Apple’s Siri Voice-Recognition App Is the ‘Butt’ of Jokes in Japan
During Tuesday's 'Let's Talk iPhone' presentation, Apple wowed the audience with a demonstration of the Siri voice-recognition technology, which can understand natural human language rather than just simple commands.
Even more wowed? Japanese audiences. Seems the word "siri" is dangerously close to "shiri," which is Japanese slang for one's, shall we say, backside.
So when Japanese iPhone users took to Google Japan to check out Siri, the intuitive search engine asked if they were really looking for "shiri." Anyone who absentmindedly kept clicking saw images that were not at all what they were originally looking for.
Japan is a major iPhone market, so it's rather surprising Apple didn't forsee the unfortunate connection between Siri and "shiri." But fans of low-brow humor are probably glad they didn't.
[via MSN Money]