07
Jan
IMG_1428

[CES 2013] LG's Press Conference: No New Phone, No New Tablet, No New Version Of Google TV; They Do Have A New GTV Launcher, Though

Posted by in LG, News

I went to LG's CES press conference, so I kind of feel obligated to write about it, even though nothing much happened. The biggest news out of the conference is that the translated "Google TV 3.0" press release we came across a few weeks ago is bogus. At the time we thought it meant a new version of GTV was coming, but it turns out it's just the same software that's been out since November, with a new launcher made by LG, which they referred to as their "3rd generation skin."

So what's new about the 3rd Gen skin? Almost nothing.

14
Nov
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Google TV Poised To Get Update With Voice Search, PrimeTime, New YouTube Experience

Posted by in Android OS, Google, Google TV, News

Today, in a post to the Official Google TV Blog, Google announced officially the new functionality offered by the YouTube update we covered yesterday, along with a few other treats set to hit Google TV users starting with LG devices "this week."

First among the enhancements is the addition of Voice Search, allowing users to "simply speak to watch anything." Voice Search recognizes commands for opening apps, playing YouTube videos, visiting websites, and even finding channels or specific TV shows. For example, if you don't remember what to punch in to get from the Golf Channel to CNN, you can just say "CNN," and Google TV will do the work for you.

13
Sep
unnamed (2)

[Hands-On] Maluuba Is A Google Now Replacement You Might Actually Want To Use

Posted by in App Reviews, Applications, News

I make no bones of the fact that I find 3rd party voice assistants to be increasingly redundant, especially with the arrival of Google Now on Jelly Bean.

But Google Now doesn't do certain things. One of those things has annoyed me since the early days of Google's Voice Actions: you can't make calendar events through voice input. And as a person that absolute despises digital calendars, this is something of a "must have" feature. Creating a calendar event in an app, to me, is like having a root canal - in that I wish I could be unconscious for the entire experience.

27
Sep
The-Google-Samsung-Nexus-S-4G

New Nexus S 2.3.6 OTA Update Rolling Out (GRK39F), Reportedly Fixes Tethering - Here Is How To Install It Manually

Posted by in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung, T-Mobile

A few weeks ago, a GSM Nexus S update 2.3.6 (GRK39C) with voice search fixes started rolling out, but it was immediately discovered to break Wi-Fi and USB tethering. After many complaints, Google pulled the OTA, and it seems like they've spent the last couple of weeks making sure everything works as expected.

A new update surfaced tonight, also numbered 2.3.6, but this time bearing build GRK39F. While there is no official changelog, based on the fact that an update with the same exact build hit the Nexus One a few days ago and didn't break tethering, I think it's safe to say it fixes at least that issue (Update: thanks to our buddy Omar for an additional confirmation of working tethering).

16
Sep
voice-search

Android Voice Actions Now Available In Europe In British English, French, Italian, German and Spanish

Posted by in Applications, News

A little over a year ago Google introduced Voice Actions, which allowed Android users to perform a variety of tasks by simply issuing voice commands. Unfortunately, to the chagrin of non-English speakers, the app was only available in US English. Today Google is updating Voice Actions for users in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain with support for British English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.

To use Voice Actions simply say one of the following commands (spoken in any of the aforementioned languages):

  • send text to [contact] [message]
  • call [business]
  • call [contact]
  • go to [website]
  • navigate to [location/business name]
  • directions to [location/business name]
  • map of [location]

It is also possible to perform standard Google searches with Voice Actions.

02
Dec
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Android Gingerbread UI Gets Exposed In The Crispest Video To Date

Posted by in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Videos

Wow, this went unnoticed for a while, didn't it? On November 23rd, Google's own GoogleinHK YouTube account posted a video walkthrough of the new Google Voice Search in Cantonese. With only 2100 views, this official Google-authored video did not grab anyone's attention, until someone noticed that it featured over a minute of the clearest Gingerbread user interface video we've seen to date. The greens, the blacks - it's all there. Have a look:

Update #2: the original video was pulled but luckily, I found another copy:

Update #3: another mirror, in case Google takes down our YouTube mirror.

12
Aug
voice-actions-listen-to

Google Takes Android Voice Search To The Next Level With Voice Actions

Posted by in Applications, Froyo 2.2, News

Today’s Google Mobile even certainly did not disappoint. In addition to some minor improvements in Google Search, such as the ability to call businesses and play music from the web, Google introduced Voice Actions, a huge update to Android’s Voice Search application.

The video below demonstrates all the capabilities of the new application. If you’ve used Google’s speech-to-text functions before, you’ll know how well they work, and Voice Actions simply expands on that in a very powerful way.

As a quick reference, here is the full list of voice actions:

Speak any of these commands to perform a Voice Action on your phone:

  • send text to [contact] [message]
  • listen to [artist/song/album]
  • call [business]
  • call [contact]
  • send email to [contact] [message]
  • go to [website]
  • note to self [ note ]
  • navigate to [location/business name]
  • directions to [location/business name]
  • map of [location]

Unfortunately, this is currently only available to phones running Android 2.2 – it will also come pre-loaded on the Droid 2, the first phone to launch with Android 2.2.

23
Jun
Samsung Behold II Update To Android 1.6 Donut Going On Now, Brings New Features, Fixes Bugs, Hates How Mad We Are

Samsung Behold II Update To Android 1.6 Donut Going On Now, Brings New Features, Fixes Bugs, Upset At How Mad We Are

Posted by in Behold II, Donut 1.6, News, Samsung, T-Mobile

In an unsurprising and entirely boring turn of events, Samsung Behold II upgrade to Android 1.6, aka Donut, has started on June 21st and is expected to be completed on June 25th.

As we mentioned earlier, Behold II will not be getting past 1.6, to shock and outrage of numerous device owners, and this week will be the last (if not the only) highlight of Behold's about to be slow and boring life.

The bad news is: lots of you are unhappy, some to the point that you vouch never to touch Samsung products again.

The good news is… there is always the hacking community.