iPhone News Updated

Is Apple’s Siri anti-abortion?

Siri, the voice-activated assistant on the new iPhone 4S, is apparently filtering out certain results, including the location of nearby abortion clinics.

In October, Apple took the wraps off its latest smartphone, the iPhone 4S. The 4S had plenty of bells and whistles, including an A5 processor, an 8-megapixel camera, and a voice-operated personal assistant app called Siri. Siri is designed to help users remember to take out the recycling, or record their favorite television show. It’s also designed to answer queries: About where to find the best pizza, the best dish of Pad Thai, the best local roller coaster.

Just don’t ask Siri to help you find the nearest abortion clinic. Over at RawStory.com, Megan Carpentier reports that Siri, in many cases, actually seems to be directing users to crisis pregnancy centers. Generally speaking, crisis pregnancy centers, or CPCs, exist to offer women alternatives to abortion. In other words, use Siri to look for an abortion clinic, and you’ll end up at a place designed to talk you out of having an abortion.

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New iPhone Faces Battery Complaints

The introduction of a new iPhone wouldn’t be complete without at least one baffling technical problem ticking off customers. The iPhone 4S hasn’t disappointed in that regard.

The discussions forums on Apple’s Web site are ablaze with comments from iPhone 4S customers about the poor battery life of the new Apple phone. Many of the people complaining say the battery on the iPhone 4S seems to drain quickly even when they’re not using the device much and even after they have shut down some of the power-hungry features that can affect battery performance.

“My iPhone 4s battery life is terrible,” one person on the forums posted. “I’m always experiencing a 10-15% drop per hour. I unplugged my phone this morning at 8:20 and it’s now 12:15 and my battery is on 53%. I have almost everything turned off that you possibly can.”

For now, Apple isn’t saying anything about the issue – a spokeswoman didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment – in what has become a typical pattern of silence for the company after customers begin complaining about a technical problem with a new iPhone. Often Apple waits to speak out on issues like this after several days of investigating the matter.

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