Patent application suggests contextual voice commands for iPhone
A patent application filed by Apple in 2009 but just released to the public last week shows that they want to improve on the voice command abilities of the iPhone. As reported by AppleInsider, the patent looks as though it would make voice commands available in individual applications rather than system-wide, narrowing down the possibilities to a chosen few commands and drastically reducing the chances of the iPhone making a mistake.The patent also mentions allowing third-party apps to make use of voice commands, and that users could be audibly notified of what app they had selected along with a list of corresponding voice commands. This could come in really handy when driving the car or riding a bicycle, when one's eyes should be on the road and not staring at an iPhone screen.
Now I don't know about you, but I have never been able to reliably use the voice command feature on my iPhone. The few times I've tried to use it, I ended up calling an ex-girlfriend when I meant to call the current one, or I called my grandmother instead of my brother. So any improvements Apple could make to voice command would be more than welcome. I have used other voice command apps like Dragon Dictation and Apple's recent acquisition Siri, but a context-based voice command system would be a great addition to the iPhone's abilities.
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A patent application filed by Apple in 2009 but just released to the public last week shows that they want to improve on the voice command...
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I've found that Apple's voice solutions are all pretty half-assed solutions compared to what's currently on Android. This appears to be something that might be useful, but until they really provide a speech API developers and iPhone users are going to suffer from lack of integrated voice across the platform.
Have no idea what's taking Apple so long to do this. Its been the smart thing to do since the iPhone 3G.
Not owning an iPhone I couldn't say for sure, but I would imagine (at least with the iPhone 4) that voice recognition would be greatly improved by holding it like you're talking on the phone. That way the noise cancelling microphone would work properly. If you're hold it out in front of you like you're using the touchscreen, the noise cancellation is probably working against you.
It seems to me that a voice command system that requires touch input mostly defeats the purpose, doesn't it? The only advantage I can see is that it fits in with the iPhone's sandbox model. They probably don't want third party apps to register global voice commands, but they don't mind letting you click on an app to activate it.
Actually, if you hold the middle button of your iPhone headset for 2 seconds, it will throw the phone into voice mode. Also, if you have a bluetooth headset you can activate the voice commands easily.
I use the voice commands all the time, and if you are able to use the Mac voice recognition, you should be able to use the iPhone recognition.
I found out that if you bring the iPhone's microphone close to your mouth when using voice commands (just like when you're talking on the phone), it recognizes what you say much more accurately. If you aren't doing that, you should try it.
December 09 2010 at 9:01 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replythere are several apps using dictation technology, search in the appstore for "dictation"..you see cameras,clocks,calculators,sms messagers,etc!
December 09 2010 at 7:53 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI've never really had a problem with the Voice Control either. I find that I really don't use it because it doesn't have many features.
I can't wait for the day that I can send a text message or email by just using my voice.... it'd be nice for when you are on the road and NEED to send a message.
[2 cents]
It's worked really well for me as well. I'm estimating 95.672% of the time.
December 09 2010 at 7:30 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyLol, I feel ya. Where the heck did "93%" come from. Sounds like my aunt that says she will meet you at 5:37. But she really means 5:37. You better be there.
December 09 2010 at 8:55 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyYou're bad at annunciating and pronouncing your words then.
Voice command has always worked for me, whether it be telling my iPhone to play a specific playlist, set of songs by an artist, an album, or to call people or dial a specific number. It has not been 100% spot-on, but I'd say that it's been about 93% accurate.
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