Too Busy To Save Time?
Many of us are buying expensive phone upgrades without investing time to learn and appreciate some of their valuable features. I’m here to help you save both time and frustration and enhance your smart phone efficiency. It doesn’t take a
genius.
Voice Recognition Works Better Now
This picture of my iPhone screen is worth 1,000 words. I created 99 % of the message below with my voice and the microphone button.
Do you see the
microphone icon to the left of the
space bar? That’s all I used to create this message – almost. I did go back and add two “
?”s to properly punctuate. To insert a period at the end of a sentence, stop dictation by tapping the microphone, then just tap the space bar twice. Then, you can tap the mic-icon to re-start dictation.
What About Text Messages?
Yes, the microphone button works for texts, too. AND any time you see that microphone icon on your keyboard, you can dictate and save time and thumb fumbling frustration.
User Caveat
Voice recognition is NOT a perfect science. It works great, except when it doesn’t. So you do need to be more cautious about proof reading
before sending. That said, it continues to improve. And for casual messaging your time savings really add up.
What A Great New Feature!
Well, not exactly new. It was available on my iPhone 4S. And so was:
Appointment Scheduling: You’ve Got People for That
Want to schedule a meeting with one of your phone contacts using your iPhone? Simply press and briefly hold the HOME button. Then say:
“Schedule a lunch meeting with Bob for noon on Thursday at Bob Chin’s in Wheeling”
If you have more than one
Bob in your contacts, Siri will ask “Which Bob?” After you’ve selected your
Bob and confirmed (don’t skip the confirm part), here’s what happens:
- Siri will tell you that the meeting is scheduled
- She will be correct: the event is added to your calendar with the location, date and time.
- Bob will receive a confirming email invitation for the meeting.
In a matter of
seconds, you and Bob are booked! Try that with your thumbs.
Doesn’t Everyone Know This?
Apparently not. I recently met with Andrew, a thirty-something banker who is a reasonably tech savvy guy. I used Siri to schedule a follow-up meeting at the conference table. He was astounded with the efficiency. And, had no idea that voice recognition was so readily available, worked so well and that it actually interacted with the phone’s database. Others have also marveled when watching me use this 2012 feature. Since Andrew so strongly encouraged me to share this, I now have.
Can you do this while driving? If your car has a Bluetooth connection that syncs with your phone, dictation is reasonably safe and highly efficient.While I come from an Apple environment, I have to believe that Droid and other phone systems have similar functionality. You just need to know about it and have the
courage to try it.
Related
Do you see the microphone icon to the left of the space bar? That’s all I used to create this message – almost. I did go back and add two “?”s to properly punctuate. To insert a period at the end of a sentence, stop dictation by tapping the microphone, then just tap the space bar twice. Then, you can tap the mic-icon to re-start dictation.
2 Responses
Tom, this is Cool. Is this an add in app? I’m not seeing the Mic. on my phone (5G).
I think I told you but I’ll say again your picture is a fantastic addition/change, makes you more real and friendly.
Best…Scooter
It’s not an app. It is built in to the Operating System. Why don’t you just hold down the HOME button then ask “Siri how do I use hands free dictation? Or if you have iOS 8, just say Hey Siri. Then ask.
For higher volume dictation, there is the Dragon app.