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."

Comments

Please don'd die

[pirot]

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.

Yay

[Anonymous Coward]

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!

Part of the bluetooth voice dialing

[stevew]

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..

Be sure to uninstall Chrome to Phone beta first

[deep9x]

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?"

The next Android ad

[martin-boundary]

User: "Tea. Earl Grey. Black"

Android Phone: "Here I am, brain the size of a planet..." *Sigh*

Hold on, maybe that's the new iPhone ad...

'listen to Ace of Base'

[Anonymous Coward]

Will trigger a pop-up on you calendar that says - in effect - "It is no longer 1996."

Re:Voice control

[timeOday]

How much voice control? "Find nearest gas station" sounds like a handy thing to do, without trying to peck away at a (virtual) keyboard while driving. (We'll assume the driver is using a dash mount). Does the iPhone do this? Maybe it does, I wouldn't know.

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.

Re:Does this run locally or on Google's servers?

[joh]

It needs the 3g, turns the voice into some hash then does a lookup.

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.

Re:apple

[Luckyo]

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.

Settings / About phone / Battery use

[Namarrgon]

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.