Siri Hit With Extended Outage

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Normally when we hear about an outage, we’re thinking about either power or Netflix. But today a rather substantial shock landed when Siri users began reporting that they couldn’t actually connect to the network, rendering Siri at least temporarily useless.

The outage has been going on for most of the day, according to reports, and in some quarters is still currently going on. Apple, meanwhile, is staying relatively mum about the outage and won’t even confirm there is one, let alone whether the problem is in the networks or this is another bug in the system as far as the iPhone 4S models go, which have been having some issues recently regarding a number of bugs ranging from a yellowing in the display to battery life problems to an unexpected echo in the voice calling. Add to this the fact that this isn’t the first outage–reportedly, the first was just after the service was released–and the fact that no one knows just when service will be restored yet paints an unpleasant picture for Apple. Basic fixes like turning off and reactivating the wi-fi reportedly don’t work here, adding to the frustration.

Of course, most Siri users will likely take it all in stride, dismissing the occasional outage as simply the cost of doing business with a relatively new technology (and a beta one at that!), but no doubt it’s just as likely got some folks wondering whether maybe Apple’s pushing the envelope a little too hard as regards to release schedules on its devices. And considering the amount of promotion Apple’s put behind Siri, it certainly doesn’t help matters to have its reliability called into question. Between that and the various issues the iPhone 4S itself has emerging, that really doesn’t help Apple’s entire operation.

But what about you guys? Anyone out there having troubles with Siri? Do you think maybe Apple’s working a release schedule a little too hard at the expense of allowing more bugs through?  Or are you one of those folks just grinning and bearing the Siri outage as the price of progress? No matter what you think, or what your experience is, we want to hear about it in the comments section below!