Apple is preparing Siri for older devices

SMARTPHONE AND TABLET MAKER Apple is testing its voice-activated personal assistant Siri on devices other than the Iphone 4S, which could save people a fortune in smartphone upgrade costs.

Apple is preparing Siri for the Iphone 4 and potentially some other devices in its line of IOS-supported gadgets, according to anonymous sources close to the company cited by Jailbreak Nation. While only the Iphone 4 has been specifically mentioned, it's likely that other devices are being tested too.

Siri is one of the main selling points for Apple's latest Iphone 4S, which runs IOS 5, so allowing the older Iphone 4 to use it is an interesting prospect that might help with Iphone 4 sales but could stunt sales of the Iphone 4S, which sold four million units during its opening weekend.

At the same time, the extension of Siri to other Apple devices, including a potential debut on the Ipad, could help Apple in its struggle against the onrushing tide of Android devices, which, thanks to Apple's acquisition of Siri in 2010, won't have access to this particular software.

Apple employees can already use Siri on older devices by employing a special software version, which could be the update to IOS 5 that will offer the backwards compatibility. Should Apple fail to deliver, independent developers and hackers are working on getting Siri onto other devices.

Jailbreak Nation points out that Apple might abandon plans to roll out Siri to older devices after it concludes its tests, but there is still a good chance that users will be barking orders and questions into their aging Iphones, and even Ipads, some time in the near future. µ