VoiceControl
Latest
Xbox 360's ESPN3 app updated with more voice control, split screen and more
The PlayStation 3 may have NFL Sunday Ticket but the Xbox 360 still has exclusive access to ESPN3's slate of games, shows and replays, and today the app was updated with a new look and a few new features. Viewers can designate their favorite sports and teams to bring related content right to the front, while a new mini-guide gives easy access to other streams while you watch. If you're trying to keep track of more than one game there's also support for split screen viewing (with independent control of each stream) and upgraded voice control for Kinect owners. Other tweaks include a college football scoreboard to keep track of all the games at once, reminders, live alerts on score changes and the addition of ESPN's BottomLine. Unchanged is the restriction that you need to subscribe to a TV provider that includes ESPN3 in its package, but if you do have the service (and shell out for XBL, of course) it should be available the next time you load up your console. Check out the YouTube videos embedded above and after the break along with a press release for a runthrough of some of the new features.
Amulet shows off Kinect voice control for Windows Media Center (video)
The Amulet Devices team has been pushing voice control for Windows Media Center through its remote accessory, but now it's dived into the pool of Kinect hacks with a demo (video embedded after the break) using the Xbox 360 add-on instead. The company blog breaks down some of the hardware capabilities of the device that make it ideal for voice control (as previously seen in the Xbox apps for ESPN3, Hulu Plus and Netflix) and also details some of the efforts used to make it work here. If there's enough interest it may release the demo software for free, and already plans to bring out a full version when Microsoft unleashes a commercial version of the Kinect SDK. We're still not sure if voice control is ready to take over for standard remotes but at least talking to the TV is less of a strain than gesture control on our weak made-for-blogging arms.
Ford bringing SYNC systems to base trim levels, drops from $395 to $295
Ford's been pushing SYNC in its autos since 2007, but you wouldn't have known it had you opted for the base trim level on your ride. Thankfully for those who appreciate the basics, that's a-changing. The automaker is aiming to entice more potential owners by offering the voice-activated infotainment systems across all levels for $295 (down from $395, where optional), starting with its 2012 Edge and Explorer models. To sweeten the deal even further, it'll also become standard on SEL variants for the first time -- before, it was a luxury previously reserved for Limited and Sport. Ford plans to roll out the system across its entire lineup in three years time, bringing the 2013 Ford Taurus, Focus, Escape and Flex into the fold. You know, options for all of you who aren't hip on the all-American, gas-guzzling SUV. Full PR past the break.
Pioneer solicits Whodoo guinea pigs for speech-based Android assistant (video)
Ever wish you could have a personal attendant living inside your Android smartphone? You know... one you can boss around without incurring human rights or labor law violations? Apparently Pioneer shares your vision, because its voice-controlled social assistant named Whodoo is seemingly ready to "hop to" at a moment's notice -- willing to locate a restaurant and send it to friends, route the appropriate directions, and announce your intentions to Facebook or Twitter -- all based on your verbal commands (and ostensibly perfect for in-dash navigation). The company is seeking bossy applicants for its closed beta experiment, which involves completing a lengthy application, providing considerable feedback, and submitting audio samples that are gathered by Whodoo. Think you've got the chops? Just follow the source, where you're free to convince Pioneer of the same.
Microsoft's NUAds interactive advertising to harness powers of Kinect, 'change television as we know it'
The folks over at Microsoft Advertising are quite fond of their latest brainchild, so much so that they're calling the Kinect-enabled advertising platform "irresistibly interactive." NUAds -- which snaked the NU in NUI -- feeds off our need for interactivity, allowing advertisers to lure us in by enabling points of gesture and voice control. Think the latest Snuggie spot is super cool? Just say "Xbox, Tweet," and all your friends will know it. Want to know more about Mariah Carey's latest fragrance? Say "Xbox, More," and the info is all yours. Wondering where you can pick up a box of Nad's edible hair remover? Say "Xbox, Near Me," and you'll get a text with the location of the closest Nad's retailer. Want to vote on the hottest new Bratz doll? Give your girl a thumbs up. So Microsoft may have engaged a host of more respectable partners, namely Adidas, NBC, and Coca Cola, for its demo of the voice and gesture-enabled advertising platform yesterday, and NUAds does indeed serve up promotions in an entirely new way, but will it really change how we view the boob tube for good? Check out the video demo after the break, and weigh in the comments below.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 updates your Facebook, turns your iPhone into a wireless mic
All your sci-fi dreams of being able to talk to your gadgets and have the do your bidding are slowly becoming a reality. Nuance, the company behind Dragon NaturallySpeaking, has been at the forefront of the technology since 1997 and, with the release of 11.5, it has added a few neat tricks to its dictation-taking repertoire. On the desktop side, new widgets allow you to post updates to your Facebook and Twitter accounts simply by saying "post to" you social network of choice before spouting off your status update -- perfect for drunk tweeting when those beer goggles make it hard to hit the keys. Nuance also released the Dragon Remote Mic App for iOS, which turns your Apple device into a wireless mic that beams commands and dictated notes straight to your PC. We're pretty excited for all this voice control stuff -- so long as our computers don't start refusing our requests in a detached monotone. Check out the PR after the break.
iPhone 101: Using Voice Control
While we wait for iOS 5 to deliver cool new features, here's a look at Voice Control, a feature introduced with the iPhone 3GS model. There are three types of Voice Control commands: phone, music and other. Here's how to use each. Launching Voice Control Of course, you can't use Voice Control until you get it running. You can either hold the Home Button down for about two seconds, or do the same with the middle button on your supplied Apple earbuds. You'll hear a beep and the iPhone's screen will display "Voice Control" with a blue background. Now, let's issue some commands. Phone commands Your iPhone understands "call" and "dial." To tell your iPhone to call a contact, say "call" (or "dial") plus the contact's name. For example, saying "Call Janie Smith" will launch the phone app and call Janie's number. If a contact has several numbers (work and home, for example), you can specify which one you want. "Call Janie Smith home" will call Janie's home number. Calling a number that's not in your contacts list is just as easy. Simply say, "call" plus the number. Music commands Voice Control supports a nice list of music commands, from starting and stopping a song to asking about the artist. Here's how to get started. You can say "play" or "play music" to get the music going. If you've got a song paused when you issue the play command, it will resume. If the iPod app isn't running, it will start at the very first song in your library. Of course, you can get specific. Voice Control also understands "play playlist [name of playlist]," "play album [name of album]" and "play artist [name of artist]." For example, saying "Play album Dark Side of the Moon" will start the first track of that album, while "Play artist Pink Floyd" will start at the first track of the first album in your Pink Floyd collection (you have one, right?). While you're at it, create a Genius playlist. While a song you dig is playing, tell Voice Control "Genius play more like this" or "Genius play more songs like this" or simply "play more like this" and it'll create a Genius playlist for you on the spot. Simple navigation is also possible. Your iPhone understands "pause," "pause music," "next song," "previous song" and "shuffle." Finally, you can ask your iPhone four questions about the track being played. Specifically, "what's playing," "what song is this," "who sings this song" or "who is this song by." Miscellaneous commands Here are a few other commands that don't fit into the previous categories. "What is the time" or "what time is it." For most people it's quicker to tap the Home Button once and look at the time, but this command will benefit visually impaired users. "Cancel" and "stop" exit Voice Control. You can correct a mistake (and there will be plenty. More on that in a minute) by saying, "no," "not that," "nope," "not that one" or "wrong." Write those down now. Finally, saying "FaceTime" supposedly initiates a FaceTime call. Which brings me to the bad news. Voice Control works in the way that temporary tattoos look like real tattoos. At first it's passable but upon closer inspection, you see that it's not the real thing (my attempts at initiating a FaceTime call launched a Genesis album). Placing calls was the most reliable function, while the phone had trouble understanding some musical artist's names and was downright befuddled at other times. That being said, I have friends who swear by it, so perhaps I've got poor diction. Give it a try yourself using the commands listed above, and dream of the day that Siri purchase actually pays off. Thanks to reader Walt whose email inspired this post!
Kinect integration in Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, hands-off (video)
Microsoft's E3 keynote may have exploded with deeper Kinect support, but nothing caught our eyes quite as sharply as Ghost Recon: Future Soldier's rifle-exploding Gunsmith demo. A Ubisoft representative showed us how it's done: separating your arms separates your deadly firearm into a gorgeous display of floating screws, components, and accessories, which can be effortlessly modified, swapped, and replaced with gesture and voice commands. Too picky to decide for yourself? Then don't: just tell Gunsmith what you're looking for. For instance, saying "Optimize for range" produces a weapon any sniper should be proud of -- even better, we found that commanding Gunsmith to "optimize for awesome" birthed a rifle (pictured above) sporting an underbarrel shotgun attachment. A gun attached to a gun? Yeah, that works. Weapons can be tested in Gunsmith's gesture-controlled firing range, an engaging shooting mode exclusive to the Gunsmith weapon editor and not usable in regular gameplay. Head past the break for a hands-on (figuratively speaking) video.
Why didn't we see a Nuance announcement during WWDC?
One major rumor missing from the WWDC keynote yesterday was voice control. It was just last year that Apple purchased Siri, a popular voice companion app for iOS. Apple was also rumored to be working with Nuance to offer some form of voice control in its software. References to Nuance were recently spotted in a developer version of Mac OS X Lion, and sources claim Nuance software is running at Apple's North Carolina data center. Even the Chief Mobile Technology Architect at Nuance was spotted in the WWDC audience yesterday. Despite this mounting evidence, voice control was a no-show at WWDC. Both TechCrunch and Robert Scoble heard from sources that Apple's voice technology was not ready for a WWDC demonstration. It's there, and Apple is still working on it, but it's not quite ready for prime time. Perhaps Apple will wait to roll out this feature and use it to drum up added excitement when iOS 5 finally arrives this fall.
Chaufr lets you shout searches, yell URLs at Chrome
Generally, shouting commands at the internet isn't going to get you very far but, if you're just yelling a few destinations and search terms, Chrome extension Chaufr can take you where you need to go. A previous add-on, Speechify, let you speak to fill input fields, but couldn't help you actually navigate the web. Chaufr, on the other hand, lets you simply say the magic word -- "Engadget" -- and it drops you right at our online doorstep. You can also use it to perform searches by saying Wikipedia, Google, Amazon, YouTube, or Yahoo followed by whatever it is you're looking for. It worked well enough in our brief hands-on, but we do have one nit to pick -- activating voice input requires you click on an icon in the tool bar then click on a microphone in the drop down menu. (Can't a brother get a keyboard shortcut?) You can try it out for yourself by clicking on the source link.
Comcast's next generation Xfinity Spectrum DVR shows off quad tuners, new menu and apps
It's been about six months since we heard Comcast was running tests of a brand new set-top box platform but now thanks to one of our tipsters we're able to see it in action and find out what's on the way. From the remote to the box to the menus it's all new, and appears to be a major step forward for the company and already includes familiar apps like Facebook and Pandora. The look of the new guide mirrors what we'd seen in the manual received by the FCC in December and demonstrated on Samsung HDTVs at CES earlier this year, intended for 16x9 displays and moving the main navigation elements to the top. The redesigned remote has a few new buttons and while it hasn't gone the QWERTY route, the software and hardware are designed around T9-style access for searching and messaging, with a button and microphone icon suggesting voice control is a possibility as well. The DVR itself is the Pace box we'd seen previously, although there was differing information on the number of tuners and hard drive space available, suggesting these details may still be up in the air. Check after the break for more details and our tipster's first hand account of the new TV experience. %Gallery-124121% [Thanks, Mark van der Linden]
Buick, GMC getting IntelliLink smartphone connectivity
Back in February, General Motors debuted its MyLink smartphone integration for the Chevy Volt and Equinox on the Engadget Show, letting drivers control their iOS, Android, and BlackBerry smartphone apps via voice or touchscreen. The company announced today that it will be offering the same technology -- albeit rebranded as the tongue-twisting IntelliLink -- on several 2012 Buick and GMC models, including the Buick LaCrosse, Regal, Verano, and the GMC Terrain. IntelliLink offers up a fairly similar feature set as its Chevy counterpart -- connecting to iPhones and Android handsets via Bluetooth or USB, and leveraging Nuance voice recognition and Gracenote databases to control the likes of Pandora and Stitcher Radio. Autoblog reports that IntelliLink will hit the Buick Verano first, followed by the LaCrosse and Regal, though you might be more interested in the Terrain -- owners will also be able to control their vehicle's rear-view camera with IntelliLink, and who doesn't like manipulating megapixels in the name of pedestrian safety?
Netflix for Xbox 360 updated with Kinect support, everybody wave!
The next time you hit the Netflix app on your Xbox 360 the update we heard about at CES will be waiting, bringing Kinect owners the ability to flick through their videos (like ESPN3 and Zune have since the peripheral launched) without digging a controller out of the couch cushions. After the 43Mb update downloads waving ones hand for the camera or saying Xbox will pull up the new menu seen above, which auto sorts selections for browsing by voice or gesture based on what it thinks you may want to watch next. Selecting "browse all" brings you right back to the standard menu and is probably the method most will want to stick with, however being able to pause the movie quickly during playback by simply saying Xbox, Pause (or FF, rewind, skip scene, etc.) is quite convenient. Not near your Xbox? Check out a brief video of it in action after the break. [Thanks, George]
Xbox 360 IPTV rumors ride again with 'Project Orapa'
Just because Microsoft's Mediaroom IPTV service is finally supported on the Xbox 360 after years and years of expectations (as seen above) doesn't mean the rumor mill stops, with rumors surfacing of a "Project Orapa" that reportedly combines Xbox Live, Kinect and IPTV service all in one. ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley has heard from tipsters that it's related to the previously rumored Ventura multimedia project and will let subscribers to Mediaroom powered IPTV services like U-Verse use Kinect's gesture and voice recognition like ESPN3 already does to control their TV experience while Xbox users would get "more content." We should find out how much of this is reality and how it ties into previous rumors pretty quickly, since it's apparently going to be in testing this month, and available by the upcoming holiday season.
Ford installs Sync in more than 3 million cars, takes a moment to congratulate self
Ford and Microsoft's little voice control in-car connectivity project seems to be doing pretty well for itself, judging by the latest milestone it has passed. Sync has just been announced to have crossed the three million mark when counting the cars it's installed in, with recent data suggesting takeup for the $395 optional extra is growing. Nearly 80 percent of purchases of current 2011 Ford models include Sync, while over 80 percent of those already using it say they'd recommend the service to others. The latter number has improved by a robust 5 percentage points over last year, so clearly something's being done right here, but we're more interested in finding out what alternatives the other car and electronics makers will come up with during this year's CES. Rest assured, we'll explore them all.
Kinect won't support voice recognition in some countries until 2011, putting on airs won't help
"If you see it, just say it," says Microsoft's Kinect, but only in the US, UK, Mexico and Japan to start -- those are the only four countries that will support Kinect voice control by the motion-sensing peripheral's November launch. So said Microsoft PR manager Lidia Pitzalis in an interview with Eurogamer Spain, adding that Germany, Italy, France and even Canada and Spain would have to wait for a Spring 2011 update for additional language support. Microsoft claims it's a matter of accents throwing off the voice recognition, as the company's already had to build separate software versions for US and UK English, but if you're an Italian who can fake a good Cockney, you're still out of luck, as Microsoft's reportedly disabling voice control entirely in said regions until it can formally support it. And game companies wonder why we try so hard to hack those DVD drives... Update: Canada will in fact have voice support, according to Microsoft. So long as you speak English and not French.
Vlingo bows to Google Voice Actions, makes Android version free of charge
When Google Navigation hit the scene, it sounded the death knell for paid GPS on Android, so you can imagine the doom and gloom at Vlingo HQ last week when Google released the similar Voice Actions for free. As it turns out, however, Vlingo's not going to give up that easily; Vlingo for Android, once a $10 download, is now free as well. In a surprisingly gracious blog post that genuinely congratulates Google on the accomplishment, CEO Dave Grannan explains that he wants Android users to be able to freely compare the services as Vlingo adds features further down the road, and makes one valid point in his firm's favor -- you can try Vlingo now if you've got Android 2.0 or above, but Google's service only runs on Froyo. Interestingly enough, Vlingo on Android was the only version that actually charged; on Nokia, Blackberry and Windows Mobile, however, you could purchase a "Plus" license. Perhaps the company's not quite as generous as we thought, but there's still no arguing with a free voice command service that also reads your email aloud -- go ahead and give it a try.
Ford's SYNC learns 100x more voice commands, integrates Nuance technology
We'll be honest -- we weren't the biggest fans of SYNC from the onset, but that had more to do with its insistence on playing Run DMC on our request for Naughty By Nature during a cross-town CES run than anything else. Now, Ford remains one of the few automakers that actually bothers to update their navigation systems on a consistent basis, and while SYNC is still far from perfect, it's getting a rather significant update today. The introduction of MyFord Touch brings the amount of commands that SYNC understands up to 10,000 -- that's a pretty big jump from 100, where it began. Following in BMW's footsteps, Ford is also integrating voice control technology from Nuance, which allows drivers to speak "more naturally" to the system rather than having to memorize a few hundreds first-level snippets. Unfortunately, we still think voice control within vehicles is too slow; much like Windows Vista, there are simply too many confirmation prompts, too many forks in the decision tree and not enough of an overall benefit to chose it over handling things with your digits. Feel free to disagree and pick this up on your 2011 Ford Edge, but be sure to view the video past the jump before getting all hot and bothered.
Kinect-optimized Xbox 360 Dashboard preview
We just got a look at the new Kinect Dashboard-lite for the Xbox 360. In some ways, it's pretty charming, with fun, jazzed up icons (when you hover over them they tilt and show off depth), a simplistic layout, and some great voice controls. The downside is this all comes at the cost of a brand new, fairly redundant interface for accessing functions that are already available with your Xbox 360 controller in the regular Dashboard. Still, there's no denying the joy of waving a hand to log in, hovering over icons to select channels (though the wait-to-click mechanism strikes us as eventually frustrating), and scrubbing through media with very intuitive gestures. The best part is the voice control, however, allowing you to speak "Xbox" and then a command like play, pause, back, forward, stop, Zune, etc. It's ripe for abuse (pausing your S.O.'s seventh Netflix screening of The Constant Gardner ad nauseam), but Microsoft says it's working on eliminating random commands that might seep into conversation. Our biggest worry is that we're going to see confusion and fragmentation of functionality with the divergent UI requirements that Kinect apps and regular Dashboard apps require -- we can't imagine the Facebook or Last.fm folks being super thrilled at creating an all-new app just to support Microsoft's whims, but we're told just such apps are in the works. Is the existing Dashboard really so complicated that Kinect couldn't control it? Check out a video of this puzzling Kinectasticness after the break. %Gallery-95214%
Would you buy a voice-controlled camera, or perhaps a DSLR with touchsceen?
Do you talk to your digital camera? Perhaps stroke its glossy LCD? If a pair of recent patent applications are any indication, those mildly creepy gestures might one day actually do something. Sony's just laid claim to a DSLR touchscreen that can be manipulated by thumb even while the rest of one's face is smushed up against the viewfinder, and Canon's got its eye on technology that lets shooters activate advanced camera functions using simple voice control. The latter wouldn't be limited to "fire," but could potentially be directed to switch modes, stops and even zoom in and out of the frame. It wouldn't necessarily substitute for a remote as there are just two modes, "close-talking" for speech uttered when using the viewfinder, and "non-close-talking" when you line up shots on the LCD display. Neat as they are, these alternatives to physical controls make some at Engadget HQ quite sad, but we understand that minimalism is the word of the day.
