 

Siri was also unable to handle a search for videos of a Japanese pop singer with a gibberish name, while Syabette had no problem with it.

 

"Seems like Siri can only comprehend simple and universal Japanese," the report noted.

 

On the other hand, Siri was able to set an alarm, but it faltered on a tongue twister and a statement about cooking curry.

 

Loading times were also longer on average for Siri than for Docomo's version.

 

Apple had added Japanese language support to Siri last week with the release of iOS 5.1.

 

Apple telegraphed the arrival of Japanese Siri support last month when Siri began claiming that she could already speak the language.

 

The release of iOS 5.1 on the heels of the iPad unveiling added a Japanese-speaking Siri to the iPhone 4S.

 

Other complaints

 

AppleInsider also said some English speakers have complained that Siri does not perform well for them.

 

It said Siri appears to have specific trouble with several regional accents or certain variants of non-native English.

 

Others have accused Apple of false advertising with its Siri commercials, AppleInsider said.

 

It said an iPhone 4S owner from New York sued Apple on Monday with allegations that Siri is far less responsive and accurate than depicted in its commercials.

 

For its part, Apple has covered some of its tracks by releasing Siri in beta mode and disclaiming that sequences had been shortened during its commercials.

 

Meanwhile, some voice-recognition experts have suggested that Apple needed to release a beta version of Siri to the public to acquire a volume of voice samples sufficient for refining the service.

 

Apple's plans to expand Siri have included the hiring of new "Language Technologies Engineers" tasked with bringing new languages to the software and other cloud-based services. — RSJ, GMA News