One of the more annoying omissions in Siri’s Australian incarnation is that it doesn’t offer directions. Apparently that’s because reviews service Yelp, which Siri uses to help determine useful places to recommend, wasn’t available down under at launch. However, while Yelp Australia has launched today, that doesn’t necessarily mean Siri will get clued up for directions any time soon.
As I report over at Lifehacker, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman says he has no idea when, if ever, Siri will start incorporating Yelp data locally:
We have no idea what Apple has in store, just like everybody else. Certainly, we’re delighted to be working with Apple and seeing that relationship expand, but we have no idea.
More: Yelp Explained, And Why Giz Is A Fan
Of course, Apple being Apple, Stoppelman might know much more than he’s saying, and choose to stay quiet rather than risk the wrath of Cupertino. Regardless, the launch of Yelp locally is still pretty big news, assuming it can convince enough Aussies to offer up their thoughts on their local restaurant/dry cleaner/dentist/dog-washing service. [Lifehacker]