Siri Can’t Find Santa Claus, But Android Can

Here’s irony. Apple has been airing a nice TV ad showing Santa being helped on his Christmas Eve journey with the use of Siri. But while Siri can locate where Santa Claus needs to go, it can’t help you find Santa.

I noticed this when doing my annual round-up of Santa tracking tools. For fun, I tested asking “Where’s Santa” by voice to both my iPhone 4S and my Droid Charge running Android 2.3:

That’s Siri on the left, saying “I don’t know who ‘Santa’ is.”

On the right, Android interpreted my search as a request to find Santa on a map which, because of the way Google Maps For Mobile is configured to work right now, brings me to his current location as reported by NORAD Santa.

Of course, if you go to Google Maps on the iPhone and search for “santa” by typing that in, you’ll get Santa’s location just like on Android.

Still, the Apple ad is pretty sweet. Here it is:

[youtube width=”560″ height=”315″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qcmCUsw4EQ[/youtube]

As for tracking Santa, see all the various ways to do so in our comprehensive post, Where’s Santa Claus? The 2011 Santa Tracker List, From NORAD To Your Phone!

And Merry Christmas from those of us here at Marketing Land!

Related Entries

• Google’s Let It Snow Easter Egg
• Google Adds Christmas & Hanukkah Decorations To Search Results
• Google’s 2011 Happy Holidays Logo: Dancing Christmas Lights & Jingle Bells
• Where’s Santa Claus? The 2011 Santa Tracker List, From NORAD To Your Phone!

About The Author

Danny Sullivan

Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, MarTech Today and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.