Microsoft Releases Voice Command for PPC

Posted By: Ryan Tuesday, November 4, 2003 10:28:52 AM

Microsoft has released a new application for handhelds that run the latest version of windows mobile for Pocket PC devices and PPCPE. Voice Command enables hands free voice interaction and operation of certain handheld tasks.

Voice Command uses Microsoft's next-generation phonetic speech-recognition technology, the result of 10 years of research, to make speech interaction simple, intuitive and practical. Voice Command allows users to use natural language to access info and control the handheld.

With the software users can dial a phone number or lookup an appointment by saying, "call Bob Smith" or "What's my calendar?" and the handheld will respond. You can also control the windows media player and launch certain programs.

Microsoft's Automotive Business Unit developed Voice Command to address consumers' need to be safely connected while on the go. People want access to their personalized information, regardless of location, and research supports this trend. A recent survey revealed that 85 percent of U.S. cell phone owners and 50 percent of PDA owners use their devices while in the car.

Microsoft is charging $39.95 for the software, it requires the latest version of windows mobile (PPC 2003 or PPCSE), ActiveSync 3.7 and Windows XP or higher and is available from handango.com.

Editors Comments: Yes, this article has nothing to do with the Palm OS, but I thought it would be interesting to highlight and discuss. Does anyone really want or need to use voice interaction with your handheld? Why is this being implemented on handheld devices, when the technology has not even fully matured in the desktop world? Is voice recognition on a PDA a currently a bad idea? Please discuss and share your thoughts below... -Ryan

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Sounds like a great idea...

big_raji @ 11/4/2003 11:52:19 AM #
I know tons of people will say this is stupid, but I use voice command all the time on my telephone. I think that voice commands on a PalmOS device would make launching certain programs and finding certain addresses so much easier, depending on how in-depth it would go.

I'd love to be able to speak into my palm and say "E-mail John Smith" and have it open up and e-mail window... Then I can go ahead and write or type what I want. It just makes things seem faster, even if it only saves you 2 seconds of tapping and clicking.

---
http://www.kinsmenclub.com

RE: Sounds like a great idea...
Nate @ 11/4/2003 12:01:45 PM #
Nah. It's stupid. :)

As a motorcyclist I can appreciate anything that lets drivers keep one hand on the wheel and the other on their coffee though. I can see a use for this in cars, with some limited functionality. I don't think most users are going to want this enough to use it in a business environment. I see this as moving straight from PPC handhelds to PPC-based car computing systems (gps etc).

The question nobody's asking is: "Do we need to be doing more while we're driving?"

RE: Sounds like a great idea...
indesman @ 11/4/2003 12:46:48 PM #
I already think people look like idots walking around the grocery store talking into an earbud headset, or even worse...a boom microphone. Let's assume your driving in your car and you want to make a call so you pick up your PPC and say "call John Smith" then you pick up your phone and talk, maybe. The more likely scenario is to use it with your PPC enabled cell phone, now that's a great idea.

I don't think voice activated menu navigation and device control will ever be a big deal in any computing environment. Speech to text dictation is another matter altogether...and one they are no where near implementing on the desktop, outside of specialized applications like medical and legal dictation.

RE: Sounds like a great idea...
hotpaw4 @ 11/4/2003 2:08:04 PM #
Voice command can be useful in some hands-free environments.

However, it is one of those features which everybody says they want, but almost nobody actually uses. Some phone company did a survey asking customers if they wanted this feature; a whole bunch said yes. But when they checked the actual phones of these customers (returned for upgrades, service, etc.) found only a few percent had ever turned voice recognition on.

RE: Sounds like a great idea...
abosco @ 11/4/2003 5:59:12 PM #
I actually think this feature could prove useful given enough time to mature. As it stands, paying an extra $40 for this feature is a bit much since it's basically a ripoff of Viavoice. If it was integrated into PPC2k3 already, then maybe it would be a bit more practical. I use the voice recognition feature on my T616 as much as I possibly can because it can access things very quickly. If voice recognition ultimately gets you to your information faster, and is integrated into the OS at no additional charge, then it's an asset. After all, isn't that what we all want? An assistant?

-Bosco
PalmSource SC
http://www.palmsource.com/interests/browsers
Everything you've ever wanted to know about Palm OS web browsers.
NX80v + Wifi + BT + T616
RE: Sounds like a great idea...
Larken @ 11/4/2003 6:49:08 PM #
A co-worker of mine managed to get voice recognition functioning pretty reliably on his PPC several months ago. On a Palm, where you typically once with your stylus and you are in the program, it seems a bit silly, unless you can use it to perform functions in a program, such as launching a voice recorder and starting recording. On a PPC, though, it seems like it would be more useful simply because you have to tap multiple times to get into programs. It would also be useful to be able to say "Close all" and have it shut down the background processes that are running instead of having to perform the multiple clicks. Overall, I would say it's mostly fluff though. I don't consider it all that useful.

RE: Sounds like a great idea...
phalanx @ 11/4/2003 8:59:20 PM #
Just wait until OS6.0 is out and you'll know what's this fluff is about.
RE: Sounds like a great idea...
rcartwright @ 11/5/2003 12:30:31 PM #
This is a great idea for cars. I have a rural practice and spend a lot of time in the car. I do a lot with a dictaphone, but being able to go to text to speech or open Datebook to calender someting that came out of a call would be nice. Same for e-mail. HOWEVER, unless Micrsoft bought or stole (surely not!) some technology 10 years of research is not much. Dragon and IBM have been at it for more than 20 years and its still not really ready for prime time. Frankly, I think too many gearheads have watched too much Star Trek. OTOH, if thats what it could do, I will put my cash down.

Waiting for the 23rd Century

Life is a great adventure or nothing.

RE: Sounds like a great idea...
phalanx @ 11/5/2003 2:25:39 PM #
Here are samples of very usefull command:

'computer, select recorder, begin recorder'
'computer, dial James. A. Smith, at home'

Nothing exotic, just very basic command for common audio apps.


RE: Sounds like a great idea...
abosco @ 11/5/2003 9:19:09 PM #
"'computer, select recorder, begin recorder'
'computer, dial James. A. Smith, at home'"

If that's the extent of Microsoft's "ten years of research", then they must have spent 9 years and 11 months procrastinating.

What I'd like to see is experimental speech-to-text. Sure it'd take up lots of resources and probably wouldn't work right, but that's why I said experimental. It works on desktops, and PDA's are about five years behind desktop power, so we might be able to see features like this in the future.

In short, I'm not a huge fan because of the voice recognition technology we have today. I'm a fan because of the potential it has to be a huge helper. With fuel cells, it'll have enough power to have voice recognition active all the time with a magic word that will take no hit to battery. So you can be driving in the car, talking to the person next to you, then suddenly remember you wanted to send some hatemail. "Oakland-Raiders.. email Bill Gates.. write I HOPE YOU CHOKE.. attach virus.exe.. send over Bluetooth Profile 2."

The ultimate Personal Digital Assistant.

-Bosco
PalmSource SC
http://www.palmsource.com/interests/browsers
Everything you've ever wanted to know about Palm OS web browsers.
NX80v + Wifi + BT + T616

RE: Sounds like a great idea...
phalanx @ 11/5/2003 11:31:05 PM #
>>>If that's the extent of Microsoft's "ten years of research", then they must have spent 9 years and 11 months procrastinating.<<<

Well mister palmsource expert, if it is that trivial, why don't you show me what Palm has done in audio and voice recognition technology. Can it do what is available in PPC and top it?

Does Palm even has auto gain in MIC yet? oh wait, how about a 'MIC' on every handheld with functioning audio recording app?

thanks for playing.
Please try again.

PS. don't worry, once multitasking is available for POS, we'll have a good time comparing speed on high end apps such as voice command. (ie. I'll laugh, you sulk in the corner holding a POS device)

RE: Sounds like a great idea...
taraheiss @ 5/8/2007 11:49:46 PM #
Voice reco is a great idea. I almost didn't get the Palm 700wx because it didn't have voice reco--a great feature I remember on a phone I had -- voice reco (w/o voice training). If I can press a button and say it, I am SAFER in my car. Yet to voice-train a computer (Verizon 6700)... no time to do that! Voice reco is way better than looking and having to press buttons. Thankfully there is Voice Command!! The only caveat -- if a Contact isn't recognized by my voice, please let me train the smartphone.

Hi...
I just bought a 700wx to replace a separate PDA. I read the 700wx review/comments..leading me here. I see that you got the 700wx to respond to "CALL x ". I cannot find that function... but REALLY want it for car dialing. THANK YOU... I read the user guide (kindof) but didn't find it in there (it talks about voicing commands for programs! I need to call people.)
THANKS.
TAra

Most popular MS voice command

palmato @ 11/4/2003 12:18:06 PM #
control alt del


------------------------
Tired of PPC? Get a TT!

RE: Most popular MS voice command
acaltabiano @ 11/4/2003 5:12:15 PM #
HAHA!!! that is great!!

I thought this was PALMinfocenter

s_teve @ 11/4/2003 12:28:14 PM #
Why? are they telling us about things for pocket pc and not for palm


RE: I thought this was PALMinfocenter
Admin @ 11/4/2003 12:36:58 PM #
Read my comments in the article, to discuss Voice recognition technology on a handheld.
RE: I thought this was PALMinfocenter
LiveFaith @ 11/5/2003 11:18:02 PM #
Why do people not read the articles that they bash?

Pcoket PC vs Palm

GearHead @ 11/4/2003 1:32:03 PM #
I am using Palm products since 1998. So far I had 5 models. Started with III, IIIX, 505, 515 and now Tungsten T. I was very excited about Tungsten T3, expecting to have wifi, bluetooth (yes I do use bluetooth very often). Unfortunatley didn't get the wi-fi.

Last week I ordered a new HP h4155 (wi-fi, bluetooth, excellent form factor, Pocket PC 2003 etc.) I have it ever since. I am literally loving it. It nearly feels and works just like my Windows OS equipped PC. Fast, reliable and effective.

I think Microsoft finally refined their product to Palm standards. Better hardware with excellent software. Now they are aiming for ultimate PDA. I think this move is another sign of Microsoft trying to re-invent what PDA means for users. It's not only a glorified day planner. It's part of your everyday life. A gadget that you want to use at every aspect of your life.

I know some of you are going to be mad at me. Trust me I am not the enemy. I think new Pocket PCs are going to be much more advanced than any Palm ever built. Let's hope Palm will keep up with it. Imagine a unit that you can input with, stylus, voice, keyboard and etc. Always online via GPRS, entertaining, inormative, cable free. Many more uses to count.

That's all I think.


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Support your local WAN!

RE: Pocket PC vs Palm
RhinoSteve @ 11/4/2003 1:56:06 PM #
There is nothing like competition to get change to occur.

KatlVox / Palm / Palm Labs / Palm Source / MobileAria / DragonSpeak and many other voice rec. PDAs efforts have been tried and died trying to make this work. Voice Recognition has been an orphan technology and niche at best. There have been voice recognition technologies up and running since the 70s on IBM and DEC machines. This technology has some of the longest trail of dead companies behind it trying to make this stuff profitable.

Many, many outfits have been trying to get voice recognition bundled into a the Palm OS. The simplicity mantra has always killed this. Now with 400 MHz, X-Sacle processors running, you can have a voice rec. thread on Palm OS 6 as a third party app. The hardware is there, just comes to someone packaging it right.

I'd bet good money there is a cubical out there somewhere with someone speaking to a Palm device and it checking an address or dialing a Bluetooth Cell Phone. Now with Microsoft comming out with this, it gives some of the Palm OS voice rec. proponents a flame to get this out on someones device.

On a final note, for such a streamlined company such as Microsoft do to this is more a sign of desperation than innovation in my opinion trying anything to get some more market share.

But then, pull out a PDA, talk to it and some cute girl doesn't like you because of it, that will kill the sales in this mostly young, single male based PDA market.
RE: Pcoket PC vs Palm
cbowers @ 11/4/2003 2:38:14 PM #
"Many, many outfits have been trying to get voice recognition bundled into a the Palm OS. The simplicity mantra has always killed this. Now with 400 MHz, X-Sacle processors running, you can have a voice rec. thread on Palm OS 6 as a third party app. The hardware is there, just comes to someone packaging it right. "

How 'bout we just start with something simple with 400Mhz like VoIP. Jeeze PalmOne and VLI, it's been 4 months since the date you announced it would be available. Every additional day that slips by makes the Tungsten C with it's mono jack seem like more of a lame duck (hardware designed for non-existant software). The Pocket Tunes streaming shoutcast beta shows off both the usefullness of WiFi and the uselessness of the mono jack.

RE: Pcoket PC vs Palm
Deslock @ 11/4/2003 3:12:25 PM #
Everyone is entitled to their opinion and Pocket PC has some appealing features that Palm does not. But there are two comments in your article that deserve a response:

You wrote (about PPC) "It nearly feels and works just like my Windows OS equipped PC. Fast, reliable and effective."

I just switched back to Palm after owning multiple PPCs (the last one being an HP2210). I got fed up with the random system slow-downs, Active Sync problems, alarms failing to go off, resets every couple days (usually at inconvenient times), and general sluggishness of the OS. IMHO, I think PPC will be plagued by various problems unless Microsoft scraps it and designs a handheld OS from the ground up (instead of basing it on NT4 and using parts of the Win32API, which IMHO is the root of many of PPC's problems).

You also wrote: "I think this move is another sign of Microsoft trying to re-invent what PDA means for users. It's not only a glorified day planner. It's part of your everyday life. A gadget that you want to use at every aspect of your life."

Uhhhh... OK. That reads like it's straight out of a MS PR department. The reality is that Palm is much more than a glorified organizer and has been for many years. It allow you to edit/view speadsheets, documents, code, databases, etc... you can also play games with kick-ass graphics (but PPC has a clear advantage here), play videos, view graphics, listen to music, etc... Both Palm and PPC have advantages over each other as handheld computers, but Palm is not just a glorified organizer.

Love conquers all
Palmary @ 11/5/2003 1:59:48 PM #
"Last week I ordered a new HP h4155 (wi-fi, bluetooth, excellent form factor, Pocket PC 2003 etc.) I have it ever since. I am literally loving it."

You either need a dictionary or counselling. If it's the latter, I hope you use screen protection :-)

RE: Pcoket PC vs Palm
ChadSLC @ 11/6/2003 1:05:06 AM #
I too had several PPC devices (Casio's, Jornada, iPaq) and finally came back to the Palm OS because of battery life, alarms not going off, soft-resetting, ActiveSync issues. Just seemed like the issues on the desktop started to creep into my handheld. I'm just tired of having to hover over my Windows XP box making sure that the latest security patches are up-to-date.

Demo on CNN Healines

Doo @ 11/4/2003 2:19:46 PM #
A reporter did a piece on this and it was such a mess. It glitched 3 times before it did what he wanted. Pretty funny.

I'll stick to typing. I type faster then I talk anyway.



RE: Demo on CNN Healines
LiveFaith @ 11/5/2003 11:23:51 PM #
I wish MS would come out with something that would let me "backspace" speech that I say to my wife from time to time.
RE: Demo on CNN Healines
SPCagigas @ 11/6/2003 4:26:00 PM #
Naw... I just start every morning with an apology to my wife...

Anyway, this could end up being as big a PR mishap as the original Newton handwriting recognition -- slick idea, premature introduction, public ridicule.

What I would like to see, assuming this becomes feasible, is a voice-assist -- "Meet Bob at four" creates a datebook entry at 4:00 titled "Bob".


Don't start the party just yet

sandbuck @ 11/4/2003 6:35:41 PM #
This technology is impractical unless you can speak to the device in a normal conversational tone with the PDA at lap level, without worrying about background noise. Will this be possible?

Battery Life

bmari20007 @ 11/4/2003 10:42:52 PM #
isn't this why most of us don't have own a PPC?

Wouldn't this only make it worse?

Hey Chupa: Palm and PPC now have the SAME battery life
Hippocrates @ 11/4/2003 11:09:07 PM #
Now that the "Zen of Palm" BS has mysteriously disappeared faster than the Mexican Chupacabra (http://www.oftm.com/chupa.html), no one talks about the fact that Palm battery life is now measured in days (like PPC) - not weeks. Multimedia, color screens, fast processors and other features that used to be PPC-only all came to Palm at a cost - battery life.


Beware the Chupacabra, Seņor. It is evil. Pure evil. Aieeeeeeeeee!
http://www.oftm.com/download/chupa.wav

Personally

vesther @ 11/5/2003 8:01:36 AM #
Personally I don't use any Voice Recognition as of this point because when you use Voice Recognition, others might eavesdrop you, creating privacy problems. Input Recognition IMO is the way to go. I think Voice Recognition still has a long way to go, though.

In a Desolate Forest, an enchanted Palm-Powered Handheld is waiting to possess a helpless soul in the wake--The Palm-Powered Handheld's name is EURENZANNIG.

Inside Info!

LiveFaith @ 11/5/2003 11:26:32 PM #
Palm will match this before Christmas with it's new model ... VELD
V oice
E nabled
L inguistic
D evice
... now you finally know!

PS - Only recognizes mono speech tho. :-(

Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com

Voice Rec This!

mikecane @ 11/8/2003 4:42:06 PM #
So when will PalmOne/Source offer *this*?!

http://www.pdafrance.com/pdarama/pdagirls/CIMG1814

Just call it... PalmOS Sex.

Hey, Ryan! Start interviewing for PIC Gals! Ryan's Angels? Cane's Concubines? (That last one has a certain ring to it...)

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