August 12, 2010, 4:26 pm Android Beefs Up Hands-Free Commands By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER NY Times
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/android-beefs-up-hands-free-commands/?pagemode=print Android cellphone screens could soon have fewer finger smudges. On Thursday, Google introduced a bunch of new features for the latest versions of Android phones that eliminate the need for typing — and compete with Apple’s voice-command app, Siri. With Voice Actions, a new Android app, people can verbally tell their phones to call, e-mail or text a contact, listen to music, set the alarm, go to a Web site, view directions or a map, or e-mail a note to themselves. The previous ways to look up or send information on a phone — scrolling through apps and typing in messages — “are all fine ways of doing it, but they’re not particularly fast or efficient,” said Hugo Barra, a product management director at Google who showed a group of reporters the new apps in San Francisco on Thursday. Talking to a phone is often easier, he said. Think about running to your car holding bags and a baby and sending a text message to tell the person you’re meeting that you will be late. Typing it would take two hands and a few minutes. With Voice Actions, you can say “Send text to Jane. ‘I am running 10 minutes late, see you soon.’” Say “Listen to the Decemberists” and the phone will show you a list of your music apps to choose from and begin playing the music. Say “Note to self” and you will receive an e-mail message from yourself. Many Android phone owners will not be able to use Voice Actions, because it is only available on Android’s latest version, Android 2.2. It is free in the Android Market and is preloaded on Droid 2 phones, which Verizon began selling Thursday. IPhone owners missing out on Voice Actions need not fret. Voice Actions could become a competitor to the voice commands app Siri, which Apple acquired in April. It does even more complicated searches than Voice Actions, like booking a table for two at the restaurant down the street next weekend. At the time of the acquisition, Charles S. Golvin, an analyst with Forrester, said: “This is as much about keeping this good technology away from Google as it is about wanting it for themselves.” Another new app, Chrome to Phone, lets people using the Chrome browser from Google send the article or video they are reading or viewing on their computer to their phone, so they can finish it during their commute, or view walking directions on their phone once they leave their desk. If you look up a phone number online, you can automatically send it to your phone to be dialed, eliminating the need to tap in the phone number. “The device is connected to the cloud, and the desktop is connected to the cloud,” said Dave Burke, the Google engineering manager who built Chrome to Phone during the 20 percent of time that Google gives employees to work on new projects. “Why do we need to involve biology when it can be pure physics?” Chrome to Phone can be downloaded as an extension in the browser or as an app on the phone. Since it is open source, outside developers are already working on versions for Firefox, Mr. Burke said, though Firefox to Phone just does not have the same ring to it. -- ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 Mail: antunes at uh dot edu _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
