Your Wishes Are My Command Says Treo
Before buying my first Treo smartphone a few years ago I had an old Nokia phone with a convenient 10 number ‘voice dial’ functionality which I had come to regard as rather useful.
For a very long time there were no voice dial applications for our Treo whatsoever and then the early ones that surfaced at around this time last year were so high on the hype and poor on the delivery that I had pretty much given up on this category altogether.
However, a short while ago a couple of new voice dial programs began to appear on my radar and I decided to test them even though I was pretty much ready to be disappointed. I first installed but quickly dismissed a program called VoiceDialIt which had me begging for mercy at its overly complex setup. Not expecting much better I installed VoiceCall next and quite shockingly found… one of the most exciting applications that I have come across in a very long time.
VoiceCall ($16.95) is an extremely simple yet powerful and useful application which allows you not only to voice-dial any preset contacts but also voice-launch any application and voice-command a number of pre-defined system tools. Right now all of this may sound like complete gibberish so let me take you through the actual setup for each of these to demonstrate how brilliantly this works.
The opening screen of VoiceCall (below left) shows you all the voice commands that have already been programmed – in this case I’ve already set three up. Clicking the ‘New’ button at the bottom left corner will open the New Voice Command window (below right) with a pull-down menu from which you can select to create a Launch Application, System Command or Voice Dialer.
In this case, I have selected to create a Launch Application command for my 4cast weather program which appears within a pull-down list (below left) of all the applications installed on my Treo. Next I click the ‘Record’ button and simply speak the word ‘Weather’ out loud while holding the Treo to my ear or close in front of me. I can quickly play back my recording and even test it for recognition accuracy (after a few trial and errors for all my commands I have now been able to achieve over 95% accuracy).
In order to test VoiceCall in a live environment you’ll first have to set a few preferences (below right) by pressing the ‘Prefs’ button on the home screen where you’ll want to a) tick Enable VoiceCall; b) select your preferred ‘Quick Start Button’ which will be used to launch VoiceCall (I used the Volume Up key which is very practical) and c) move the slider for Matching Sensitivity slightly away from the center towards LAX (which I found to work best) then hit ‘Save’ and exit VoiceCall.
If you’ve selected the same Quick Start Button as me then simply turn your Treo on and press the Volume Up side button (which will launch VoiceCall’s ‘Listening’ and ‘Recording’ on your screen) then speak your preset voice command (simply ‘Weather’ in my case). Next you will briefly see a ‘Measuring’ and ‘Confidence’ pop over like the ones below followed by an automatic launch of your chosen program (in my case 4cast).
Once you’ve understood this basic Voice Command setup to launch an application you’ll be ready to add as many additional ones as you want – a small tip that I’ve found useful to increase recognition accuracy is that it’s best to use two word commands such as ‘Open Weather’ as opposed to just ‘Weather’. In the same vein you’ll want to create Voice Dialer commands such as ‘Call Andrew’ instead of just ‘Andrew’ for example.
There are also a couple of unique and useful settings in both the System Command and Voice Dialer setup that I’d like to go over briefly below.
The System Command option (right) is pre-programmed with 37 system applications for both the Treo 600 and Treo 650.
Among my favourites are ‘Take Picture’ which has been absolutely hilarious to see in action as I point the Treo in front of my face then simply say the words ‘Take Picture’ and voila the Camera app loads and snaps a picture in under 5 seconds – absolutely priceless.
Additionally, there are some equally useful ones such as: Find, Prefs [Connection, Date & Time, Formats, Keyguard, Network, Sounds], Phone Redial, Mail [New & Fetch for Snapper, TreoMail, VistoMail and VersaMail] and New [Contact, Memo, SMS, ToDo, Meeting].
The Phone Dialer option (right) is fully integrated with your Contacts so that you can easily add a number. You can also write you own description or leave it automatically filled in from the Contacts.
Additionally, you can select to always have this voice dial in speaker mode and finally you can add some Extra Digits which has proven a godsend for me as I use a calling card type service for my international calls which I can now much more easily pre-program here instead of having to memorize them or write them down before dialing – it makes me think how often I wish that I could use my Treo on my home or office lines…
Overall there’s little doubt that I have found VoiceCall to be not only extremely good value, well designed, useful and simple to setup but it also triggered an epiphany as I first started playing around with it – I am now absolutely convinced that the future of mobile computing will be closely tied to advances in voice recognition technology and I would almost guarantee that in a couple of years time we’ll all be talking to our Treo… VoiceCall is certainly a very good start.
Treonauts love to get their wishes granted… 
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c71a953ef00d834952dac69e2
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Your Wishes Are My Command Says Treo:
Comments
Gabriel - I gave up on Voice Launcher a long time ago so I guess that VoiceCall compares rather favourably... ;-)
Cheers, A.
Can you use with bluetooth enabled headset(s)? As I recall, one of perceived drawbacks of earlier solutions was inability to use with headset(s) - wired or not?
Howard - the Treo 650 unfortunately does not allow for this functionality via a Bluetooth headset.
However, you can use a corded headset - http://shop.treonauts.com/content/accessories/11-36.htm - or hybrid headset - http://shop.treonauts.com/content/accessories/11-29.htm - with VoiceCall.
Cheers, A.
I was anxious to try voice call after the great review. I tried it and it performs exactly the same as voice-it. Exactly! The interface even looks the same, the playback is just as bad, as is the voice recognition.
John - when you mention Voice-It you mean VoiceDialIt right? If yes then I disagree as I found the ease of use of VoiceCall to be _far_ superior. Additionally, as I mention in my post, my experience has been a 95% recognition accuracy with VoiceCall as well. I really _did_ want to break the system and _not_ make it work but it delivered nonetheless.
I'm sorry that we seem to be getting different results.
Cheers, A.
Slightly off-topic, but what do you use to get the Palm screen captures?
I tried this app, and while I really like it, whenever I run Pocket Tunes Deluxe, VoiceCall would constantly run itself without any prompt from me. Anyone else confirm this?
There is no mention of VoiceSignal's "Voice Dial" which is endorsed by Palm. I have had good results with this and it does not need to be set-up with voice commands as it already knows how to pronounce the names in your address book! I have had about 95% accuracy with it after some trial and error.
Voice Dialer works via Bluetooth, so the excuse we keep hearing about voice dialing not working via Bluetooth in the Treo 650 is just wrong. What they mean to say is they haven't figured out how to do it absent Palm's failure to implement the API properly.
Between fiddling with tangled wires, and the inevitable breakage of the cheap retractors and wire connections used in every wired headset I ever tried, wired headsets are, IMO, more trouble than they're worth. So even if Voicecall manages to best Voice Dialer's functionality, it is worthless to me.
I tried this app based on your article and really like it. I registered the next day.
It does not work well in noisy environments.
I found that the different commands can not have a common begining. For example ("Call Mom" and "Call Mom Mobile" will just call mom at the first number.
I wish that I could do a Phone Lock with a voice command, but I have not figured out how.
Thanks for all the advise. I follow most of it.
Voice dial with Bluetooth headset? Palm says it's not possible, but here's a nice little workaround:
If you have Sprint, you can subscribe to their Voice Command service. You can upload/import your contacts into it and then just dial "*" to dial by voice. Then, call "*" or use your headset to redial if "*" was your last call, and you can instantly use voice dial via a BT headset.
Not brilliant, but useful.
In Response to Eric's claim of Bluetooth voice dialing -
The above link has Palm's official statement regarding bluetooth functionality with voice dialing. A work around that is possible however is the wired bluetooth headset such as the Cardo Scala. http://shop.treonauts.com/content/accessories/11-31--190.htm
It is ugly and bulky, but you'll get your voice functionality over bluetooth.
Tom - yes, I can confirm your problem, but with Voice Dial and pocket tunes. It also happens with Real Audio player, and (oddly enough) only happens when I have a tape adapter plugged into the headset port.
Its an odd combination, but reliably causes problems every time. I haven't found anyone else with the same problem yet via google - let us know if you find a solution. For now, I've uninstalled voice dial due to this problem.
Tom - More research came up with a rather unsatisfactory answer:
To quote Palm, "We recommend against using a third-party FM transmitter with your Treo 650 smartphone if you also use the Treo Voice Dialing application. You can use one or the other without any difficulty but not both at the same time."
Although in the article earlier it says that it doesn't matter what application you're in, so this is Palm saying you can't even *install* voice dial if you ever use fm transmitters or tape adapters with your palm. Sucky.
Does anyone have problems with voice call causing constant resets of the web on the treo650?
Just (excitedly) installed the trial version, and I encountered a major shortfall: it does not support the KeySuite contact manager (confirmed in the Voice Signal FAQ).
As a result, must manually enter and record a command for any contact you want to voice-dial--a major effort.
No indication of support for 3rd party databases when the full VSuite 2.0 version is out for the Treo 650 (FAQ says that most 2.0 features are already in the Treo version 1.1.0.1).
Couple this with FM-transmitter and blue-tooth incompatibility, and skimpy support site, and my excitement has quickly dimmed...though it did launch my Audible player nicely (*after* I recorded the launch command)!
I notice the last post is 01/06. Is there a newer version available now?
voice launcher will not support you if you loose your purchase receipt. you can give them your code, serial #. previous e mails, but tey WILL NOT support you. you'll get a runaround without a reference #.
Does this mean that if you have a BT headset, that you have to voice-dial the treo, then turn on the headset? I am sitting on the fence in looking at the Treo 700p, 700w, and the XV6700, and I need to just buy one. But voice dialing was important.
I urge anyone who wants voice dialing over bluetooth to annoy both Palm and Voice Signal to implement this functionality and to remind them that it ads safety and is thus a potential liablility issue.
email: [email protected] ; [email protected]
Palm tech support in and email dated 02/02/07 says:
“Palm® did not manufacture the software for voice dialing. It is best for you to contact the software developer of this product to inquire about any future developments in including this feature”
Voice Dial tech support in and email dated 02/06/07 says:
“Voice Dial won't work in conjunction with the Treo phone UNTIL Palm fixes its software. You might need to contact Palm and find out about the timeframe.”
typical run-around isn't it?
from a asafety standpoint what good is voice dialing iff it does not support the most common headsets: bluetooth
The comments to this entry are closed.
