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Help Voice action problem

H

hackdroot

Newbie
So I recently took advantage of the $99 razr offer and upgraded from a Droid X. I decided to learn more about voice actions and was attempting to use it and ran into some issues:

When you use voice search (by holding the search button) shouldn't it use your contact list for things like:

"Call Mom"

or

"Send text to Mom....hello how are you"

Because it doesn't seem to work for me. I've tried with"Mom" my daughters name, my wifes name, with no luck. It understands me, but it puts the action in the message. Example:

"Send text to Mom.....Hello how are you"

results in:

------------------------------------------
Send Text...
to:
message: To mom hello how are you
-------------------------------------------

Using "Call mom" results in it attempting to call a local business "Grandma mom and me"

Any ideas?

-Eric
 
hackdroot said:
So I recently took advantage of the $99 razr offer and upgraded from a Droid X. I decided to learn more about voice actions and was attempting to use it and ran into some issues:

When you use voice search (by holding the search button) shouldn't it use your contact list for things like:

"Call Mom"

or

"Send text to Mom....hello how are you"

Because it doesn't seem to work for me. I've tried with"Mom" my daughters name, my wifes name, with no luck. It understands me, but it puts the action in the message. Example:

"Send text to Mom.....Hello how are you"

results in:

------------------------------------------
Send Text.
..
to:
message: To mom hello how are you
-------------------------------------------

Using "Call mom" results in it attempting to call a local business "Grandma mom and me"

Any ideas?

-Eric
Click to expand...


Voice commands are definitely in the developing stage for Android.

Examples:

  • "Map my location."
    Result: A map of the Philippines.
  • "Call Abby." (She has two contacts -- one with her first name only which is favorited, and one with first and last name)
    Result: Google search on "Call Abby."
  • "Call Kelly." (Again, in my favorites with a nickname.)
    Result: Tries to call one of 4 random people named Kelly in my contacts including two who don't have phone numbers listed.
Integration with the operating system is not nearly as tight as Apple's Siri (although Siri did not seem to understand my Texas drawl much better than Voice Commands or other applications. I'd like to see a training tool and a bias toward calling or texting people in the favorites list.
 
I just tried this and if I use first and last names it works for me both for calling and texting. Is "Mom" in the name fields?
 
MobileRob said:
I just tried this and if I use first and last names it works for me both for calling and texting. Is "Mom" in the name fields?
Click to expand...

'Mom' is only in the first name field. No last name listed.

Could someone try this please: Enter in a new contact with the first name of Katrina and Second name of Smith (it's not her real last name but I changed it on mine for clarity). Then try a 'Call' and 'Send text' command and see if it works. Just interested if it's something on my settings.
 
I have a new lg spectrum that does the same thing. I was going to get an i phone because of siri, but everyone told me android has the same type of thing? Well maybe android has it, but it doesn't work
 
I have tried using the voice command for several of my contacts it is working every time.

I press the magnifying glass, then say:

Send Text (contact first name) (contact last name) Hi how are you

And it then brings up the dialogue:

Send text...

to: Contact first and last name (phone number)
message: Hi how are you

Am I missing something?

Rob.
 
MobileRob said:
I have tried using the voice command for several of my contacts it is working every time.

I press the magnifying glass, then say:

Send Text (contact first name) (contact last name) Hi how are you

And it then brings up the dialogue:

Send text...

to: Contact first and last name (phone number)
message: Hi how are you

Am I missing something?

Rob.
Click to expand...

Maybe you speak CBS English and so Android has no trouble understanding you. It sometimes works for me, and sometimes not. You're also supposed to be able to speak punctuation (e.g. "period" or "question mark") and the correct punctuation shows up. When everthing ALMOST works right, I get to the right person, but invariably if I include "period' at the end, it gets spelled out.

Some Bayesian learning to offer feedback and a bias toward contacts in the Favorites list, plus some sanity checks (e.g. don't try to call people who only have an email listed -- yes, it's done that too).

Although Siri is certainly slicker than the Android Voice Commands, Siri can be pretty dumb too. It has its own problems, particularly with accents. I got an iPhone on my last upgrade but could never get Siri to work for me. I passed it on to my daughter (who was delighted with the trade) and took her upgrade to get my RAZR. We have phone races now. My reason for going back to Android had more to do with navigation and tethering than voice commands. Voice commands could be really great, but it just is not utility grade yet.
 
MobileRob said:
I have tried using the voice command for several of my contacts it is working every time.

I press the magnifying glass, then say:

Send Text (contact first name) (contact last name) Hi how are you

And it then brings up the dialogue:

Send text...

to: Contact first and last name (phone number)
message: Hi how are you

Am I missing something?

Rob.
Click to expand...

Mine works in several instances as well. But it doesn't on some very basic things as I've mentioned ('Mom' contact flat out doesn't). It's not that the system is not understanding what I'm saying either, it's just not referencing my contacts with the people I contact most, my wife, my daughter, and mother.

I've already laid out a reliable reproducable instance on my phone. My mothers contact. Create a contact with the First name 'Mom', last name of whatever (I've tried several with the same results). It will never use that contact on a 'Call' or 'Send text' command. At least not on my phone.
 
My theory, after some testing, is that it is expecting the first two words after 'Send text to' to be the first and last name. It will sometimes work if with first or last names, but always works if I use both names (at least on my phone).

Also, noticed that if I am in the text messaging app and say question mark or period, the punctuation works. But it does not work from the voice command. They are not the same app.
 
I don't know who it was at Motorola, but I was transferred to a higher level technician. They said they are working on it, and that right now it works better using Google contacts and not Backup Assistant for the contacts to choose from. This was a couple of months ago also. I don't use Google contacts, I use Backup Assistant, so I can't say if it works that way or not.
 
emmzone22 said:
I don't know who it was at Motorola, but I was transferred to a higher level technician. They said they are working on it, and that right now it works better using Google contacts and not Backup Assistant for the contacts to choose from. This was a couple of months ago also. I don't use Google contacts, I use Backup Assistant, so I can't say if it works that way or not.
Click to expand...

I'm using backup assistant as well.
 
for anyone who uses bluetooth alot, there are some motorola ones that work with an app called my moto speak and it works fantastic for voice calling and texting. damn near flawless. even works with my s10-hdheadphones!
 
Tried the voice thing again after some upgrades. Pressing the magnifying glass icon on the Google search widget brings up a "Speak Now". I say "Send text to Younger Daughter. Is this your Chinese in the fridge?" Seems to work perfectly. The text box opens and what I said appears. But when I hit Send the buzzsaw turns for a while and then a box pops up saying "Message could not be sent." Texting from the Text :) icon works fine.

Bottom line: Voice commands are still not ready for prime time. I don't expect to sit around and exchange pleasantries with my Droid anytime soon.
 
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