GM Officially Brings Siri To Chevy Spark, Sonic

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• Siri lacks in comparison to Google Now.
  When Ford, and subsiquently Hyundai (and who ever else), teamed up with Microsoft, I was hoping GM would have secured a deal with Google. Everything from maps, to search, to voice command, to the bevy of products and apps under the Google umbrella combined with OnStar would have been a massive tech push for the GM brands, far more than a deal with Apple can provide.

• Apple software is a failure in comparison with Google. Besides, Apple hardware is not American . All of them are built by Foxconn in mainline China, not in America.

  Buy American! Buy GM and Google!

  • Raymond, are you joking?

    Apple software is a failure by whose standards? Have you ever used an Apple device? If you would have, you'd quickly realize that the American company (Yes, American) makes unparalleled hardware and software.

    The fact that Apple subcontracts manufacture of its products (even though all R&D is done in the U.S.) is not relevant, since that is an industry reality.

    Where do you think devices running Google's Android OS come from? Samsung and HTC, for the most part. Not even close to being American... while making inferior products. The former is a blatant thief of Apple's American intellectual property, while the latter can't seem to figure out what innovation is.

    Let's try that again, shall we?

    • Apple hardware is mostly made by Samsung and LG

      The whole patent infringement fiasco is a total load of bullshit. Apple should have never been granted such generic patents. It would be like Ford suing Toyota for making a sedan shaped vehicle. If Android didn't command 70% world market share do you think Apple would have sued them? Nope.
      The iPhone5 barely keeps up to the S3 and OneX, the Nexus4 surpasses all of them, and the S4 is due in the new year. Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and more so the soon to roll out Android 4.2 dummy iOS6.
      I will never go back to Apple unless they give me a damn good reason to. People said their phone had bad reception depending how they hold it, Apples response? You're holding the phone wrong.
      The camera when pointed at a light source would cause blue/purple flare due to the saphire lens. Apples reply? Camera is perfect, stop taking pictures near sources of light.
      Oh and the best of all, Apple Maps.
      How about iCloud and wifi/data drain.
      No NFC on iPhone? We wanted to rake more cash in on the 5s, why innovate on the 5s when we can blatantly leave a basic option out of a 'super' phone that should be equipped with it.
      "We will never make a 7in. tablet"... oh hey iPad mini, we saw the Nexus7 and Kindle exploding so here we are too, only with a piece of crap ppi.

      • Andrew, you're referring to components, not manufacturing. Apple sources components from Samsung, and is moving away from doing so. Also, Apple designs many of the manufacturing processes for its production partners.

        A few other points:
        - Maps works fine for me... have you used it?
        - What iCloud battery drain? I've never experienced it.
        - NFC?! Seriously? The technology used by less than a 0.01 percent of all smartphone users. Maybe it will grow in popularity in 5 years, but it's not popular today.
        - 7" tablets: have you ever heard of purposeful misinformation?

        If we're going to discuss this kind of stuff, how about bringing up the basics: Android devices still lag in basic functionality and UX: accuracy of their touch screens... and you say "The iPhone "barely keeps up". By whose standards?

        We can go back and forth on the patent war as well. It is best exemplified by the design of Samsung devices before the Apple iPhone/iPad... and then after. It's like Chinese "automakers" making a clone of the BMW X5, or a Hummer... When you have no ideas or talent of your own, start the copy machines!

        • Maps is serviceable in iOS6 but a serious downgrade from Google's, no transit directions was really annoying. Also really surprising for Apple to jump the gun on something before it's ready, just because there weren't turn by turn directions like on Android they gave up transit and a current/accurate map.

          Never had a problem with iCloud except the low amount of free storage, Dropbox is up to like 20 GB free, most others are 10 and Apple gives you 5 GB....not like they're hurting for cash they could be a little less tight fisted with iCloud.

          NFC not an issue, because there is virtually no implementation of it yet.

          Would like to see more integration but it's hard when vehicle lifecycles are so much longer than those of the devices people want to integrate them with.....but I still want them to work together, and well.

        • Luke, agreed that Maps could have used some more time in the proverbial oven. I've not had any problems myself, but the issues you mentioned definitely affect some.

          Also, I thought Dropbox is limited to 2GB on the free plan (unless you share it with friends who accept your sign-up invite)...

          The problem of devices having a much quicker "replacement" rate than vehicles is definitely real as well. It's nice to see automakers standardize on USB, Bluetooth Audio, and some form of voice commands. This, at the least, allows for some kind of basic long-term functionality...

        • My phone came with 50gb Dropbox storage, S3.

          You said they make unparalleled hardware, but as I said the majority of hardware is sourced from Samsung. All their 'coveted' A series chips being the most notable.

          Apple makes good products for the most part, some well over priced. The iPhone is a good product. The best? Well that is subjective to needs. For a phone with it's screen real estate it's likely the 'best'. If Apple had scaled up both the width with the height and put it up against the S3, OneX, Nexus4, it's safe to assume Android would be selling in even higher numbers and taking even more iPhone users.

          Accuracy of Android touch screen aren't in question. And maybe NFC isn't a huge deal, but the top end phones should have the features that will be the future of the lower end phones year from now. The S-Class used to basically take point in letting people know what cheap cars would have 5-10 years down the road. The tech world obviously moves much faster, but it's the same idea.
          NFC tags/tectiles are pretty damn handy for quick changing phone settings.
          I suppose the TecTile side of NFC technology is more along the lines of push button start. Not extremely necessary, but now many reviewers/consumers expect, or wish cars had, push button start... I'm sure I could go back and find a couple reviews on GMA saying just that.

          There is no iCloud/batt drain.. that I know of. It's the wifi/data drain on the iPhone5 and iCloud constantly being down.

          Purposeful misinformation maybe, but how often did Steve Jobs very publicly state with such conviction that Apple never offering a certain product, to that product then being rushed to market after his death... And yes rushed to market, it's a parts bin special just like a Sunfire.

        • Looks like someone (Samsung) made a deal with Dropbox to entice you to buy their device... are you using those 50 gigs?

          "You said they make unparalleled hardware, but as I said the majority of hardware is sourced from Samsung. All their ‘coveted’ A series chips being the most notable."

          You misunderstood. Apple designs and engineers much of the circuitry in all of their products, from Macs to iOS devices. Samsung (and others) simply serve as manufacturers of Apple's designs. And in the case where Apple buys pre-engineered and pre-fabbed parts, those are usually off-the-shelf units -- Samsung isn't unique in making or supplying them. Currently, Apple is moving away from using Samsung for most, if not all, of its supply needs.

          But all of that is beside the point; Apple makes the best hardware -- the hardware that one holds in his hand and that's visible to the user. Apple's design, engineering, quality, and overall intangibility factors are unrivaled. As a whole, Apple products, whether iPhone, iPad, or Mac, feel as if they are significantly more luxurious (and high-end) than any from the "competition". Again, hardware in the literal sense of what the "normal" user sees and feels.

          As for Apple products being "overpriced" -- that's also a matter of subjectivity. Depends on the user and his/her preferences. As a whole, they are significantly more refined and user-friendly, and are extremely price-competitive once one takes into account all benefits/features. Obviously, there are exceptions to this, but the exceptions are just that.

          Here's the thing about NFC: sure, it may be analogous to push-button start due to its "early tech" nature. But unlike push-butotn start -- which is self-contained and doesn't need an infrastructure to be useful -- NFC is pretty much irrelevant today. It's analogous to 4G: a year ago, it was only available to less than 5 percent of all Americans. Today, that number is somewhere around 25 percent. Apple introduces technology when it can be meaningful for many, not just a select few (early adopters).

          Is iCloud constantly down? I haven't noticed. Again, one could bunch it into the "exception" category of my refined statement... personally, I have never had an issue. Perhaps media coverage of the service's intermittent "unavailability" is overblown, just like it could be overblown that Google stole the modern smartphone concept from Apple when Schmidt was on Apple's board.

          "Purposeful misinformation maybe, but how often did Steve Jobs very publicly state with such conviction that Apple never offering a certain product, to that product then being rushed to market after his death… And yes rushed to market, it’s a parts bin special just like a Sunfire."

          This strikes me as the most odd point of view yet. Jobs was a master of misinformation. Here's a quick list off the top:
          - iPod video
          - Smaller-than-full-size tablet
          - Reading books (is dead)

          It's a ploy to throw competitors off, who are all too well-known for copying Apple's moves.

          As for (what I assume to be) the iPad Mini reference, not sure how it was 1) rushed to market or 2) a parts bin special. It offers real value to real customers -- on a large scale -- more than the Sunfire could ever hope for. There's ample evidence to support the device's development over a year ago; the parts bin reference, however, is entirely off: there aren't "bins" of materials sitting somewhere, ready to be used up in a product. The product still had to be designed, manufactured, and assembled (at a new fab). But forget all that: it will still sell more units than any single competing offering -- even at a higher price point.

• I want an iPad/iPad mini dock for center console, iPhone integration into dash (or steering wheel??) = way better Driver Information Center than what's on the Cruze..

  And what's the holdup with bringing this to other cars, shouldn't this just be a software update for vehicles with MyLink?

  • Luke -- we've been told to "stay tuned" for other MyLink-equipped vehicles... so, stay tuned, I guess.

• We are still talking about The General and his cars, right? Or have we moved on to comparing cell phones and technology? ;^)

• I would enjoy Siri integration in my 2013 Cruze MyLink system.

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