Will Siri be available on the iPhone 4? Or do we have to pay $200+?

Unfortunately, Siri is iPhone 4S–specific, and won’t work on earlier versions of the iPhone. But there are other tools that you can use to get Siri-like functionality on your existing iPhone.

For starters, Voice Control has been built into iPhones since the iPhone 3GS. Hold down the Home button for a few seconds, and speak simple commands like, “Call Cory,” or specify songs or artists to play from your music library. Voice Control can also answer simple queries like “What day is it?” or “What time is it?”

Vlingo works similar to Siri. Just tap on the Press & Speak button and speak your message.

However, that’s really where Voice Control’s functionality stops. To get more commands, we recommend Vlingo. This free app sends text messages, emails, finds locations, updates your social networks, performs web searches, and dials your phone.

For replicating the dictation capabilities of Siri, try Dragon Dictation (free in the App Store). Speak your message, and then send it via text, email, or paste it into any other application.

Using all three of these applications in conjunction will give your old phone some Siri-like capabilities.

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