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Google Voice Actions

I know Google Voice Actions is only for 2.2 and up but was wondering if anybody has found a way to get it on the captivate.

I think our best bet is that Google releases a 2.1-compatible version soon. Otherwise we'll be waiting for our 2.2 update from Samsung, which could be an arbitrarily long time...and Voice Actions sounds really cool.
Edit: Vlingo is now free in the Market, and it works on Eclair. I don't know if it's as good as Google's new offering, but it used to be a $9.99 app, so...might be worth checking out.

cool i ll check it out

If you guys can't find vlingo, try edwin. They're very similar

Not sure where to post this, but I had a problem trying to get google voice action to work, using the listen commands and note to self commands.
Apparantly, you have to make sure that English (US) is selected. You can do this by clicking on the menu button when the Speak Now is showing.

[Q] Triumph, Google Voice, and mac basic questions

I've put off getting a smartphone as long as possible, but did enough research that I think the Triumph on Virgin's $35 plan with Google voice is a smart way to go. I still have some questions about this new OS, programs, and environment, and really like the smart people on this forum, and hope you won't mind a few questions.
-What’s the best VOIP app for working with Google Voice? I've come across GrooVe IP, but would like reassurance whether it's the best option. I'd like to make calls over wifi, but I'd also like to know whether Virgin Mobile's 3g coverage is fast enough for voip (generally...). I wouldn't want to do this routinely as I'd be afraid they'd throttle me. But I would like someone who knows to share their opinion.
-How do I find out my wifi signal strength? 3G strength? GPS strength? Or even just where I can learn what the icons on the top bar stand for, and what their range is? There must be a good app for this, and I'd love a recommendation.
-If I wanted the option, how (specifically) would I switch from making a voip/data plan outgoing call to the regular phone cell plan? Would Android be smart enough to do this automatically without a wifi signal? Or would I need to change a setting in Google Voice? Any thoughts most appreciated.
-How do I find what apps are running (in background?)? Percentage of system resources, and how to kill them? I’m guessing there are apps for that. Does Android kill a process when you return to home screen? What are some of the general rules?
-I have a mac. I’m guessing most of the programs that let you manage files, root the phone, install Cyanogen mods, etc, are PC based. I found Android File Transfer, but am not clear on it's limits. Are there better options? What will the AFT program be good for? [Emulating PC’s is a pain I would rather avoid, but I have been thinking of running virtual box to donate some processing time to the Large Hadron Collider, so I might be able to run some of these PC programs]. Any advice most welcome.
-Any skins or options to turn the google apps into light text on dark background? (I'm aware of and have used the option in Gmail). I hate black text on white background. I'm kooky that way.
This Android phone is good looking, the plan costs much less than a thousand a year (which I refuse to pay), and I LOVE the Google voice options to turn your text and calls into computer files which you can archive as you wish. The Google voice activation / text / search is far superior to iAnything, voip/wifi is the balls, and I think a lot people who've been holding off from getting a smartphone will jump on this combo, and this thread may help them. Many thanks...

dcnblues said:
-How do I find out my wifi signal strength? 3G strength? GPS strength? Or even just where I can learn what the icons on the top bar stand for, and what their range is? There must be a good app for this, and I'd love a recommendation.
-How do I find what apps are running (in background?)? Percentage of system resources, and how to kill them? I’m guessing there are apps for that. Does Android kill a process when you return to home screen? What are some of the general rules?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With respect to these questions, I'm not an expert, but I'll provide a list of programs I use.
For WiFi signal strength, I'd recommend Wifi Analyzer from the Market. For 3G strength, I'd recommend Cellumap. For GPS Strength, GPS Status + Toolbox or GPS Test.
The manual for the phone can be found on either the VMUSA or Motorola web site. It will explain some of the icons. Although when using the phone, I often see stuff not explained in the manual.
For examining the phone's processes, I recommend SystemPanel from the Market (paid for version has history), and/or Android Status.
There are people that tell you NOT to kill anything on the Android OS manually. I use 1Tap Cleaner and Advanced Task Killer from the market if I see the phone behaving a bit sluggish. Android OS loads stuff in memory readying it for future use. How it does so (intelligently) I don't know. I see stuff being partially loaded I never use. I have never had a problem using either program.
YMMV

GrooveIP works great over 3g...I dunno how much we will be able to use it once they start capping data..bastards

dcnblues said:
-What’s the best VOIP app for working with Google Voice? I've come across GrooVe IP, but would like reassurance whether it's the best option. I'd like to make calls over wifi, but I'd also like to know whether Virgin Mobile's 3g coverage is fast enough for voip (generally...). I wouldn't want to do this routinely as I'd be afraid they'd throttle me. But I would like someone who knows to share their opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GrooVe IP is actually the only thing i've bothered to use because it worked well enough, I havn't put it to test over 3g... In the future, you can root the phone and update it to sprint PRL (Their towers instead of VMU) - People have reported up to like 6-900kbps doing this... I would suggest to not factor this last suggestion in yet as you won't be extremely comfortable with your first smart phone being messed with (But a possibility nonetheless)
dcnblues said:
-How do I find out my wifi signal strength? 3G strength? GPS strength? Or even just where I can learn what the icons on the top bar stand for, and what their range is? There must be a good app for this, and I'd love a recommendation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i will back the suggestion of wifi analyzer, it will map out locations of wifi/cellular tower, it gave me beef on another phone that ran @ 600mhz but this one is 1000mhz.
dcnblues said:
-If I wanted the option, how (specifically) would I switch from making a voip/data plan outgoing call to the regular phone cell plan? Would Android be smart enough to do this automatically without a wifi signal? Or would I need to change a setting in Google Voice? Any thoughts most appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With grooveip and google voice it will ask you on all outbound calls after you press dial: Would you like to make this call with.... A) non-Google Voice B) Google Voice (same story w/ sending an sms except it will ask when you create the sms because google voice has it's own sms application, keep in mind w/ gvoice you can forward calls to your google chat account (and that's what makes grooveip ring instead of forwarding the call to your cellular number[i think])
dcnblues said:
-How do I find what apps are running (in background?)? Percentage of system resources, and how to kill them? I’m guessing there are apps for that. Does Android kill a process when you return to home screen? What are some of the general rules?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there are tons of application managers and task killers, I recommend to ignore all of them.... Someone brought a Samsung Prevail(Boost mobile Galaxy) into work the other day(Radioshack) - Anytime they killed tasks their touchscreen went out till reboot.... Android is supposed to self manage tasks and processes... realistically you just have to make sure not to leave your bluetooth wifi and gps on all the time... Also taking the screen brightness down a fuzz from max will help batt life tremendously... Android will suspend a process and kill an activity when you return to homescreen.... What I mean by that is that if you're in the browser and you hit home then you go back to the browser, you're on the same page still... but likely not to have any of your text still there if you were in an input field.... (This is probably an inaccurate example due to programmers being able to add a save activity state [this is something that when you for example hit back or hold the home button down to switch applications will store your current information, so when you're editing the text field it will save that data, THEN kill the activity/suspend it so that when you return it is still there, but the process is not draining the battery down at the moment.])
One of androids key attributes is the quick application switching via holding down the home button but some applications like pandora will run 'ongoing' so that you can multitask, while others will suspend so that you can save battery.... Kind of as a rule of thumb, unless it is monitoring or actively outputting it will be suspended.... so apps like pandora and wifi tethering continue to function when you switch applications because tehy'er ongoing whereas a note editor application would suspend itself untill it's brought back to focus because how are you going to type without it forefront?
dcnblues said:
-I have a mac. I’m guessing most of the programs that let you manage files, root the phone, install Cyanogen mods, etc, are PC based. I found Android File Transfer, but am not clear on it's limits. Are there better options? What will the AFT program be good for? [Emulating PC’s is a pain I would rather avoid, but I have been thinking of running virtual box to donate some processing time to the Large Hadron Collider, so I might be able to run some of these PC programs].
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off nice LHC Mac joke I take it we're running the server edition cause hey, more is never enough.
I honestly can't tell you much from the mac POV other than that it would hopefully work the same as the linux instructions but i kind of expect version/dependency differences... to be fair this triumph is rootable by application ran on the phone (Which you can GMail to yourself and download as attatchment, bluetooth, wifi shared folder, usb mounting, or download directly to the phone..) The custom recovery is installed via drag and drop on USB Removable Disc so it's not nearly as bad as some of the other phones would be,
dcnblues said:
-Any skins or options to turn the google apps into light text on dark background? (I'm aware of and have used the option in Gmail). I hate black text on white background. I'm kooky that way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Feel free to, they exist, I would however suggest against them... I walk to work a lot and it's a pain in the ass to read those emails when you have the sun on the screen; granted everything is harder this was damn near impossible... Nonetheless check for the black apps listed in xda/android/themes and apps... I'll link soon. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1206774
dcnblues said:
This Android phone is good looking, the plan costs much less than a thousand a year (which I refuse to pay), and I LOVE the Google voice options to turn your text and calls into computer files which you can archive as you wish. The Google voice activation / text / search is far superior to iAnything, voip/wifi is the balls, and I think a lot people who've been holding off from getting a smartphone will jump on this combo, and this thread may help them. Many thanks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to point out that with the GVoice extension/app for google chrome
you can continue your SMS conversations that way... I recieved one of the CR48s and this has been AWESOME for me.

As far as voip services, I have found using 3g too slow. That said I do recommend sipdroid. It will setup a pbx account for you using your google voice number. Upon connecting to wifi, sipdroid will start running allowing you to make and receive calls.
Sent from my MOTWX435KT using XDA App

Thanks guys for the very useful help. I'm kind of burned out on all the research, and kind of bummed that this red-hot, billion dollar business seems to be run by such morons. SO many unnecessary complications to offering consumers simple, workable products and services.
This has been a great help.
bigvandal said:
GrooveIP works great over 3g...I dunno how much we will be able to use it once they start capping data..bastards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm actually kind of grateful to Virgin Mobile for the $35 dollar plan. I can communicate via voice to text, for a fair price, so until I have a real problem, I'm not going to call them bastards. Until I have a problem, of course...
I do hate the BS in advertising 'unlimited' plans, but having them smirking in their headquarters as they say to themselves 'but we didn't say at what rate...'
On the other hand, people downloading movies over cell frequencies aren't exactly providing solutions to the problem either...

rubbachicken said:
GrooVe IP is actually the only thing i've bothered to use because it worked well enough, I havn't put it to test over 3g... In the future, you can root the phone and update it to sprint PRL (Their towers instead of VMU) - People have reported up to like 6-900kbps doing this... I would suggest to not factor this last suggestion in yet as you won't be extremely comfortable with your first smart phone being messed with (But a possibility nonetheless)...Android is supposed to self manage tasks and processes... realistically you just have to make sure not to leave your bluetooth wifi and gps on all the time... Also taking the screen brightness down a fuzz from max will help batt life tremendously... Android will suspend a process and kill an activity when you return to homescreen....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, thanks very much. For this and all the information. Colossally useful.
Groove IP is actually having a problem today due to some change in the Google servers. Hope it's resolved soon as I'd like to get this running.
Quick confirm: Triumph is LCD and not AMOLED, Correct?

Grooveip vs Spare Phone

I've been using Grooveip, but recently was recommended Spare Phone instead for using google voice over 4G. anyone have experience with both an can compare them? esp for call quality and battery life?

Please post Spare Phone apk.
Like just to test it and compare.
Thank you.

I use GrooVe IP with both my phone and Xoom tablet and a Bluetooth headset extensively for conference calls. I'm trying Spare Phone out right now. Lots of people comment about its better sound quality. To my ear, it's actually a little worse than GrooVe IP.
It is a little prettier, but not a lot. It was easy to set up, but not as easy. GrooVe IP prompts you for which existing Google Account you'd like to use. You have to type in your login and password for Spare Phone.
I might be missing something, but Spare Phone doesn't appear to have redial functionality. In GrooVe IP, you can just tap the green button and it fills in the previously dialed number. Tap it again to dial it.
I was having problems earlier today with GrooVe IP dropping out when the screen on my Galaxy Nexus turned off. I'm not having the same problem with Spare Phone, but I *did* reboot the phone before starting to play with Spare Phone. It had been probably two weeks since the last reboot.
Neither have stats or level displays. (As a nerd, I'd love to see I/O rates and audio input/output levels with interactive adjustments.)
I'm curious how Spare Phone differs from Tablet Voice offered by the same people. Tablet Voice is $4.99 versus $2.99 for Spare Phone (currently).
I'll keep trying it out this week.

young707 said:
Please post Spare Phone apk.
Like just to test it and compare.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Asking for the apk of a paid app is considered warez and against the xda TOS
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

truthkillszz said:
Asking for the apk of a paid app is considered warez and against the xda TOS
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as a hardware developer, if I cannot test this paid app to check my tablet, I just skip and move on.
Knowing probably 99.9% these half fast high school kid amateurish home made app just waste of time. In fact, most of these part timer app that saturated the air wave are just so non-professional are some kid's wet dream junks, this app in particular.

Your a hardware developer? If you develop hardware you must have capital which means you can buy the app instead of pirating it. Now you sound like a little kid.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

Yesterday, I answered an incoming call to Spare Phone over 3G. It was a little awkward as I think it was ringing in on both Google Chat (Spare Phone) and my actual mobile number. I picked up in Spare Phone and had to do a bit of Bluetooth disconnecting and reconnecting in order for the other end to hear me. In the process of doing so, a multi-second delay was introduced, making communication kind of difficult. I don't believe there was a multi-second RTT on the network, but somehow, during the process of audio source/output switching, a buffer of data built up in the client that wasn't detected and dealt with, thus introducing such a large delay.
I have encountered similar problems with GrooVe IP, but none to quite the same degree.
On today's conference call, I heard choppy audio and was told by the other parties that my audio was very noisy. I don't believe this had anything to do with my network, but it could have. I'll give it another try here later and if it's still occurring, reboot and see if it's gone.
Choppy incoming audio and noisy outgoing audio has not been a problem in more recent builds of GrooVe IP for me on my Galaxy Nexus.

truthkillszz said:
Your a hardware developer? If you develop hardware you must have capital which means you can buy the app instead of pirating it. Now you sound like a little kid.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After buying the app 15 times, we are tired of buying it anymore.
So, we are only using the free app. If we do not have the apk, we just give this up testing these paid app.
So far, we concluded these Android VoIP basically using Google Voice making telephone calls are poor audio quality.
We have yet found any app that make reasonable audio quality that is any better betwen any of these we tested, both paid or free app:
GooVe IP both free and paid, Talkatone, Spare Phone, Pinger, etc.
However, the most expensive Spare Phone app has their own lousy contact list directory, but not editable, and triple the same exact idential names (same names are repeated 3 times).

young707 said:
After buying the app 15 times, we are tired of buying it anymore.
So, we are only using the free app. If we do not have the apk, we just give this up testing these paid app.
So far, we concluded these Android VoIP basically using Google Voice making telephone calls are poor audio quality.
We have yet found any app that make reasonable audio quality that is any better betwen any of these we tested, both paid or free app:
GooVe IP both free and paid, Talkatone, Spare Phone, Pinger, etc.
However, the most expensive Spare Phone app has their own lousy contact list directory, but not editable, and triple the same exact idential names (same names are repeated 3 times).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why would you be buying it multiple times? just buy it once on a testing account and you can just re-download the app for free on any devices attached to that google account. I just find you defense of being a "Hardware Developer" to justify pirating an app to be a load of BS.

I not a Hardware Developer but I play one online.
truthkillszz said:
why would you be buying it multiple times? just buy it once on a testing account and you can just re-download the app for free on any devices attached to that google account. I just find you defense of being a "Hardware Developer" to justify pirating an app to be a load of BS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you completely! I suppose anyone could claim to be a hardware developer.
As for the Spare Phone app - I am using it along with Google Voice and it works just fine!

Sorry for the bump, but maybe someone can help me understand the difference between these apps and the native Google Voice app already in android.
I have a GV number, and I seem to be able to place texts and calls from my cellphone using GV. When I dial a number I get the option to use GV, and GV has an option to route all calls through their service. To me this sounds like VoIP. But is it really just using call forwarding so all calls/texts look like they're coming from my GV number instead of my real number? Is that where apps like Groove and SparePhone come into play? They actually route the calls through GV using the GV web service which really is VoIP, and thus free calls/texts?

RunNgun42 said:
Sorry for the bump, but maybe someone can help me understand the difference between these apps and the native Google Voice app already in android.
I have a GV number, and I seem to be able to place texts and calls from my cellphone using GV. When I dial a number I get the option to use GV, and GV has an option to route all calls through their service. To me this sounds like VoIP. But is it really just using call forwarding so all calls/texts look like they're coming from my GV number instead of my real number? Is that where apps like Groove and SparePhone come into play? They actually route the calls through GV using the GV web service which really is VoIP, and thus free calls/texts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Voice uses cellular phone network to route the call. Hence uses cellular minutes. GrooVe IP and Spare Phone log in to the GV amount using gtalk, which uses cellular Data connection, hence free call minutes.
Nexus IV

[Q] International Messaging Solution on Android

Okay, I've been looking for a good solution and haven't found one yet. I'm hoping some of the creative minds out here in the community can help me out.
I'm from the States, and I'm currently working in China. I'll be here for another 5 months or so. I'm a Nexus devotee, so I've got my Nexus 4 and my Nexus 7 here with me. The N4 goes everywhere with me, and the N7 is more of a couch/bed companion and a travel reader/movie player. I'm trying to find a good integrated messaging solution for communicating both with my colleagues and friends here in China as well as my friends and family back home.
When I first moved here, my plan was for Google Voice to be my solution. I had my cell number ported to Voice, and I have continued to use that for texts, voicemail, and VOIP calls using Groove IP. That has been a pretty handy solution, and it's nice that I can also access my messages when I'm sitting at my laptop through the Chrome extension. There are a couple of downsides to Voice though. The first is that it's kind of a clunky piece of software. It's certainly not sleek, and the syncing between devices can be a little hairy. I haven't figured out how to get a nicely functional inbox either. Google refuses to accept my China Mobile number for some reason, so I have to activate the app by using another friend's US number and then deactivating messages to her phone. Also, my friends and family members who are Apple users complain about the app being really poorly designed on Apple products. They don't actually need it of course (the reason I set it up was so my phone number would continue to work for everyone), but I can't control their end of it.
GChat/Talk is one option that I like quite a bit. It syncs really well between devices, and it's really clean and sleek. One issue I have with it is that, when my internet gets spotty at work (which is far too frequently), a message will sometimes arrive on my N7 at home, and I won't see it until I get home from work later that night. Also, once again, the Apple users hate this option because of the terrible choices on iOS.
In doing some research on some other options, I came across Kik, and I instantly fell in love. It's sleek like Talk with quick messaging, but it's more comprehensive with additional features and a better implementation of read/unread messages. I got it all set up on my N7 and was ready to tell everyone to sign up when I installed it on my N4. I looked at my N7, and I was back at the login screen. I logged in again and saw the screen pop up on my N4. The software does not support multiple devices. That's unfortunately a deal-breaker. Unless they fix that flaw, Kik is out the window.
I'm using mysms right now, and it's got potential, but I'm still not completely sure. I haven't really figured out the best settings to get it most effectively working with my China Mobile number and my Google Voice number. It's not as sleek and fast as Kik or Talk, and I've gotten some complaints from the Apple crowd about it not being very intuitive. But it does sync pretty well between devices, and I can access it easily on my Windows 7 laptop. So far, though, I'm not thrilled with it.
I would like to hear from the community any tricks with settings, additional apps to try, or other creative solutions to this. All ideas are welcome, and I'll be happy to try anything out to see how it works, so please don't be shy about any ideas. Thanks in advance for your help.

Incoming texts and Google Assistant

I have Google Assistant, it responds to "Ok Google" even from a locked phone. I have 7.0, play services 11.0.55.
I want my incoming texts announced with voice when connected to Bluetooth, headset or my Cadillac Cue. Cue puts a written message up on my IP cluster allowing me to ignore or read it, my headset which I use much of the day only has a notification tone.
I cannot find where I could personalize the text tone so I can determine if I need to wash my hands and handle my phone to view an incoming text, like you can with a ringtone. I have no way to determine who the text is from apart from looking at the display, which is in my pocket.
I admit I came from Windows Mobile (reluctantly) because my job required I use an app that is not available on Windows (surprise). I prefer to not carry two phones, so I purchased a Huawei Mate 9, forward the calls from the work phone to mine, have the app on my phone too, and to be fair it is a great device.
What annoys me is Windows has had these features since Windows Phone 7.5. I have read where Allo is supposed to do this but so far no joy. I have Googled this a lot and as large a base as Android is there is not much in the lines of a comprehensive guide for how to use Google Assistant, and help here would be greatly appreciated.
If I get this working I might even sell my Windows Phones....LOL

Google Assistant is still fresh and can't really do much. I read somewhere that apple's shiri assistant can read you your messages including who are they from. If that is what you really nead you should look into it.

arminbih said:
Google Assistant is still fresh and can't really do much. I read somewhere that apple's shiri assistant can read you your messages including who are they from. If that is what you really nead you should look into it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks,
I am unsure if Siri is able to that either, but thanks for the input. I expected the problem was my unfamiliarity with the Android OS, not it's lack of ability.

You can have a look at utter in the play store able to announce notifications

It's been nearly a year, still no improvement that I can see, any new info out there?