The idea of controlling all the functions of your Windows
Mobile Pocket PC with voice alone is an enticing prospect. Particularly when you
look at what it offers:?
- Voice-Controlled Hands-Free Phone:
- View
contacts with a single voice command.
- Place
phone calls to people in your address book using your voice.
- Dial
your phone by voice using the phone number.
- Callback
and Redial the last caller.
- Voice-Controlled Calendar Lookup:
- View
your calendar with a single voice command.
- Have
the subject, time, and location of upcoming appointments read to you.
- Appointment
reminders will read the details of your appointment aloud so you do not
have to look at your screen to find out what is coming up.
- Voice-Controlled Media Player:
- Use
your voice to select the music you want from your collection by album,
artist, or genre.
- Choose
to control your music with your voice or use the large button interface
just like radio buttons on your car stereo.
- If
you are listening to new or unfamiliar music you can ask "What song
is this?" and the name of the song and artist will be read to you.
- Voice-Controlled Application Launcher:
- Launch
any application in the Start menu or programs folder, such as Inbox,
Calculator or Solitaire
Installation on to an Ipaq was
very straight forward. On installation a comprehensive user guide opens on your
pc desktop and is quite detailed. It?s worth spending the time to read it to
get up to speed with the various options and commands.
On your pocket pc, the program
opens with a ?getting started? screen, the first step of which is adjusting
your microphone, which is a manual process in your pocket pc settings screen. The
getting started screen gives step-by-step instructions of how to do it and
suggests properties for common models.
The second step is setting the
voice command activation button. This is set by default, but instructions are
given on how to assign another button if required.
You are then invited to use a
command to ease you into the use and then invited to use various other commands.?
This was when I started to think
that this is one seriously good piece of software.?
For instance, press the button
and say ?play music? a reasonably implemented, (if occasionally unclear)
computer generated voice then asks if you want to play ?album, artist, genre
or everything?. If you then answer ?artist?, the voice then lists all
media tracks by artist name, you can then name the artist and it plays in a
newly skinned version of media player that is loaded with the program. This is
actually very useful, particularly on the move, as it has big buttons that can
be stabbed at with a finger, without the need for the stylus.?
To see contacts, just say?
?show John? and Johns? contact details will appear on screen.
Say ?what is my next
appointment ? and it reads the next appointment from your calendar. Say
?what are my appointments tomorrow? and it tells you how many items in your
calendar for tomorrow and then reads them to you.?
Starting any program is a cinch,
just press the Voice Command button and say ?start? followed by the program
name and it starts. This feature will start any installed program.?
By the time you have played with
all of these features it is hard not to be impressed. The voice recognition is
good, although it struggles with a few words ,I can?t get it to recognise
?Aidan?, its really a good job I don?t need to look up my own details!
?What is really impressive is that the program needs no voice
training, as many other voice recognition programs do.?
There is also a small amount of customisation available
on what happens when a command is given, accessed through the Voice Command
centre in the settings screen.?
Where I really wanted this
software to work was in the car. I drive a lot, and to have contacts available
on a voice command would be ideal. Problem is, at motorway speeds, with the Ipaq
in a cradle, the voice recognition accuracy is fairly poor. It may be where my
cradle is, which positions the microphone quite high up so it would pick up
quite a bit of background noise, but for me it doesn?t work too well.
The other problem is that?
the phone feature only works on Pocket Pc phones not Pocket PCs. (I had
to search the small print to find that out)
What this program really needs
is bluetooth support and Pocket PC implementation making it possible to command
it to dial a contact, which it should then do through a bluetooth enabled mobile.?
So is it useful or a gimmick?
This is a harder question to
answer than you may think. Without the phone support and with poor voice
recognition when in the car at speed, it? fails
in the area it would be most useful. So it?s a gimmick.
Except that in the few days
I?ve had it, I have found I now use it all the time to access my calender,
contacts and media player and to start programs. So it?s useful. Confusing!?
All I can say is that I really like it, despite its
failings, and I will be keeping it on my Ipaq.?
?
System
Requirements
To install Voice Command, users need the following minimum requirements.
- Windows Mobile 2003 software for Pocket PC or Windows Mobile 2003
software for Pocket PC Phone Edition.
- Microsoft ActiveSync? 3.7 technology or later
- Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Millennium Edition or
Windows 98 SE operating system
- 7 MB of device memory (RAM) for 500 contacts and 100 songs
?
?
Microsoft distribute this through HANDANGO
for $39.99
A one day free trial is available here
