Related
Just received an email with the Vlingo beta apk. I have not tried it yet but since this forum has helped me a ton, I figured I might be able to return the favor. Below are the instructions directly from the email:
Installing Vlingo for Android
1. Check the Unknown Sources item in Settings > Applications
This is required since Vlingo is not yet in the Android Market
Unknown apps screen
2. Open the Browser and browse to *********
NOTE: Please do not share this link with anyone else
3. When the file is finished downloading click on it and then click the Install button
4. Click the Open button when you see the Application Installed message
Add Vlingo to your Home Screen
1. Press and hold in an empty space on your home screen
2. Click Widgets (or sometimes it will be called Android Widgets)
Pick widget
3. Scroll down and click Vlingo
Add Vlingo to your keyboard
Speak anywhere you can type
1. Open Settings > Language & Keyboard
2. Check Vlingo Keyboard
Enable keyboard
3. Press and hold in any text box on your phone and click Input Method
4. Click on Vlingo Keyboard
Setup keyboard
5. You can now press the microphone icon (Speak button) to speak to any text box.
Known Issues
* Vlingo requires Android version 2.0 or higher to work
* While Vlingo should work on most Android 2.0+ devices, Vlingo has only been fully tested on the Google Nexus One and the Verizon Droid
Thanks!
This is a really great App. I really missed not having this when I switched over from the iphone.
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you are aware that the default AOSP keyboard has this option right? as well as the newest HTC ime keyboard?, and the latest better keyboard?
dmc971989 said:
you are aware that the default AOSP keyboard has this option right? as well as the newest HTC ime keyboard?, and the latest better keyboard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, the default keyboard does do text to type, but Vlingo lets you open apps, call people and a lot more stuff. It is pretty cool.
The Vlingo voice recognition seems to work better and faster then the stock stuff.
What I really like is the voice search widget, it works really well. You can use commands like "find wal mart in Denver Colorado" and it will give you all the results on a map with details and you can call etc.
Works better then the other apps available IMO.
.
jpeepers said:
What I really like is the voice search widget, it works really well. You can use commands like "find wal mart in Denver Colorado" and it will give you all the results on a map with details and you can call etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The voice search that's built into the navigator app does that as well. I can say "Navigate to Wal Mart", it brings me up a list of Wal Marts in the area, and fires up google navigation to guide me there. It's also location aware, so if I simply do a voice search on "Marriott", it brings up the google result for the nearest Marriott hotel to my current location.
Another cool little app is Choice Dialer. It's very good at voice dialing, but it also lets you do things like "Schedule an event for next Wednesday at 2 PM", or "Play music by Motley Crue"....
Definitely going to give this app a try. It'll take A LOT to get me to give up Swype as my regular keyboard.
Regardless of whether I end up using this particular app or not, with all the laws being passed about cell phone use while driving, voice recognition is no longer just a "neat toy", it's becoming a necessity. So I applaud anyone and everyone who is working to advance the state of the art in this field.
I have not been able to install it. They don't specify if there is an Android version requirement, which I am guessing there is. I am running 1.5.
Ceger
Ceger said:
I have not been able to install it. They don't specify if there is an Android version requirement, which I am guessing there is. I am running 1.5.
Ceger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Says right in the OP that it requires Android 2.0 or higher.
subliminalurge said:
Definitely going to give this app a try. It'll take A LOT to get me to give up Swype as my regular keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 to that. I love Swype. Best app I have dled by far!
Finally got a chance to play around with this app this morning.
Observations so far... The keyboard seems pretty good, although I won't be replacing Swype with it. Voice accuracy seems solid. It doesn't handle "Navigate to" very well. If I say "Navigate to Wal Mart" it just brings up nearby wal marts in google maps. On the built in voice search, it fires up navigation and handles the request properly. Given that this is still a beta, it could be that they just haven't tweaked it to take advantage of Android's capabilities yet.
Seems about the same speed as google's voice search.
But now the deal breaker. I've been getting frequent "unable to connect to server" errors this morning. I've verified that my data connection is working fine. This may be a beta, but they have versions for other handsets that are in production, so the beta thing is no excuse for their servers being down.
All things considered, this seems like a solid effort, but I don't see where it brings very many advantages to the table in comparison to the built in voice search. And if their servers aren't reliable, I can't really justify putting it into daily use no matter how good it is.
swype keyboard for life, but this vlingo could go somewhere, my only problem is, it didnt give me the widget.
i uninstalled and re-installed. nothing.
keyofhappy said:
swype keyboard for life, but this vlingo could go somewhere, my only problem is, it didnt give me the widget.
i uninstalled and re-installed. nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's odd. The widget's working fine for me.
In truth, it doesn't really add much. You can get nearly the same result by just putting the app icon on your home screen. The widget does eliminate one extra button press, but for some unknown reason they made it 4 spaces wide.
Not enough functionality to justify losing that much screen real estate, IMHO.
EDIT: Ah, you can set it to come up when you long press the search button. Accomplishes the same thing as the widget, and doesn't use up 4 spaces on your screen.
Ooh, another annoyance...
They use yahoo rather than google for searches. No place to change it in the settings.
Another observation...
Google's voice recognition cuts me off after a fairly short time. Vlingo has let me compose some pretty lengthy emails all at one shot, whereas creating the same message with the stock voice recognition required me to do it in 4 or 5 chunks.
This almost makes writing email on my phone easier than my desktop with the full sized keyboard.
Do you have to be using it as the keyboard, or can it be used as a stand alone talk to text, or for opening programs and what not?
Negrito said:
Do you have to be using it as the keyboard, or can it be used as a stand alone talk to text, or for opening programs and what not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do not have to use the keyboard part of it. Everything else will work just the same without using its keyboard.
Mike
crazymike1234 said:
2. Open the Browser and browse to *********
NOTE: Please do not share this link with anyone else
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol nice
10chars
regaw_leinad said:
lol nice
10chars
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey...It said do not share the link. It didn't say anything about the file
Mike
Yet another feature of Android that is only in webs' wet dreams. After overall year after announcement, still no API's for the mic, amazing.
crazymike1234 said:
You do not have to use the keyboard part of it. Everything else will work just the same without using its keyboard.
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. Got it installed and played with it a bit. Me likey! Thanks for sharing.
Hi all,
Thanks in advance for answering some questions I have.
I've watched a ton of vids, done a pretty good amount of research so far, but still have a few unanswered questions about WP7.5. I will be looking at getting a Lumia 800 as that's what my carrier is offering in Canada. I'm sick of Android being flaky due to the fragmented ecosystem and am looking forward to the 'closed' nature of WP7.5 - I just want it to work. Period.
So, on to the Qs:
Can you enable a number row over the QWERTY keys on the keyboard? Alternatively, can you long-press those keys to pop up the numbers, even if they don't show?
Can you go into the settings to force the phone app to start with the dialpad as opposed to the call log/history?
Like in Smart Keyboard on android, does the first suggested word in the suggestions when typing get auto-selected when you hit the spacebar?
Are there alternative apps for StumbleUpon or Feedly available? (I couldn't find them, but I use these 2 apps reasonably often) Suggestions for similar, if no?
Functionality of the phone in Canada vs US? (ie which functions don't work: Local Scout, Bing Vision, Music search, etc etc)
Is there any quick way to change settings without having to pin them all to your home screen?
Can you make the calendar app start with Agenda view?
Thanks, I'll add more if I think of them.
O
>> Can you enable a number row over the QWERTY keys on the keyboard? Alternatively, can you long-press those keys to pop up the numbers, even if they don't show?
There is a Key which shows up all the numbers and other characters but its not like a popup and no long press.
>>Can you go into the settings to force the phone app to start with the dialpad as opposed to the call log/history?
Nope but there are apps which are purely number pads you can use.
>>Like in Smart Keyboard on android, does the first suggested word in the suggestions when typing get auto-selected when you hit the spacebar?
No, You need to tap and select the word.
>>Are there alternative apps for StumbleUpon or Feedly available? (I couldn't find them, but I use these 2 apps reasonably often) Suggestions for similar, if no?
Functionality of the phone in Canada vs US? (ie which functions don't work: Local Scout, Bing Vision, Music search, etc etc)
No Idea on then but what do you use Feedly for ?
>> Is there any quick way to change settings without having to pin them all to your home screen?
You need to use the shortcut apps for that.
>> Can you make the calendar app start with Agenda view?
No
wpxbox said:
>
You need to use the shortcut apps for that.
>> Can you make the calendar app start with Agenda view?
No
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WRONG!
It remember the last view you were in. if you leave in agenda view, when you go back, that is the view you will see 1st.
@ROCOAFZ Never Knew that so thanks a ton for that.
>>Like in Smart Keyboard on android, does the first suggested word in the suggestions when typing get auto-selected when you hit the spacebar?
No, You need to tap and select the word.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats not true, it does auto select and use it.
Been using WP from sometime but not sure how this works if at all possible.
Like when I type HAV it shows me Have but when I hit spacebar, it does not auto complete but adds a space.
nilsk123 said:
Thats not true, it does auto select and use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are some words that it will auto fill in but they have to be the only possible thing you would be typing in context with the sentence. Most words have to be chosen from bar right above the text. (i like it this way)
No problem on the agenda view. Mine is always in that view so that's what i always see
1: To add to what others have said, you can tap-and-slide to add just a single number or punctuation in one motion. From the standard keyboard, put your finger down on the number/punctuation mode key, slide it to the number or punctuation you want (the keyboard will temporarily switch modes when you touch the key initially), and release. The key your finger was on (in the alternate mode) will be typed, but the keyboard will be in the original mode. Very handy.
Alternatively, you can add some registry values that will create press-and-hold options for the top keys to have numbers. I added a press-and-hold list to my comma key; sometimes it's a lot nicer than switching modes even briefly! (I use a lot of semicolons.)
3: For some reason, nobody has mentioned this yet. If the phone will auto-correct (including auto-complete), then the suggested word/completion will be bold. Pressing the Spacebar when there's a bolded suggestion will use that suggestion automatically.
If none of the suggestions are bold (because what you typed is already a valid word, or because it isn't sure what you meant to type), then you can tap on a suggestion to use it. The phone does have a setting to automatically add a space after you do this.
4: There's an app that comes up when you search for StumbleUpon, based on keyword match (it's not actually a stumbleupon app, but it targets the same kind of user). I haven't tried it (but then, I don't use SU either).
5: Vision and Music Search should both work just fine (they're not locale based at all, so far as I know). Scout... I think it works in Canada? I've never tried (I live close to the border, but not *that* close, and international data costs money so I always have it disabled). I assume Zune Pass and Directions both work as well, and those are the other two locale-sensitive features I can think of that might care.
6: Not really, but how often do you need to mess with settings? There are some apps that let you quickly reach the ones you use most often, or let you quickly reach ones that are normally a few levels deep, but no one-tap toggles yet that I'm aware of.
However, I really don't find it required to enter settings much at all. See a new WiFi network? The phone will prompt you. You'll only save a very small amount of power by leaving WiFi off when not in use; the phone is very good at putting it in a power-saving mode. I almost never need to touch any of the other settings.
Didn't notice the bold... good post ... i'm always learning something new in Windows phone
I was thinking about removing the hole bixby crap and use the Bixby button to do something else ? what do you think ?
Good ideea! How?
It's entirely up to you. Everybody will have a different opinion and there will be plenty of people that will enjoy using Bixby. I'll probably use it sometimes.
Everybody has different needs. I for example, don't use my phone to purchase anything and I don't have a need for Samsung Pay or Android Pay. Never will and I'll never understand the point of it. That's useless bloatware for me. It's much quicker and easier to use my contactless debit card.
You'll have to decide if it's useful or not to you.
saifullah90 said:
I was thinking about removing the hole bixby crap and use the Bixby button to do something else ? what do you think ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup my thoughts exactly, ditch the crap and make use of the button for something that might actually be useful, although I am not yet sure what (if the virtual home button irritates me then perhaps use it as a home button, or maybe a recent apps button). Don't know if you can do that without a custom rom, I suspect not as Samsung probably wants to force it on people.
ewokuk said:
Yup my thoughts exactly, ditch the crap and make use of the button for something that might actually be useful, although I am not yet sure what (if the virtual home button irritates me then perhaps use it as a home button, or maybe a recent apps button). Don't know if you can do that without a custom rom, I suspect not as Samsung probably wants to force it on people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that the spirit we will probably find a good use out of it.
Its just samsung take on google. It will probably just be more straight forward. It does the same thing..google translate uses the camera to live translate words.
You can google voice to set alarms etc...
I might use it might not its stuff phones have been doing for a while.
Sounds good
saifullah90 said:
I was thinking about removing the hole bixby crap and use the Bixby button to do something else ? what do you think ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Assistant is already useful, bixby is just another waste of space imo
I just want to delete bixby and I don't even own one yet
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
I'm sure it will be pretty useless for most of us, but I can see the thinking behind it. It'll be interesting to see if they improve it as time goes on.
Bixby can suck it! I'm going to deactivate that bloat asap.
It seems like voice assistance is being marketed as the future. Personally I don't see myself using it. I'm also wondering how many people actually use Google Assistant and Siri.
Edit: Rereading that last sentence, it seems like I'm questioning the numbers, but I really am interested to know how many people actually use it and for more complex things than checking the weather or asking funny questions.
Yeah I dont see it as a feature I would use. But my understanding is you cant remap the Bixby key to anything.
The main thing for me is the cards part of bixby. That's what actually launches when you press the button. I can put weather, reminders, calenders all right there so I can see it at a moment's notice. That way I don't have to put home screen widgets or ongoing notifications for those.
I think they want to make bixy like from iron man, where he talks to his ai, who is now an avenger. If bixy learns like they say i think itll be cool. Like bixy watch and learn me doing this, learning....then it can do what ever i show it
Dat Noob said:
It seems like voice assistance is being marketed as the future. Personally I don't see myself using it. I'm also wondering how many people actually use Google Assistant and Siri.
Edit: Rereading that last sentence, it seems like I'm questioning the numbers, but I really am interested to know how many people actually use it and for more complex things than checking the weather or asking funny questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly didn't think I would use Google Assistant as much however was I wrong.... I'll try to explain how it's useful on the pixel.
1st... The assistant kind of works in the background through other apps like photos, I was rotating some old downloaded photos because they were sideways however I didn't finish, next day when I first went in my photos the assistant randomly notified me of all the pics that were sideways and asked did I want it to rotate them which I clicked yes. Also the google cards bring news, sports, stock etc based off things you normally search like if I've been googling Samsung S8, I will start to see news, info regarding the S8 each day on my daily feed/ cards (Hard to explain but it's very convenient because it will show whatever you've been interested in such as new games, cars you've look at etc).
2nd... There's actually using the assistant voice features which are absurdly accurate even when I misstate a word. The assistant learns who people are so I don't always have to say names instead I can say call my cousin, mom, wife etc at home, on speaker phone. I can also say go to bestbuy.com or any other website. Set my alarm for 10am, add bananas to my grocery list, remind me to take out the trash when I get home, play a specific song on YouTube or in music player. All of this is not only accurate but considerable faster than doing it manually. In addition you don't need a physical button to activate the assistant, you just say "ok Google" and it knows your voice even if your phone was locked so it's truly hands free. As I'm getting ready for work I ask "how is the traffic to work". A few minutes ago I was just streaming a movie from my phone to my tv and got up to get my clothes out the washer so I told the assistant to pause video, then resume when I sat back down.
3rd.... I honestly felt Bixby functioned a little slow in relation to Google Assistant/ Siri however it's still kind of beta until the phone is released. I can see where Samsung's is trying to bridge the gap while also trying to get their foot in the door but only time will tell if it will flop or stand however I can definitely see voice assistants becoming a bigger footprint in all phones.
Dat Noob said:
It seems like voice assistance is being marketed as the future. Personally I don't see myself using it. I'm also wondering how many people actually use Google Assistant and Siri.
Edit: Rereading that last sentence, it seems like I'm questioning the numbers, but I really am interested to know how many people actually use it and for more complex things than checking the weather or asking funny questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought I wouldn't use it either but I'm warming up to it - primarily for replying to text's while driving, getting directions, finding restaurants, etc. Pretty handy in that respect and for me, it's more accurate than my typing on the screen keypad, which I find horrible to use (Samsung's keyboard).
But the point is google now/ assistant does this already. This video below is a perfect response to bixby.
By the way, you can disable bixby and you can reasssign google now or google assistant (or any other app you want) to the bixby button.
https://youtu.be/xfG15i_uQvc
Totally Agree, there was no point in Samsung spending time & resources on something that already exists and has since 2012 i believe.
But great that it can be remapped as now that button becomes useful.......[emoji3]
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Unfortunately from the hands on videos I've seen, you can't remap the button. Not sure if you would even be able to disable it in software without root.
Remap Bixby Button!
Use "All In One Gestures" App to remap the Bixby Button. Search YouTube!
I recently discovered you can access Google Assistant - previously only available for the expensive Pixel phones - on just about any Android v6/7 phone if you temporarily change the language to US English. I've been playing with it, as well as Google Now, which is apparently is set to replace and I have a few questions that perhaps people who've been using/following these apps for longer might be able to answer:
1) is there a way of saying "read this page out loud"?
2) can i translate the current page to another language ("read this page in french")?
3) can i get it it to open the browser (Firefox, in my case) and go to a page ("open Slashdot in Firefox", "Firefox open Slashdot" etc)?
4) can i get it to acknowledge me when i say "ok google" other than the limp little vibrate it does. There's an option to have it unlock the phone with "ok google" but if i'm not looking at the screen, or holding it (so i can feel the quick vibrate) I have no idea if it's picked my voice out of the background noises (say when i'm driving). It would make sense to have it just reply "yes [your nickname]".
5) when is the nickname used, anyway? I've never heard it say it.
6) Is there really no way of typing, instead of speaking, to Google Assistant?
7) I can't get it to play a video from Netflix on my Chromecast enabled TV, despite following the instructions online. It doesn't help that you can't follow them 100% because the options they describe differ between the online help and the Home app. Has anyone got this working?
8) I've set a work address in Google Maps but it's coming up empty in Google Assistant. Home is ok in both locations. They are both ok in Google Now too. What's odd is that it doesn't accept my work address when I type it, despite it being acceptable to Google Maps. This means that although I can enter a "close enough" address for the purpose of navigation, it's never going to allow location based reminders work.
9) Location based reminders don't seem to work anyway. It works for my home address sometimes, but i've never managed to get one set at a shop or train station to fire.
10) The shopping list interface is awful. It takes you to a really basic web page (it reminds me of my first attempt to create a list of items in html!) with no save option, and i now have some checked items I cannot remove. Perhaps if there was a save option I could do so. I actually thought this was a sort of javascript-less fallback option when I first saw it but it's not changed since then so I guess this is it.
For each of the questions above I've tried various ways but come up short. I'm using the latest stock rom for the Sony Xperia Z3, in the uk (the rom is the US one though).
Well, the title covers it. I can't actually find a reason to use or like it. Anyone use it? If so, for what?
TCPDump said:
Well, the title covers it. I can't actually find a reason to use or like it. Anyone use it? If so, for what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's completely disabled on my phone.
I can see it honestly being as good as google assitant if not like 10% better. But currently its pretty mediocre, and that is being generous. From the most simple tasks it screws up. If samsung wants it to succeed, they really need to put tons of R&D into it. Because as of right now, it cannot compete with google assistant.
The only thing that I like about it is the fact it can actually wake from voice while screen is off. Something the S8+ cannot utilize with "okay google"
TCPDump said:
Well, the title covers it. I can't actually find a reason to use or like it. Anyone use it? If so, for what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I got my device in April, i really
looked forward to get Bixby up and running.
However i since then, lost interest in Bixby.
I used to to use, voice wake up to wake phone (re S voice installed, but disabled ) on my other devices Note 4, Note 5 etc.
However with S8 you need Bixby activated, to work. Thats all I'm interested in.
If you look at Bixby (as whole)
Bixby cards is basic very limited
and boring.
Bixby vision is a waist of time. Nearly always wrong in identifying objects.
I use Google Assistant. with Nova Prime.
I can call up Google Assistant in any app
or web page that i am currently in.
Bixby button is aso configured to G. A.
My view is Bixby, will eventually become
just like S voice.
Not worth using after
novelty wears off..!
I have the beta and used it for about two days then stopped. The ONLY advantage is the fact it can wake up from a locked screen, which Google Assistant can do on every other Android phone out there, except Samsung.
My main issue was searching for simple things. If I ask Bixby where the nearest Starbucks is, it gives me a link to the Wikipedia article for Starbucks. Google Assistant shows me a list of the three closest Starbucks and the option for directions to each one.
Bixby CAN be awesome, and it may be one day, but for now it's too lacking to compete. But it is still a beta.
I only use it occasionally for the photo thing. Kinda hit or miss but promising. Awaiting the release of the Note 8 so they go full on with bixby.
Oyeve said:
I only use it occasionally for the photo thing. Kinda hit or miss but promising. Awaiting the release of the Note 8 so they go full on with bixby.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IF they go full on with Bixby. There's still a chance it won't be ready when the N8 releases.
So far I've found it to be pretty useless in comparison to Google Assistant. If Samsung isn't going to make it exceptionally better and worth using I hope they remove it in an update and make the dedicated button do something else.
It's not great so far, but I've found it a bit useful for setting alarms and reminders when I hold down the button. In that context it feels pretty intuitive to me. Otherwise, meh. The voice recognition when you try to wake it from sleep is borderline embarrassing.
All voice control is a complete gimmick in my eyes. I can never look past it and would never be seen dead uttering voice commands into my phone like James Bond. I don't want my phone limited and bloated with software all catering to (most of the time at the detriment of other features) some suspiciously hyped up way of using a phone that only applies to about 10 percent of the market. I should be able to fully remove every aspect of any software that openly listens to my voice on my device. That is not okay that Samsung should try and prevent this from happening. Voice control used in datafarming I bet.
I just tell it to rap for me. Entertains me for a minute.
I've used it for some basic functions like turn on/off hotspot, wifi, screensaver & play music, other than these, I haven't tried others.
You cant say its complete gimmick, Bixby is promising as samsung have put a lot of hardwork,
We should be giving time for it to mature and compete with other hardcore assistants like google assistant or siri or alexa
Yeah! Totally right!!
willcor said:
When I got my device in April, i really
looked forward to get Bixby up and running.
However i since then, lost interest in Bixby.
I used to to use, voice wake up to wake phone (re S voice installed, but disabled ) on my other devices Note 4, Note 5 etc.
However with S8 you need Bixby activated, to work. Thats all I'm interested in.
If you look at Bixby (as whole)
Bixby cards is basic very limited
and boring.
Bixby vision is a waist of time. Nearly always wrong in identifying objects.
I use Google Assistant. with Nova Prime.
I can call up Google Assistant in any app
or web page that i am currently in.
Bixby button is aso configured to G. A.
My view is Bixby, will eventually become
just like S voice.
Not worth using after
novelty wears off..!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Assistant is Floyd Mayweather, perfect as a whole and Bixby, is Conor Mcgregor, a UFC fighter who is an alien in a boxing ring.
i rather bixby. i can unlock the device with voice
I can't see the point in Samsung's own assistant on Android platform when Google has one for years. Another stillborn, I'd say. Wasted manhours in developing something that users will reject. Sometimes I wonder how the world still hasn't collapsed if biggest companies have that stupid managers. No sane person wouzld authorise work on assistant in a world where there's Google, Siri and Alexa. And adding the button dedicated to Bixby is the stupidest thing they've done. Luckily it can be disabled. I barely use Google Assistant, as someone wrote, all these voice apps are just a gimmick. No way I'm gonna use some half baked Samsung assistant.