Steve Jobs Almost Abandoned Siri, The Name Anyway
March 28, 2012
One of the most popular names in the technology world might have been shelved forever if Steve Jobs could have come up with something better. These new details on the late Apple CEO come from Dag Kittlaus, one of the co-founders of Siri, in news first published by Apple Insider.
When Apple purchased Norwegian-based Siri in 2010 for a rumored $200 million, Jobs was unhappy with the name of the voice recognition software that would eventually make its way to the iPhone 4S. In the end, however, the Siri name remained, but only because Jobs couldn't come up with a better alternative.
Says Kittlaus:
"I worked with a lady named Siri in Norway and wanted to name my daughter Siri and the domain was available. And also consumer companies need to focus on the fact that the name is easy to spell, easy to say."Kittlaus, who came to Apple following the acquisition, but left late last year, also explained what happened when he was “summoned” by Jobs to his Cupertino, California home soon after the original Siri app launched in the App Store.
"(Apple is) patient — they don't jump on anything until they feel they can go after something new, and he felt that we cracked it," Kittlaus explained. "So that was his attraction (to Siri)."By the way, Siri is Norwegian for “beautiful woman who leads you to victory." And indeed, Siri looks like a victor as a recent survey indicates that 87 percent of iPhone 4S owners use the service on a monthly basis. If not Siri, what should have Jobs called the voice service?
