voice command

Mobile voice search company Vlingo on Wednesday released Vlingo 3.0 for BlackBerry. Like Vlingo 2.0 before it, Vlingo 3.0 uses your voice commands to text other Vlingo BlackBerry users, search the Web, dial a number, create a note, update Facebook and Twitter, and open other applications. New to Vlingo 3.0 is a robotic voice that reads back your actions (like, "calling Home"), plus two premium features. One lets you text any contact (not just others using Vlingo's BlackBerry service), and the other creates, replies, and forwards e-mails based on your dictation. These two … Read more

Q: I am writing to ask you about what GPS device is the best for someone interested in traffic updates (preferably free), as well as Bluetooth capability. I also like the idea of Lane Assist because I fear missing exits. Also, is the voice response option really a practical one at this phase? Hope to hear from you soon. --Alex via e-mail

A: Hi Alex. I'll start with your last question first. Voice command functionality is just starting to show up in portable navigation devices, letting you enter addresses and perform some other tasks simply by speaking to the GPS. As with any new technology, I can understand your apprehension. Is it good enough? Is it actually useful? In other words, is it ready for prime time?

In the case of voice commands and GPS, it's not quite there yet. The idea behind it is good. The ability to enter addresses and perform certain functions with the sound of your voice would seemingly save you the time and trouble of going through various menus and tapping onscreen buttons to achieve the same goal.

Being able to do things like increase system volume and zoom in on maps via voice commands is particularly useful since you can keep your hands on the wheel instead of reaching over to fiddle around with your PND's touch screen.

However, in practice, the technology still needs some work. Voice command functionality is available on a handful of GPS models, such as the TomTom GO 930 and the Magellan Maestro 4250, but of the current offerings, there are only two models where I'd consider the voice command feature satisfactory: the Garmin Nuvi 880 and Navigon 7200T.

These two systems returned fairly accurate results when dictating addresses, and the Nuvi 800 had the bonus of offering 30 voice commands to perform other functions, including volume control and activating the hands-free speaker system. Unfortunately, they're also on the pricier side ($700 to $1,000 for the Garmin and $300 to $500 for the Navigon), and I wouldn't say the voice command functionality is so great that it's worth the extra expense. … Read more

The external aesthetic of the 2009 Honda CR-V mixes the Honda Civic's space-age design with the face and bulk of a bulldog. Although you may never catch us calling the CR-V attractive, its looks aren't offensive. More importantly, spend some time behind the wheel and you'll see that the CR-V manages to combine the sporty ride and handling of a small sedan with the utility of a small SUV while making few, if any, compromises.

In its EX-L with Nav trim level, the CR-V has an extra trick up its sleeve in the form of a DVD-based … Read more

Microsoft and Ford bought a lot of advertisements on NFL football broadcasts over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend. The companies are pushing Sync, which is the latest outgrowth of Microsoft's decade-long effort to provide software for use in automobiles.

In this case, Microsoft might actually succeed. Simplicity is the key: unlike past scenarios floated for the Windows Automotive platform, Sync isn't intended to help control your car (leading to the inevitable blue screen jokes) or connect to the Internet or serve as the back-end for an in-car control panel. Instead, it gives you voice command over Bluetooth-enabled phones and … Read more

At this rate, the smartest technology in the household won't be the computer or the entertainment center, but the massage chair. We've already seen versions with features ranging from multimedia equipment to lie-detecting sensors, after all, and now we have a chair that will cater to your kneads by voice command.

Luxurylaunches says the "ROBO Chair" will customize your position up to 170 degrees while working you over with a "3D roller mechanism," whatever that is. There are tons of massage chairs on the market, so why is this one being featured on a … Read more

This almost sounds like a gadget from Maxwell Smart's repertoire, but it seems to be legit. This mini-safe opens not from the usual cumbersome combination of numbers but from your own voice commands.

If you forget the secret word, the safe tells you to try again in four preset phrases. (It sounds like a bad sitcom already.)

On the other hand, you could set up a hidden camera and have fun watching others trying to guess the code. Booby-traps might be in order as well. Maybe this isn't such a bad idea after all.

As we first reported in December, Ford and Microsoft have been busy working in collaboration on in-car communications and entertainment, to be unveiled this week at CES. Well, here we are today at CES, and we can spill the beans on details of the system to be marketed under the name "Sync."

Initially to be made available in twelve 2008 models across the Ford family and across the entire 2009 lineup from FoMoCo, the service will be a fully-integrated, flash memory-based system that enables drivers to call hands-free and to control a range of digital audio via voice … Read more