Siri, the sultry-voiced do-it-all software assistant for the iPhone 4S, might be responsible for a flood of traffic hitting wireless networks.
That could pose problems for consumers constrained by monthly data limits and wireless carriers trying to prevent dropped calls and sluggish service under the weight of smartphones and tablets.
Apple's latest iPhone 4S is using three times as much data as the previous version, according to a study by networking software firm Arieso. Users of other devices such as the HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy are also accessing the Internet more often to watch videos, browse sites and stream music.
But the iPhone 4S, whose biggest improvement was the introduction of voice-command service Siri, is turning consumers into extreme Internet users, according to Arieso. And Siri's effect highlights the potential conflict between carriers, which want to limit customers' access to their increasingly burdened networks, and Silicon Valley innovators, who want to feed new products to the Web-consuming public.
"While there is no question that hungry users are attracted to the iPhone 4S, the device appears to unleash data consumption behaviors that have no precedent," Arieso said in a report about smartphone data consumption released Friday.
WASHINGTON POST
