Frank M. Fazio is dragging Apple into court over false advertising

Mar 13, 2012 15:15 GMT  ·  By

An iPhone user in New York is suing Apple claiming that the Cupertino giant has falsely advertised the iPhone 4S with its flagship feature, Siri.

The personal assistant app is a beta, and Apple specifically stated this before the iPhone 4S went on sale.

However, the company’s promotional materials, including the TV ads, have been misleading to Frank M. Fazio, who has chosen Robbins Geller to represent him in court, according to the WSJ's Law blog.

Fazio’s suit alleges that, “[I]n many of Apple's television advertisements, individuals are shown using Siri to make appointments, find restaurants, and even learn the guitar chords to classic rock songs or how to tie a tie.

“In the commercials, all of these tasks are done with ease with the assistance of the iPhone 4S's Siri feature, a represented functionality contrary to the actual operating results and performance of Siri.”

The suit further says that, “Siri either did not understand what Plaintiff was asking, or, after a very long wait time, responded with the wrong answer.”

To be noted that this is not uncommon behavior for the assistant application. For example, some users may have a poor network connection, or they may be in an area where their signal is weak.

And let’s not forget that Siri is, indeed, a work-in-progress, as Apple itself clarified.

So it’s not surprising that some people will get annoyed when multiple such factors come into play to thwart Siri’s ability to return relevant answers.

Siri is an exclusive feature of the iPhone 4S and has been heavily marketed by Apple to move units.

Apple’s TV spots do make it seem as if Siri is an impeccable service. Granted, if a customer gets sold on the TV ad and goes out to buy the iPhone 4S without noticing the “beta” signs, that customer may be entitled to some type of compensation.