Google Chrome 25 adds voice recognition support

Chrome users can now tell their browser what to do.

Launched yesterday, Chrome version 25 includes support for voice recognition. This means developers can integrate the feature into their Web apps.

As one example offered in a Google demo, you can create an e-mail via your voice directly within Chrome 25. Simply click on the microphone icon and start talking. You'll see your words appear in a text box. Click the mic icon again when you're finished.

I tried out the feature and was able to dictate an e-mail message that then appeared in Microsoft Outlook. The accuracy level was fairly high, with few mistakes. The only problem with this specific demo is that there's no way to correct mistakes. But the demo at least shows the promise of voice recognition.

More developers will need to support voice recognition for the feature to gain any traction. But it can certainly play a useful role in specific types of applications.

The latest release of Chrome also disables the silent installation of extensions. Designed as a security measure, this feature ensures that any extension requires your approval before it can be installed.

Chrome 25 offers other enhancements, notably stability and memory fixes. The release addresses 22 security holes.

Chrome users can upgrade directly to version 25 by selecting the About Google Chrome option in the browser's main menu. New users can download the full version from Google's Chrome Web site.

(Via The Next Web)