Tag: Google Android

Google Announces Voice Actions app for Android Phones

by BrothaTech

How about this for mobile productivity – The ability to send voice commands to your Android mobile device to handle most, if not all, of your everyday mobile device tasks.

Think your mobile tasks you execute by flipping through menus and widgets, typing text, etc. Previous voice commands have been lackluster in their ability to transfer your voice prompts into actual output that your device recognizes. But leave it to Google to attempt to create an app that conquers the voice command void.

With the new (and free) Voice Actions for Android app Google announced yesterday, users can now execute a myriad of tasks via voice commands similar to Google Search and Map voice command function. I currently use the voice search function for my Google maps app on my BlackBerry and it works pretty well. So I can only imagine the quality and functionality Google has planned for other mobile device functions. Below is a list of the type of functions (and how you execute them) you can do with the new Voice Actions app:

– send text to [contact] [message]
– listen to [artist/song/album]
– call [business]
– call [contact]
– send email to [contact] [message]
– go to [website]
– note to self [note]
– navigate to [location/business name]
– directions to [location/business name]
– map of [location]

How it works is simple – Say “Listen to Stevie Wonder” (one guess as to who my fav. artist is) and the phone will pull up all your music apps to select and start playing Stevie. As you can see, the voice prompt isn’t all that complicated to learn, so it’s up to the app to recognize your voice prompt and translate that into a device function, which like I stated, works pretty well already with the Google search and maps voice command feature.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGbYVvU0Z5s&feature=player_embedded

Sounds pretty cool right? Only one catch, the Voice Actions app only works with Android 2.2 (Froyo), which is only available on the original Motorola Droid, Droid 2 (that went on Sale yesterday), and the HTC Evo…oh and the Nexus One as well.

So if you plan on getting an Android phone, and like the ability to execute tasks via voice prompt, make sure to get a phone with “Froyo” on it (or wait for the download that is sure to come on some of the other Android phones at a later date) and download Voice Actions for Android.

HTC Aria smartphone with Android is a sharp tool for small business!

by Mario Armstrong
HTC Aria phone on AT&T

For the past few weeks I’ve been testing out the new HTC Aria. I was more anxious than the LeBron James NBA decision to get my grimy hands on the phone! Reason for my excitement? I really like the Android mobile operating system and because the search still continues for the phone that can have that “iPhone” impact.

I gotta tell ya, I’m REALLY loving the HTC Aria & as of right now it is a smartphone that gives a beautiful user-experience and some awesome features. To me it’s a great alternative to the iPhone and shows the most competition to the iPhone. The HTC Aria is a serious competitor and brings some great diversity to the smartphone arena. Its 4 inches long, which is a tad smaller than the iPhone and is lightweight at 4 ounces. I love that it has both, a touch screen and a joystick which gives you more options to navigate the phone. The screen is 3.2 inches and is very crisp with color! The camera on the HTC Aria enables you to shoot video or 5-megapixel stills-one bonus I like about the camera is that you can touch anywhere on the screen to take the photo, most phones force you to click a specific button or touch a very specific area on the phone screen to take the photo. The HTC Aria also uses an integrated GPS, a digital compass, light sensor and has a microSD card slot for memory storage.

One of the features of the HTC Aria that I also like is called “Scenes” this gives you the ability to have your phone customized with certain on-screen apps and dashboard programs called widgets depending on your selection. I have a scene for travelling which changes my desktop and other screens to be customized with all my needed travel apps etc… OR I can change it to my “Work” scene and all the screens and apps will chnage to reflect my productivity and business-related apps. This ability to have quick-changing personalization is awesome! The phone costs $129.99 on a two-year contract (after $100 mail-in rebate, of course).

Here’s my HTC Aria video overview, take a peek:

Get more scoop and details on the HTC Aria phone!