S-Voice

On the road with Samsung's S-Voice Drive mode

Aside from sounding like it received its moniker from BMW's product department, the S-Voice Drive driving mode is an extension of the Samsung Galaxy S4's S-Voice voice-command app that adjusts the system in a few very important ways for drivers.

First, it allows the driver's interactions to be mostly hands-free. When in this mode, S-Voice Drive can be activated with a spoken command, rather than pushing a button. This allows drivers to keep both hands on the wheel. Simply say, "Hi, Galaxy" and the device springs to attention, ready to accept your voice commands.

Next, … Read more

Samsung's S Voice Drive app might not suck (hands-on)

During Samsung's questionable launch of its marquee Galaxy S4 smartphone, the handset-maker introduced S Voice Drive, a breakout version of its S Voice assistant designed specifically for use when on the road.

After the show, I got my hands on an untethered version of the Galaxy S4 and tested it out. Or at least, tested the driving app as much as I could while sitting in a plush, fold-down chair so deep inside a massive theater that I could barely register a GPS signal.

The interface looks smooth, a constellation of circular icons that represent all you can do … Read more

Now we're talking: Amazon buys text-to-speech provider Ivona

Amazon has acquired text-to-speech technology provider Ivona Software for an undisclosed amount, broadening its in-house capabilities as the Internet retailer continues to push its tablet business.

The two companies have collaborated in the past, Amazon noted, with Ivona's technology powering the text-to-speech, voice guide, and explore-by-touch features on Kindle Fire tablets.

In addition, Poland-based Ivona delivers text-to-speech products and services to thousands of developers, businesses, and customers around the world. It offers voice and language portfolios with 44 voices in 17 languages, and it's developing even more.

Amazon has been expanding its tablet business to take on companies … Read more

Apple's Siri trounces Samsung's S Voice (hands-on)

I've updated this hands-on to reflect Siri's new tricks in iOS6; it originally posted June 21, 2012 comparing S Voice on the Galaxy S3 -- which is still current -- to Siri on iOS 5. If you're wondering, tomorrow I'll be comparing the updated Siri to Google Voice Actions.

Voice assistants like Siri, S Voice, Google Actions, and Microsoft's TellMe aren't new, but they are evolving into more mainstream features that can expedite results. S Voice, which launched this summer on the Samsung Galaxy S3, is Samsung's answer to Siri. That also makes … Read more

Siri for iOS 6 versus Samsung Galaxy S III's S-Voice

You'll find a much more in-depth hands-on comparison of Siri versus S Voice here.

The Samsung Galaxy S III isn't quite out yet in the U.S., but already, its Siri-like voice assistant -- known as S-Voice -- has just been thrown into the deep, dark shadow of Apple's forthcoming Siri update.

In iOS 6, the next-generation of Siri will add a whole new bag of tricks, including the capability to launch apps, perform voice-activated Facebook and Twitter updates, and pull in sports scores and movie times. It will also make reservations through OpenTable and play you … Read more

Developer coaxes Siri to raise, lower his temperature

The prospect of asking Apple's Siri to control items besides your iPhone is starting to look a whole lot more real.

A developer known only as Pete, or @plamoni on Twitter, has created a special proxy server through which he can issue voice commands to the iPhone 4S voice assistant, who can then perform tasks outside of the iPhone. The first target: his thermostat.

Tapping into a hack set up last week by developer Applidium that lets people add more functionality to Siri, Pete managed to create a plugin to control a Wi-Fi thermostat by voice. In the video … Read more

Siri now flirting with older iPhones--for real

Siri's exclusivity on the iPhone 4S may not be long for this world. At least unofficially.

Efforts to get the new software feature working on older Apple devices, including the iPhone 4 and iPod Touch, seem to have pushed past the biggest hurdle: slipping by Apple's security.

Over the weekend, Apple tracking blog 9to5mac posted a video of the software feature working smoothly on an iPhone 4, courtesy of Irish iPhone hacker Steve Troughton-Smith. That follows a demonstration from earlier this month where Troughton-Smith showed the software installed, but unable to run queries on an iPhone 4.

In an interview over the weekend, Troughton-Smith told 9to5mac that the working version of the hack runs on multiple devices, including Apple's fourth-generation iPod Touch. The feat was accomplished using "files from an iPhone 4S," that he said "aren't ours to distribute," alongside "a validation token from the iPhone 4S that has to be pulled live from a jailbroken iPhone 4S."

In other words, there are some things going on behind the scenes that Apple won't like, and could very well move to block if a working hack takes off, but the key takeaway is that there are seemingly no hardware hurdles standing in the way.… Read more