[prestia]

A few points:

First, I agree with a point that others have raised regarding Siri "working" on rooted phones. Sure, it will run, but does it run well? Does it slow the phone down signficantly when in heavy use? Until we know for sure, I'm not going to get worked up about it.

Second, it is very possible that the technical limitation is server-side. Apple has a pretty spotty history with web services and limiting Siri to the iPhone 4S may just be a way to slowly scale the backend.

Third, I think it's pretty absurd to call out Apple's lack of support for old devices. The level of support still available for the 2.5-year-old iPhone 3GS is outstanding compared to other smart phones. Most people who _really_ care about having the newest tech are probably upgrading their phones every two years anyway. And, really, who can blame Apple for wanting to differentiate their products? I don't mind if that is the reason, but I would prefer an honest answer if that is the only reason.

[ryanpetrich]

On the iPhone 3GS, it works better than Voice Controls ever did and does not noticeably affect battery or memory use. When running, it's speex encoder uses very little CPU.

Recognition on the iPhone 3GS is not as accurate due to the lack of a noise-cancelling secondary mic, but that's a component the iPhone 4 shares with the iPhone 4S.

I agree on your second two points.

[JimDabell]

> The level of support still available for the 2.5-year-old iPhone 3GS is outstanding

They are selling the 3GS brand new today. I don't think they deserve kudos for supporting a current product. It should go without saying.

[prestia]

That doesn't change the fact that people who bought a 3GS 2.5 years ago are still getting significant updates to the hardware. Really, what better way is there to support a product than continue selling it?

If you want to look at the other options out there, Android is doing a terrible job. A number of Android phones don't even ship with the most recent version of the OS and some never see updates at all. It's getting better, but it's far from great.

[wvenable]

But it doesn't -- there are many Android headsets that were obsolete when released (OS-wise) and then never updated. The situation with Android devices (at the high end) is getting better but it's too early to see what the situation will be like in 3 years.

[hospadam]

While I tend to agree with everything - we should expect Apple to support the 3GS currently - they're still selling it! How much support will it get 6 months after it's not currently sold anymore?

[teamonkey]

If the 3G is anything to go by, zero support. It'll be dropped like a stone.

[eavc]

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