Excited to buy the new iPhone 4S with its voice-activated personal assistant? There are mixed reviews about this feature and its cost too. Yes, it’s true that the iPhone-4S is voice-activated, but certainly not for the kind of English that is spoken in India. The much-hyped iPhone’s voice-activated personal assistant, enabled by Siri software, can identify only the British, American and Australian accents.

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Currently in its beta stage, Siri is yet to add different accents. Nevertheless, this did not stop Apple enthusiasts from flocking to the Apple store on Thursday. At 12 midnight, actor Nidhi Subbaiah launched the touch-phone amid much cheering and applause.Several customers wanted to be the first to make the purchase.

And they did. The billing counters were active even after 1am on Friday. In 2007, when the iPhone was launched in India, customers lined up outside mobile stores. There were similar scenes when the iPad was launched. And going by the reception the iPhone 4S, the last Apple product launched by Steve Jobs, the iPhone 5’s launch will be a hit too.   

DNA spoke to customers and got mixed reactions. While some flaunted the newly added features, some rated it as exorbitantly priced. Arun Naik said: “It’s expensive. The 16 GB model is being sold for Rs44,500. On the other hand, the 32 GB and 64 GB will cost Rs50,900 and Rs57,500.” Saqib Jawad, a software professional, said: “The iPhone 4S is the best in its class.

The most amazing aspect is it does what you say. The voice-activated personal assistant, Siri, finds information and then answers back.”

But whether the voice-recognition software will impress its users is an open-ended question since many  do not speak fluent English. And this might prove to be a drawback. The iPhone 4S, the last Apple product launched by Steve Jobs, has definitely proved to be a stunner even if hundred point flaws to the gadget.