voice control
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Roku saves you from signing into accounts on a new device
Roku is about to make life much easier if you're tired of signing into all your accounts when you get a new media player. It's releasing a Roku OS 9.1 update that, among other things, adds automatic account linking. So long as you've previously logged into a supporting service on Roku-based hardware, you won't have to do that again when setting up a new Roku device. It's not comprehensive when there are "nearly 10" services that work with the feature today (including Sling TV and Pandora), but more are expected in the future.
Amazon's first HIPAA-compliant Alexa skills help track your healthcare
Alexa's involvement in healthcare is about to extend well beyond putting Echo speakers in hospital rooms. Amazon has unveiled the first-ever HIPAA-compliant Alexa skills, letting you use the voice assistant to take care of sensitive medical issues. Providence St. Joseph Health's skill can book a same-day appointment, for example, while Cigna and Express Scripts have introduced skills that respectively track wellness incentives and manage prescriptions. Livongo, meanwhile, has a skill for diabetics that can provide blood glucose readings and health tips.
Amazon's voice control speaker is now available for all
While not every gadget Amazon throws to the wall sticks (cough Fire Phone), the Echo voice-controlled wireless speaker was a surprising smash. Though it's been on sale for quite awhile by invitation only, Amazon's now put it up on pre-order for anyone who wants it. As a reminder, here's how it works: you activate it by saying "Alexa" or whatever else you want to call it, then ask questions or give commands much like you would with Siri or Google Now. From there, the always-on device will hit Amazon's cloud and give you the weather, sports scores, Spotify songs and more.
Sony's voice-controlled speaker can follow you around the room
The jury is still out on Amazon's voice-controlled Echo speaker, but that hasn't stopped Sony from developing a competitor. The 'Smart Bluetooth Speaker BSP60' is a petite black orb that pairs with Android devices and vocalizes basic information, such as the weather forecast and your daily schedule. Once triggered with the phrase "okay speaker," you can ask it to perform simple tasks too, such as setting timers, alarms and checking your phone for new messages. The built-in microphone accommodates conference calls and the tiny wheels underneath allow it to scoot around a flat surface, similar to the Sony Rolly. (Try snoozing that 6am alarm now...) By far its most eye-catching feature, however, are the twin sections that pop out of the top. The device then looks like a Tron-style alarm clock, with bright lights that change color underneath. They're mostly for show, but give Sony's speaker a charming little personalty. If you're interested, be prepared to shell out some serious cash -- Sony says it'll cost €299 ($355) when it debuts in Q2 2015.
Voice-controlled RTS There Came an Echo speaks up in Feb.
There Came an Echo, the voice-controlled real-time strategy game from Iridium Studios starring nerd royalty Wil Wheaton, is due out on February 24 for $20 via Steam for PC. The release date comes courtesy of a new trailer (below), featuring players that Iridium "totally found on Craigslist." These uninitiated few try out There Came an Echo's voice controls, including the ability to change characters' names to things like "Sweetie Pie" and something naughty that appears to rhyme with "Duckface." There Came an Echo was successfully funded on Kickstarter in March 2013, raising $115,000 of a $90,000 goal. It's Iridium's second successful Kickstarter game, following Sequence. There Came an Echo stars Wil Wheaton and Ashly Burch, and puts players in charge of a small, gun-wielding squad in a near-future sci-fi environment. "Corrin (played by Wil Wheaton) is a 31-year-old cryptographer and inventor of a very particular encryption algorithm ... one that currently holds safe a shocking secret," the game's Kickstarter reads. "His comfortable existence is interrupted by the enigmatic Val, who informs him that his life is in very imminent danger. His desperate attempts to uncover the truth are aided by a mercenary, Miranda; a vengeful young woman, Grace; and a mysterious British gentleman named Syll." Players are able to customize the voice controls in There Came an Echo, and Iridium promises that it's possible to play the game without speech at all. It's also coming to Xbox One and PS4, eventually.
Scout iOS navigation app is updated with hands-free voice commands
Scout has been a popular free navigation app for iOS that includes turn-by-turn directions and crowdsourced traffic information. It also has reliable directions to restaurants, shops, gas stations and all the other destinations you may want. Today, Scout was updated to include hands-free voice commands. Unlike Siri, where you have to hold down a button to start talking, Scout will listen to your commands without any type of physical input on your behalf. If Scout is running, you can say "Hey Scout" to get the app to pay attention, and then tell Scout where you want to go. Sadly, the theory is better than the reality. When I asked "Where are the nearest restaurants?" Scout replied with a street address in Bullhead City, Ariz., hundreds of miles away from me. Asking for the nearest gas stations got me a list of Honda dealers, one in New Jersey. And so it went. I tried it in noisy and quiet environments, but seldom got a correct hit. The app works great when physically touching any of the points of interest icons, and gave reliable navigation, but the voice recognition misses almost every request. I like the idea of saying "Hey Scout" and never touching my phone to initiate a trip, but this new feature simply didn't work for me. Although Siri does require a button press, it almost always parses my phrases correctly. I should add that if your phone auto-locks, Scout becomes deaf so your requests won't be heard. Scout does have a lot of features not included in the Apple Maps app. The app has destination sharing, and it lets you know what events are happening in your community. The Scout database is good and detailed, but voice response clearly needs work. Scout requires iOS 6 or later, It's not a universal app, so it's best suited to the iPhone. The app is optimized for the iPhone 5. Scout does offer enhanced features either monthly or yearly as an in-app purchase, but most people will be able to get along just fine with the free version, unless they try talking to it.
New Kinect can understand two people talking at once
The new Kinect for Xbox One can pick up two people speaking at once and discern what each one is saying. Kinect Sports Rivals studio Rare sounded off on the sensor's features via a new video, as shown by Microsoft Corporate VP Phil Harrison to the audience at the Eurogamer Expo in London today. "It can not only hear two people speaking at once and understand two people speaking at once," said New Technology Lead Developer Nick Burton, "It can also see if their mouths are moving in a completely dark room. And that allows us to do crazy levels of detail." Included with every Xbox One, this Kinect is certainly a significant upgrade from its predecessor. The new sensor can detect 25 various joints for 6 different people, recognize which player is using which controller, estimate players' heart rates, map faces to 1,400 points, and tell you if you're too fat. Wait, one of those is the Balance Board... we bet the new Kinect can do that too, but we probably shouldn't give it any more ideas.
DirecTV prepping voice search app for this summer
Help is on the way. DirecTV has been demoing a new app, due out in beta this summer, that will let you search using voice for your desired programs or movies. You can use an actor's name, a show title or just about anything that would identify a program. DirecTV has partnered with Nuance, the company behind Siri from Apple, for the voice recognition so the app is likely to work at least as well as Siri at recognizing your input. It's welcome news if you are suffering "death by typing" using the DirecTV remote, or even the current DTV iOS app. As we all know, Siri isn't perfect, but it is probably the best of breed in voice recognition. At any rate, saying things like "Show me Columbo episodes this weekend" or "Find some Bruce Willis movies" should work fine. The app works while you are away from home to set up items to record, and of course works from your comfy chair in front of the TV as well. When you are home, the search results will show up on your screen. DirecTV says the app will be in a "very wide beta" this summer with a final version coming later. Now if only Apple could only do something similar for the AppleTV... Even with the Apple Remote app, finding things to watch can be a pain. [via Engadget]
There Came an Echo, voice-controlled strategy starring Wil Wheaton
Iridium Studios, the team responsible for 2011's Kickstarter success, Sequence, is tackling the widely untouched genre of speech-run gaming with There Came an Echo, a voice-controlled strategy game. Iridium hopes to cash in on Kickstarter once again with There Came an Echo, asking for $90,000 to complete the game for PC, with a launch on Steam scheduled for mid-2014 (no Greenlight required).Players in There Came an Echo act as the field commander of a small squad and talk members through operations to achieve various objectives. The game will recognize a pre-programmed vocabulary of a few hundred commands, such as "head to Bravo 3," but each command is fully customizable."For instance, instead of 'Grace, hold position,' you might choose to say 'yo girl, hold up,' or instead of 'weapons free,' you might say, 'not the gumdrop buttons!' You'll be able to direct your troops in a style completely your own," Iridium's Kickstarter description reads.If that's not intriguing enough, Iridium roped in geek extraordinaire Wil Wheaton to star in There Came an Echo. Iridium founder Jason Wishnov has a pretty hefty industry track record himself, including freelance work for Joystiq's Wii Fanboy and DS Fanboy when those were still things back in 2007. Check out Wheaton and Wishnov in the Kickstarter promo video above.
ESPN on Xbox Live updated with all live ESPN content
Previously Xbox Live was a good place to see some of ESPN's more fringe live content, like log racing, plastic cup stacking and the occasional tennis match. Today all live ESPN content is streaming through your Xbox 360, including Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Baseball and more top draws from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, Buzzer Beater and Goal Line – granted only if you're an Xbox Live Gold subscriber, that is.The updated app on Xbox 360 still features all of the familiar Kinect gesture and voice commands required by Microsoft law, and lets users stream multiple events in split-screen format, set reminders for big games and track their favorite sports through a customizable menu. Next month, SmartGlass functionality will also be added to the app.You can download the improved app right now, simply by booting up the old app or heading to the appropriate section of your Xbox 360 dashboard.
Xbox 360 Dashboard update hands-on (fall 2012)
Is it Fall again already? Must be time for another Xbox 360 Dashboard update. Every year Microsoft Drops the console a little bit of code to match the descending leaves, delivering new features, interface tweaks and additional content to hide behind the Xbox Live Gold paywall. Redmond's latest update isn't quite the overhaul it gave the gaming rig last year, but minor changes can have big effects. Join us after the break to see the machine's latest update, and what it means for you. %Gallery-168426%
Chrome experiment explores new types of navigation, degrees of embarrassment
What you're about to see, should you choose to click the source link below, is far from perfect. On the other hand, it's clearly had a lot of effort and expertise put into it -- not only by HTML5-savvy coders, but also by a troupe of performers from the Cirque du Soleil. It's called Movi.Kanti.Revo, which is a fancy way of saying Move.Sing.Dream, and it involves navigating through an ethereal and slightly laggy landscape using only swaying gestures, your singing voice (mournful sobbing sounds also worked for us) and a bunch of APIs that conveniently fail to work on FireFox, Safari or Internet Explorer. It's well-suited to those with a mic and webcam, preferably sitting in a open-plan and bully-ridden workplace, and if you don't like it there's always Bastion.
Telenav's Scout gives iOS users offline navigation in exchange for ten bucks
We know that iOS 6 will bless iPhone users with some in-house-made mapping, but that hasn't stopped Telenav from bettering its own Scout navigation offering for Apple's favorite handsets. Scout now does offline navigation by letting users download maps of the west, central or eastern United States over WiFi only. Plus, Scout now takes voice commands, so on your next road trip you can tell it to find the nearest Whataburger whether you have cell signal or not. Interested parties can head on over to the App Store to get their download on, but you'll pay for the privilege -- offline navigation costs $9.99 a year or $2.99 a month, though the free, data-dependant version of Scout for iPhone still includes speech recognition. Still not sold? Perhaps the video after the break will persuade you.
BlackBerry 10 gets voice commands in latest dev update (video)
Those lucky enough to have their hands on a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device were treated to a nice little software update this week. While some were having trouble just getting it installed, others were able to fire it up pretty quick and found a nice surprise waiting for them -- voice controls. Hold down the play/pause button on the side and you'll be prompted to speak a command and offered a unified search interface. Sound familiar? It should, Android and iOS have both hopped on the speech recognition bandwagon, and its becoming an expected feature of a modern mobile OS. The fine folks over at N4BB were able to give the suspiciously familiar sounding virtual assistant a run through and, lets just say it's a bit rough around the edges. Of course, thanks to the limitations of the alpha quality software there wasn't much to actually test anyway. To see it in action check out the video after the break.
Parrot MINIKIT Neo voice-controlled hands-free kit coming in September
For many drivers, hands-free kits are not only a good idea, but the law. A huge array of devices have come out over the past few years, many with a common problem -- they're rather bulky and unattractive. Now Parrot, the same company that brings you the über-cool AR.Drone, has announced the MINIKIT Neo (US$99.99) to change all of that. From an initial look at the MINIKIT Neo, I think it's going to be a winner, and for those who either don't have an Siri-equipped iPhone or won't be able to get a Siri Eyes-Free Mode button in their car, it appears to be a good solution. The device weighs only 2.5 ounces, is battery-powered (eliminating the need for dangling cords), and is advertised as "100 percent hands-free". There's a reason Parrot is making that distinction -- a lot of "hands-free kits" that I've tested actually require the user to tap or push a button to perform certain actions, which can be just as distracting to a driver as picking up a phone. To activate the MINIKIT Neo, a driver just needs to say "MINIKIT", then say the name of a contact to dial that person. With incoming calls, the driver says "Accept" or "Reject" to answer or turn down the call. The MINIKIT Neo connects with your phone via Bluetooth or NFC, so if a next-generation iPhone brings NFC to the game, a tap of the phone against the MINIKIT Neo will pair it. Two Bluetooth phones can be connected to the MINIKIT Neo at once, perfect for those situations when you and a friend are on the road together. There's a built-in vibration sensor that switches the MINIKIT Neo into On mode and connects it to your phone when you get into your car. The true power of the MINIKIT Neo is in the app that Parrot is developing. The company is proposing to have a parking meter reminder, driving time reminder, and "find my car" function. The last feature stores the last GPS position of the MINIKIT Neo kit when the connection between it and the phone is lost, thus capturing the location of your car. The app may also let you draft a text message that can be automatically sent when you receive a SMS or if you refuse a call. Finally, the app may have a feature to allow you to personalize the sound effects heard during power on or off. The MINIKIT Neo is expected to be available in September of 2012. As usual, TUAW will bring you a full review. In the meantime, enjoy the animated video below.
Toyota sends out free Entune upgrade, adds three apps and voice control
Got a Toyota with Entune? Then keep an eye on your mailbox. We're getting word that a free upgrade has started to be sent out to customers. The refresh adds some of the apps we first heard about back in January last year: iHeartRadio, MovieTickets.com and OpenTable. As well as being able to enjoy more radio, book movie tickets and restaurant tables, a new voice recognition update means you can do even more while keeping your eyes on the road. Toyota says that it'll be upgrading most models, if you want to know for sure, tap up the more coverage link for the breakdown. [Thanks, Nate]
HTC teases voice control and/or dog translator for Sense
HTC might be over selling it a bit with the top secret stamp, and the foot note sort of indicates that your next One device wont be interpreting Fido's barks. So, really, that only leaves one logical conclusion -- HTC is working on a voice control app. It shouldn't come as any surprise if you've been paying any attention to the mobile landscape these past few years. Google kicked off the party with Voice Actions and Apple gave the speech recognition tech some personality with Siri. Now Samsung has S-Voice and LG has Quick Voice... what's a Taiwanese manufacturer to do? Presumably make your own speech-driven virtual assistant. When will it debut, what will it be called? Who knows, but judging from the image above it seems safe to assume that HTC's new tool will be delivered as software update to at least some existing handsets. [Thanks, Naman] Update: HTC tells us that it never intended to hint at a new voice service -- the image was just the punchline to a week of pet-related smartphone tips it featured on Facebook.
LG launches 'Quick Voice' on its phones in Korea, goes head to head with S Voice and Siri
After Apple and Samsung have made their Siri and S Voice features keystones of recent smartphone releases, it wasn't long before other manufacturers jumped in and now it's LG's turn with Quick Voice for its Android phones (we'll see how Apple responds to that). Just announced in Korea and rolling out soon for various members of the Optimus family like the Vu (later this month) and LTE II (in July), it brings natural voice recognition to commonly used functions like searching, setting up appointments or pulling up videos on YouTube. For Korean users it's even tuned to check dates on the lunar calendar, although there's no word yet on when or if it will arrive elsewhere.
Xbox 360 software at E3: FIFA 2013 / Madden 2013 gaining Kinect voice commands; Halo 4, Fable, Forza Horizon and Gears of War showcased
No new hardware for Microsoft at E3? No problem. Clearly, this year's all about software for the Xbox 360, with both FIFA 2013 and Madden 2013 confirmed for release with Kinect support. Aside from letting you flail to and fro in order to make plays, both titles will also support voice commands, right down to understanding multiple dialects in the former. As for Madden? There's some pretty intense voice integration, enabling one Joe Montana to actually call plays and direct the huddle with his voice here at the E3 stage. The demo was unsurprisingly awesome, and we're told to expect it on store shelves on August 28th. For those who aren't exactly "sports-inclined," there's also Fable and Halo 4 -- two titles that'll supposedly make this year the "best ever" for Xbox 360 software. Follow our liveblog of Microsoft's E3 keynote right here! %Gallery-156885%
LG launches 'upgraded' SP820 Smart TV Upgrader box in June for about $170 US
Should you have the impulse to turn your dumb display into a full-fledged Smart TV, LG has revealed the second iteration of its Smart TV Upgrader box is ready to hit the marketplace. The original ST600 box was released last year, and this new SP820 was announced earlier this year at CES. It adds LG's Smart TV experience complete with Magic gesture and voice controlled remote to any HDTV with an HDMI input. There's access to both 2D and 3D streaming content from the internet, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct and any new apps LG rolls out for its platform. Similar to Apple's TV box and the Roku family, it's a palm sized device intended for easy installations. An even smaller, stripped down SP520 version that supports fewer apps is already on shelves with a $120 MSRP, although sale prices range from $80 to $99. The SP is shipping in June for 199,000 won ($169 US), while there's no word yet on a US release, we'll probably wait to see if LG can add enough apps to compete as a third party before jumping in.
