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Google Introduces New Android Features
adeelarshad82 writes "Google introduced the next generation of interaction with its Android operating system by introducing a set of new features. The most prominent one is the voice-driven actions. Google executives outlined 12 new 'Voice Actions for Android,' including phone calls, reminder e-mails, direction search, and music search. The app is called 'Voice Search,' requires Android 2.2, and is available in the Android Market now. Voice actions can be triggered by clicking the 'microphone' icon on the screen. Saying 'call John Smith at home' will trigger the contacts list and voice dialer, 'find art museums in Amsterdam' would launch a Google Maps application, and 'listen to Ace of Base' will search for music from the artist on Pandora, Last.fm, or another music application. Another improvement worth a mention is 'Chrome to Phone,' allows users to click on a new 'mobile phone' icon to send links, YouTube videos, even directions, to the phone. So far, the features are exclusive to Android phones and US English, although the capabilities will be moved to other languages and other operating systems (including the iPhone) in the future."
Add reader CWmike: "JR Raphael takes a first look at Voice Actions for Android, and tells you how to get voice control even if you are not on Froyo."
My most common command to my Google Nexus phone is: "Please (beeeeep) battery, do not die. It's been just 3 hours since I fully charged you." I hope that the next generation of Android will teach the phone to obey.
I wonder if this will work as good as my Google Voice recognition... recent message: "Not long way because I thought they were. What slobs. I know that there is You know one before the other but sorry about the got a computer Yeah, and Over. For for."
Can't wait to see these voice actions in action!
This feature is really part of the upgrade to the bluetooth stack me thinks. Up until now, there was no way to do voice dialing with Android phones. There was a problem in the bluetooth stack (as explained by a little birdie who lives at google to me some months ago.) Android 2.2 can now perform this action even though my old Samsung phone has had the feature for 2 years Plus..
Have you compiled your kernel today??
If you had it previously installed, it'll silently just error out when you try to install the Marketplace version. Hopefully this comment will save 10 minutes of going "WTF?"
Android Phone: "Here I am, brain the size of a planet..." *Sigh*
Hold on, maybe that's the new iPhone ad...
Will trigger a pop-up on you calendar that says - in effect - "It is no longer 1996."
Of course, it all hinges on how well it actually works. My Garmin 60 CS has the ability to search for "points of interest" (including gas stations). But searching is so clunky and inaccurate - especially compared to what we're now used to with google maps - you only use it when you really must.
While Google tends to be better than others at prioritizing fixes vs enhancements, they seem to not be doing as well here.
This achievement is certainly commendable, and congrats to Google on making an advanced voice command platform. But come on, I still can't set SMS or email reminders on my Google Calendar in the Calendar app! Or on the Google Calendar mobile site, for that matter!
Sorry for picking on Calendar, but that's one thing that bugs me, because I use it all the time and have to either get on a computer or fumble around on the desktop site on my phone if I want to set my reminders.
Oh yeah, battery life would be nice, too.
No, there is no "-1 I'LL NEVER ADMIT BEING WRONG!!!" mod.
It's much, much more powerful than what you see in the /. summary, and more powerful than what iPhone has. Yes, part of the update is overdue, but they went above and beyond.
Or, if you are like most of the people I've seen with an iphone you could ask any of the twenty people sat near you. They'll probably tell you who it is too.
Once I was a four stone apology. Now I am two separate gorillas.
The droid operating system has had voice commands for a long time now, my Droid 1 came with them back in December when I bought it. It's even been featured in commercials before. What this is isn't so much as a new program as it is a polished expansion of what was already there. They added more commands and those voice commands can now interact with other apps more easily. The voice recognition also seems improved, but I could be wrong since it was never a feature I used very much. The widget was also updated slightly. Really this is just one of many updates that have come with the release of 2.2 and the Droid 2.
So Google sees what you're saying and stores it on their servers hanging off your Google account? The same with every page or map you send from Chrome to your phone? Yeah, this is the same then as with everything Google does here.
1) Throw people a nice sweet bait
2) Get their personal data
3) Profit!
I will start to consider Android as soon as Google starts to transfer and store all personal data encrypted, with no way to read it or to link it up with other personal data of mine, except those data points I want to have linked up. Right, and give me a way to browse ALL data that gets stored off my phone at Google and a way to delete it if I want to. This would be the very least that should be required from them.
It's very long overdue considering that voice commands have been in the most basic, cheap ass nokia feature phones for years, not to even mention smartphone line.
I'm quite surprised no one complained about lack of those before. I can't even imagine not being able to tell my phone to call someone on my contact list when it's in my pocket and bluetooth earpiece is in its place. It just seems so... last millenium.
Let me know when the iPhone gets reception.
dnuof eruc rof aixelsid
Go to Settings / About phone / Battery use, and it'll show you exactly what's chewing up all your battery life.
One of Android's best features.
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
There can't be any harm in requiring Google to adhere to some clear rules (like letting you browse all the data they have from you, giving you full control over deletions, offer complete export options with common data formats and so on).
Most of the data Google has on you that is indexed by your account is already available on the Google dashboard:
https://www.google.com/dashboard/
Some products are not yet supported (listed at the bottom). The Google Data Liberation Front is working toward making it complete:
http://www.dataliberation.org/
They are also working on safe methods of deletion (note that making this too easy allows account hijackers to hold data for ransom).
Note that there are also google ad preferences which allow you to see and edit what the Google ad system thinks about you:
http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/