So I haven’t been too active here lately because my arms in a sling. However, I just traded in my phone for a Nexus 5 that has talk to text capability. This has to be the best invention ever. Does anyone else use talk to post here? Any tips or tricks?
I personally don’t use talk to text on my N5 just because it’s easier to use Google Keyboard.
However, try this app from Google. You can completely control your phone with your voice.
You’ll have to join the beta first though.
@FroodyFrog dammit! my phone isn’t compatible. that’s what i get for having a 4 year old phone.
@mfladd
The first link won’t work until the second link is used and the beta is joined.
@mfladd
The way beta testing on Android works is kinda annoying.
Even after you join a beta test, it still takes some time for the link to work. Something like 15 minutes or so. (Possibly longer, I don’t remember the exact time.)
@FroodyFrog Yup, I figured that out after. Ok, still had a problem, but I finally got it. It will be downloaded shortly. Thanks.
@FroodyFrog “This app is incompatible with all of your devices”
@hallmike @carl669
You could always sideloaded it via APK Mirror.
@FroodyFrog I could, but I think I’m over it now.
@FroodyFrog omg, I got rid of that thing. It was annoying.
@mfladd
I have it, but I don’t use it just because it disables password entry stage for decrypting an encrypted device.
@carl669 you have a four year old phone too? (HTC Amaze here)
@baqui63 yep. samsung galaxy s2. the s7 (finally) has everything i want. but, my old phone works fine, so i can’t justify dropping $600 on a new one.
@carl669 I upgraded from the Note 2 to the Note 5 because Note 2 was stuck at Android 4.3 and the Jet Blue app requires a minimum of Android 4.4. Mrs. cengland0 flies Jet Blue around 10 times a year so she was nagging me to upgrade.
@cengland0 @carl669
This is one reason why Android Distribution Numbers favor the older versions (besides the fact that companies would naturally rather try selling you a new device); people who got devices 4 years ago feel no reason to get a new device since the old one works perfectly (barring the scenario where an app doesn’t support that version)
@cengland0 i looked at the Notes, but they’re just too big for me.
@FroodyFrog that’s what starting to happen. some of the upgrade to the apps i have won’t work on my phone. oddly, it’s not always because of the android version. for example, the newest starbucks app says it supports 4.1. my phone has 4.1.2. i can load the app and get it to start, but whenever i login, it just says “system error”. so, i loaded it in genymotion, with android 4.1.2 and it works fine. it appears the app just doesn’t support my screen resolution.
@carl669 The note is definitely not too big. It’s the size that attracted me to it in the beginning. The salesman called it a fablet (or phablet) phone/tablet.
I’m old and the larger screen helps me to see what is being displayed.
@carl669 Exactly my reasoning.
Tho I have considered purposely breaking my Amaze on occasion (usually when I’ve been in some relatively boondock area that doesn’t have good signal for a while and the battery dies too quickly).
Have not used talk to text here, but do all the time with text messages.
A few weeks ago I broke down and got a tow from a really nice tow driver. I spoke a text to my friend that said, “The tow truck driver was really nice.” My phone typed, “The touch of the driver was really nice.”
@conandlibrarian value added tow service? Deal.
I only use it for hands-free texting & emails while driving. I never use it in public so I don’t become one of those annoying jerks always yelling at his phone.
@hallmike guess that’s going to be me for a while.
@KDemo At least you have an excuse.
@KDemo Blame the goat
@hallmike true and I probably won’t be going out in public much until the splint comes off, so the public is safe for now.
@compunaut damn you Mets. Haha
@hallmike so that explains how you write texts and emails relatively safely when driving… how do you read them safely?
@hallmike
Use it a lot at stoplights. If you are doing something serious, you have to fix it up afterwards; unless i’m doing it wrong.
@f00l you can use the “No I said” command to fix a word. You can also speak to add punctuation like “period” or “exclamation point”.
@jbartus I’ve heard there is a way to have them read aloud but I have not looked into it. I usually wait until a stop light or gas station break.
@jbartus I use Siri to read my unread texts to me and then reply the same way.
@hallmike
If you tell Google: “Show me my last messages”, you can have your last 5 messages read to you.
(Also, if you’re looking for a good car-mode app, look at AutoMate.)
For several years (since I got the Samsung Note 2), the keyboard has had a microphone button on it. Anywhere I could use the keyboard, I could just click that microphone and dictate my text.
Unless I’m in a public place where I don’t want others overhearing me, I practically use that method exclusively when on my mobile device to text.
Oops should have said Nexus 5X. I’m having so much fun with this. Half the time the errors are the best part.
@KDemo I’ve had some hilarious moments voice texting people. The typos can be far better than anything I’ve ever had to say.
@KDemo My phone had talk to text… and I loved it! Our house phone will convert voicemails to text and I laugh at the way my name is converted. I am called Nick, Mick, Icky… hilarious…
@jaremelz You know you have to share, right? And I think you just pitched a big juicy softball for @mfladd
What I am impressed by is how much of the conversion on the fly is done on the device itself…
The other day I told the nexus 5x “Ok Google set an alarm for 5 minutes from now” and it did… after the timer went off I looked at the phone and saw it was in airplane mode and started playing… “Ok google take a note, this is a test of this thing understanding me without being online” and lo and behold it worked.
I know speech recognition isn’t a new thing, I was just shocked that in this age of everything being offloaded to the “cloud” that google is doing it local, on a phone.
@thismyusername - I had no idea that was possible. I believe I have more playing to do with this phone.
@KDemo me either, I was impressed with the google-fu
@thismyusername yup they announced offline speech recognition a couple years ago at google I/O
My wife was in the passenger’s seat dictating a message. As she paused at the finish, I leaned towards her and shouted “Egg!”. She hit send before she could stop and correct it.
Hilarity: a non-sequitur introduced to a text message.
Legacy: my seven-year-old shouting random words EVERY FRICKING TIME you use text-to-speech near her. SHOUTING. RANDOM. WORDS.
@Jasongb I love your seven-year-old.
@Jasongb A well trained child. Good job, Dad.
I use it on my iPhone for texting, emails and posting on Facebook. I think it may be helping me with my diction. I have a Southern accent and apparently speak too slow (imagine that) and mumble a bit. I have to constantly manually correct what was typed from my talking. In order to reduce the number of corrections I am speaking as clearly as possible. Not a bad side effect to something that is helping simplify my life. Also, I love Siri. I haven’t had an iPhone long and am enjoying all the things he can do for me.
@mehbee I thought Siri was a she?
@baqui63 she is.
@baqui63 Not if you change the voice to a he, which I did…my Siri is Australian and very polite and helpful.
@mehbee And very good looking and serves you breakfast in bed?
@Barney Absolutely!!
@mehbee @barney Methinks you did a bit more than just change the voice
@compunaut LOL…or I just have a huge imagination! He does have a nice voice though.
@compunaut I changed the voice on mine. He is a British gentleman that refers to me as “Mr. Librarian” as opposed to “Conan.”
@conandlibrarian
I always thought your username was “con and librarian”
@FroodyFrog That’s what Irk wants you to believe
@conandlibrarian
Nothing to do with Irk.
I love talk to text. It’s particularly handy for spelling words, like the word “particularly”.
@Teripie
Even though almost all of the top keyboards on both Android and iOS have swipe to text capabilities, along with alternative word selection, sometimes I’m in middle of swiping a word, but then I forget what I’m spelling.
That’s when voice to text is useful.
“Particularly” is one of those words.