Need an iPhone App Idea? Look at Apple's Siri

Josh Jenkins — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:29:00 GMT

Despite the first wave of criticism dished out on the web by the typical critics, the IPhone 4s has had rave reviews and the new Siri voice technology is rapidly getting attention.

This presents big-time questions like what new ideas will the Siri voice technology spawn? What enhancements will come to the already existing applications and how will this effect the rest of the tech industry or mobile industry in general? I can guarantee this, idea makers and application developers are already becoming familiar with its capabilities.

If you question the importance of Siri, then take a second to reflect on the very recent history of Apple's impact on the world. First let's begin with the iPod timeline, 2001 Apple introduces its first iPod (5GB hard-drive) and sells 125,000 before December 31st. By December 2004, iPod sales climb past 10 million, with 8.2 million units sold in 2004 alone. Other mp3 players existed before the iPod, but none were as accepted or for the most part, even known to exist by the general public.

Next, look at the iPhone history. Released in 2007, it sold 7.5 million units in 1 year. In July of 2008, Apple had 500 apps available via the App Store and 1 month later, 800 apps and over 10 million app downloads. By April of 2009, a billion app downloads were recorded and 35,000 apps had been created. This time, Apple introduced a product in an already flourishing industry and came out on top in less than a year.

Bottom line here, Apple products and technology are a way of life for the world today, with record setting product sell-outs and pre-orders in America and China each year with the new iPads and the latest iPhones. Apple doesn't just have a knack for making new ideas work where others fail miserably, they are actually quite good at revolutionizing industries and taking innovation to a levels that have never been reached before. To think they wouldn't do the same with their new voice technology would be a costly mistake.

Entreprenuers, businesses and organizations should see Siri as a newly opened door for opportunity to take existing products to the next level or to take their services to a level that has never been comprehensible in past lives. Look for a blast of products that are utilizing this technology in big ways and if any ideas come to mind, I would be sharing them with your friendly neighborhood application developers as soon as possible..

Innovating in a Technology Company

April Cox — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:01:00 GMT

"That's been one of my mantras – focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains." – Steve Jobs

What is your typical day at the office like? Does it start at 8:00 a.m. when you sit down with that first cup of coffee, hoping to get to some meaty strategic planning, work on those ideas that can rapidly change and streamline your company? But as soon as you start enjoying the creative feelings IT begins! IT and it is exactly what I mean. Emails, crisis, clients, meetings, documents, WebEx…and the list goes on.

If you haven’t already regularly carved out time to devote to how you can innovate and be a visionary in your business, make time to do so. Coming in at 7:00 a.m. or taking a quarterly day off to go and plan is important. For me I carve out dream time and execution time. When I see a path I don’t wait for others to start building. And I seek out those with the skills necessary to help me put it together.

In the world we live in software can become your workforce if you let it, if you understand how it can get you there and if you have trusted people that know how to help get you there. Business intelligence applications can tell you immediately what is going on in your company as well as what is going wrong. Cloud development makes it affordable and virtual. Figuring out how your business model can be applied to the web to make you money or gain awareness is a freeing experience. It requires focus and simplicity to break things down and determine what elements present real value.

The application of innovation and technology in your business or in your dreams takes focus. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple, but it’s worth it definitely to you, your company and the world around you once you get there!

The Efficience Blog

Need an iPhone App Idea? Look at Apple's Siri

Innovating in a Technology Company