Google now (jelly bean) vs Voice search (ICS). Commands are missing? - Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE

I've only had jelly bean for about one month or so, and I barely starting using voice commands again as of recently. One of the things I noticed is commands that used to work on ICS no longer work, and that upsets me.
For example, I used to be able to say "call *random business*" and it would give me a list of the closest ones and a single tap would suffice to start the call. Now, on jelly bean, it simply googles the words "call *random business*" which is stupid and completely useless.
Another example, I used to be able to say "navigate to *blargh *" and it would either take me to the closest one or give me a list to pick. Now it just googles the latter words.
So, can anyone tell me what's going on?

darkleafar said:
I've only had jelly bean for about one month or so, and I barely starting using voice commands again as of recently. One of the things I noticed is commands that used to work on ICS no longer work, and that upsets me.
For example, I used to be able to say "call *random business*" and it would give me a list of the closest ones and a single tap would suffice to start the call. Now, on jelly bean, it simply googles the words "call *random business*" which is stupid and completely useless.
Another example, I used to be able to say "navigate to *blargh *" and it would either take me to the closest one or give me a list to pick. Now it just googles the latter words.
So, can anyone tell me what's going on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There should be two google searches. One is google search (icon with the g) and the other is google voice search(icon with the mic). Google search when using the mic it will bring up the usual google search links. Google voice search will have the dink sound and the words "speak now"
will bring up random business links. Example Robert Smith has two phone numbers. Open google voice search (icon with mic) and say "call Robert Smith" it brings up the two numbers for him. Click on one and it puts it in the dialer or directly calls(i forget which).
I just tried "navigate to my home address" and in a few seconds navigation came up. And started taking me home.

Related

Why does google navigation seem to have 2 voices now?

I've got the sprint evo lte with the charmelon rom on it. I'm not sure if this is something in the rom (thread is locked so i cant ask there) or if its something in android 4.0.x in general.
But for the last several weeks, maybe a month or two, google navigation seems to switch between two different voices.
One of them sounds much more artificial/computer generated, where as the second one sounds very human like a recording. I haven't really noticed a pattern to when it uses one voice over the other. Today for example it told me to make right turn and then make a left turn using the more human sounding voice. When i got to the point where i needed to make the left turn (which was maybe 10 seconds after i made the right) it switched back to the more artificial voice. In both cases it said pretty much the same thing so I don't understand why it needed to switch.
Is one voice generated by google's servers and downloaded? and the other voice generated on the phone itself?

[Q] [HELP] Google Now Not Taking Commands, Just Search Everything

Hi,
I have updated my SIII with the Poland release of JB. Everything works perfect, but Google Now does not.
When I open it and ask to show me my next meeting, which is the weather, or whatever I want, it completes the search field and search for it on internet. Always throwing web results instead of cards or answering me with Voice.
Anyone knows why is not accepting any command? I checked all the settings of it and don't know what else could be missing (or in the worst case if it depends on where you are located in the world).
Thanks,

Fooled again by Nokia?

Ok so. I've been really wanting so much to like this new Nokia Lumia 920. I've had been waiting to get rid of this IPhone 4 because I remember the days of my brick HTC Tilt and how customizable Windows 6 phones were. So far, I'm am disappointed. It isn't that I hate the phone. It is just that I expected more. I was expecting a lot out of this phone and it has not met the high standard that I (they) set for it.
The first major complaint is the camera. Are we being fooled into thinking it is that much better in low light. Yes, from what I've seen in reviews, it is better, but in my own experience, it isn't that much greater (I have tried auto and night mode). Am I too used to SLR pictures? The camera was supposed to be a big selling point! We have already been fooled once by Nokia about their "Pure View." (http: // articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/06/business/la-fi-tn-nokia-fake-ad-20120906) I wonder if all of this is just a scam. Now it seems that Nokia is owning up to more camera flaws (http: // pocketnow.com/2012/11/05/nokia-lumia-920-camera-fix). I really hope that this isn't a hardware issue and that they fix it right and not try any tricks. It isn't that the pictures/videos I take are bad, but they aren't that much greater(if they are greater) than the competition. Duped?
Battery life: I just switched from an IPhone 4 with no 4G LTE so i'm unaware of the battery consumption of 4G LTE but I have noticed that the battery sure does drain a lot quicker. I'm used to being able to go a couple of days without having to charge. I have noticed ways of getting the phone to last longer. Ff you run Nokia Drive beta, the GPS stays on in the background even when it is closed (you will notice a target at the top status bar remains on). You can turn the background option off, or you have to restart your phone to turn off the GPS and it can consume your battery. Yes, this should be an easy fix, but think about all the people that have to deal with this. Also there is not way to switch off 4G LTE.
Limited voice commands: I'm a big user of the voice commands to play my music. One of the first things I've noticed about this phone is that there are no voice commands from the touch and hold windows button that allow you to play your music. I get it that you can get the "Hey DJ" app and use voice commands for music, but why didn't they just integrate this into the OS so that I don't have to unlock my screen, and tap a few places. Isn't the point of voice commands so that you don't have to look at the screen.
Here are some other small complaints (Maybe some XDA developers could help cook up some changes.... I have paypal ).
No separate volume for ringer and music.
Internet explorer is limited when you search through Google
It is easy to accidentally press the back or the search when using the phone with one hand and reaching across the screen.
No apparent way that I have found to get the Nokia Drive Beta to repeat the last spoken direction.
No seeking option in visual voice mail. You have to listen to the whole thing all over again to get to one point in the voicemail.
Bottom line. This phone seems rushed and unpolished. I got it that some of these issues are OS issues, but come on! Am I expecting too much or isn't this the phone that Nokia was making such a large deal about? 10 more days to give this a try before my return policy expires. Come on Nokia and Microsoft. Change my mind!
Camera taking blurry pictures is a SW issue, as you probably know from having read about it, which hopefully theyll have sorted out fast in an SW update. The nighttime pictures Ive taken are very nice, though, so I dont know whats going on there.
Battery for me is fine, Ive only had my phone for a day, so I cant really say much, but the way its worked so far it seems about the same as my SGS3 in that department. Which is quite good. But of course, I need more time for that.
Voice commands I never was a big user of, since I feel like a moron walking around yelling commands in english (especially when Im in a non-english speaking country). But Im sure its annoying.
Volume thing I agree on, that should be an easy fix for MS to make, really.
Not sure what you mean by "limited" when searching through Google?
The accidental pressing is much like on the SGS3, really. Just a habitual thing, youll get used to handling the phone so you eventually dont mispress.
Iunno, I have a single real annoyance and that is wordwrapping in IE10.
i'm not sure what you were expecting from the camera, but the low light shots are some of the best i've ever taken with a smartphone. and i've had my share of smartphones (this year i've probably had between 8-10 different handsets from various oem's) the daytime shots are a little bit soft, but on par with some of the better smarphone camera's i've used, and it's something that is completely possible to fix via firmware updates (as in, it's not a hardware flaw, but rather a software one)
battery is pretty good for me, on par with my SGS3, it's so much better than my 4s on iOS6 though. there are a couple quirks that are causing the battery to drain rapidly, but people haven't been able to point the blame completely yet. some people have had google accounts getting stuck on syncing constantly and that is killing the battery and the only solution for now is a hard reset. it's an odd issue since it wasn't present in wp7.x and afaik the method wp8 uses to sync is the same as before. it's something that will most likely be fixed via software updates as well
limited voice commands are something that wp8 has the ability to deal with but i'm also bummed they didn't add more voice controls to the built in apps. music in general seems like a really rushed revamp in wp8 which is surprising since the zune software was quite well done in 7.x and was also a major feature which i liked a lot about windows phone. they're changing a bunch of stuff though so it's something that will probably be updated over time. personally i don't like voice commands outside of when i'm driving because i feel like it's faster to just use my fingers, but i understand your disappointment.
volume is something i agree on as well, why microsoft hasn't figured out this is something people have been wanting since 7.0 is beyond me, it really seems like a pretty simple change to make, especially when one is rewriting the entire OS.
accidental pressing is something that will lessen with muscle memory, i always have a lot of issues with button presses and a lot of typos when switching phones, but after a couple weeks you learn to do it a lot less.
i remember getting drive to repeat the last direction, but for the life of me right now i can't figure out what i did. if i figure it out, i'll post it.
the OS isn't for everyone, but for people who like the curated user experience a semi-closed system provides, but don't like apple's 1 handset philosophy it's a good platform.
i admit, i get bored sometimes and end up going to android, but almost always, after about a month of whatever the latest and greatest android handset, i always come back to windows phone. once you figure out your workflow on it, it's really the most efficient and fluid mobile OS out there.
Slai said:
Not sure what you mean by "limited" when searching through Google?
Iunno, I have a single real annoyance and that is wordwrapping in IE10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Word wrapping is exactly what I mean when I say searching through Google is limited. If you use IE and search through google, at the top of the page, you get a: "This page adapted for your browser comes from...." If you search through through the built in Bing search, you don't get the word wrap. You get the actual page. This is very lame and I think its Microsoft's way of getting us to use Bing instead of google.
Also if you just enter the URL, there is no text wrapping.
Okay? Ive set Google as my default search engine in IE10, and while word wrapping doesnt seem to exist and double-tap to zoom isnt really working perfectly, I havent seen a big change from searching with google and searching with bing or just using a bookmark or directly typing in the url :s ?
vangj said:
Word wrapping is exactly what I mean when I say searching through Google is limited. If you use IE and search through google, at the top of the page, you get a: "This page adapted for your browser comes from...." If you search through through the built in Bing search, you don't get the word wrap. You get the actual page. This is very lame and I think its Microsoft's way of getting us to use Bing instead of google.
Also if you just enter the URL, there is no text wrapping.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will happen if you have the 'defaul view' as desktop, if you select 'mobile' they will display fine, it is annoying, what I did was install the Google app and I just use that for my search and browsing.
Slai said:
Okay? Ive set Google as my default search engine in IE10, and while word wrapping doesnt seem to exist and double-tap to zoom isnt really working perfectly, I havent seen a big change from searching with google and searching with bing or just using a bookmark or directly typing in the url :s ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so it does text wrap well if you choose the mobile option for internet explore. I for one do not like the mobile version and chose to set my settings to desktop (sorry still a newbie so i can't post links)
ht tp://postimage.org/image/w6w5t09ml/
If you set your IE settings to desktop and search with Google, you get a funky altered website that looks like this at the top.
ht tp://postimage.org/image/j1gnmwfr1/
It seems like the phone is sending to Google that it wants to still be a mobile phone. When you search with Bing you don't get this option. If you search with Google in Desktop mode, you can scroll to the bottom to get to the desktop site but it can be a hassle.
ht tp://postimage.org/image/5zuyx1rct/
Like I said, I like the desktop mode because I can zoom in and out and make great use of this huge screen.
Hoping google releases Chrome.
Yeah normally I like using desktop mode myself, but my most visited website works really well in its mobile form, so I figured "what the hell".
Would be interesting to see Chrome for WP8. I dont see why not, it is available for W8.
vangj said:
If you set your IE settings to desktop and search with Google, you get a funky altered website that looks like this at the top.
http://postimage.org/image/j1gnmwfr1/
It seems like the phone is sending to Google that it wants to still be a mobile phone. When you search with Bing you don't get this option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you look at the URL of the page in your sample image, the URL is one on Google.com. It seems that Google recognized that you're on a phone and gave you a search results page that contains modified URLs that point back to Google itself (not to xda-developers.com) and that Google then proxied it for you, reformatting things to fit your phone.
Your complaint seems to be with Google for forcing you in to a "mobilized" view. Unless Google can't tell which "website preference" you're set to (mobile or desktop). I don't know how that preference gets conveyed in HTTP requests. Sorry.
vangj said:
Also there is not way to switch off 4G LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Rogers variant has the "max speed" option to shut off LTE. The AT&T one doesn't seem to have that... so this is an AT&T issue, not a Nokia one. And if AT&T is doing this on Windows Phone, I'd assume they are customizing their Android phones similarly, no? (I have no experience with Android.)
vangj said:
Limited voice commands: I'm a big user of the voice commands to play my music. One of the first things I've noticed about this phone is that there are no voice commands from the touch and hold windows button that allow you to play your music. I get it that you can get the "Hey DJ" app and use voice commands for music, but why didn't they just integrate this into the OS so that I don't have to unlock my screen, and tap a few places. Isn't the point of voice commands so that you don't have to look at the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an OS issue, so not too much to do with Nokia. The voice commands in WP8 are extensible. That means 3rd party developers can easily create apps that support it. I think Urbanspoon, Hey DJ and Audible are already out and support voice commands (meaning you can launch the apps by long pressing the windows button).
I expect a lot more apps will add that feature because it's so easy to implement. That makes the lack of voice commands for the built in apps really strange.
EShy said:
This is an OS issue, so not too much to do with Nokia. The voice commands in WP8 are extensible. That means 3rd party developers can easily create apps that support it. I think Urbanspoon, Hey DJ and Audible are already out and support voice commands (meaning you can launch the apps by long pressing the windows button).
I expect a lot more apps will add that feature because it's so easy to implement. That makes the lack of voice commands for the built in apps really strange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhm, you could always launch ANY app with your voice, even on WP7.
Those new apps support voice commands for other things. For example, from your start screen you might be able to say, "Urbanspoon, find nearby burgers" and it'll launch and go straight to finding burger restaurants around you. I have no clue what their apps actually support, but I know that it's possible to make an app that does that!

Voice-to-Text got stupid

I use Google's voice search / voice actions... whatever it is called... not one of the after-market ones. Up until recently, voice-to-text worked really well. I was always asking my phone questions like, "What is the distance to the sun?" or "Navigate to Jim Punjack's house." etc., but lately, it doesn't understand anything I'm saying. I could say "Navigate to Jim Punjack's house" and it will show suggestions like, "Aggregate of two gipsy pancake houses". Did Google make some change in their services? I know "Google Now" is a superior version that is not available to my phone (HTC Amaze) unless I install a custom ROM. I'm running rooted, S-Off, with stock ROM but because of this, I'm considering finding a ROM that will allow me to use Google Now. UNLESS one of you has a tip to get this Android 4.0.1 version of Google Voice Search/Actions to be reliable again?

What are you using for voice dial?

Hello,
I'm curious what software/app you use for dialing with your S4.
Most of the time my phone sits in my pocket and I use BT for voice dial. I've found the current voice dial seems to be a lot more tedious than my S3. Confirming who I want to call and half the time on confirm - e.g. call Mary Smith at work - there are two numbers what number would you like to call - I press the work number and then it says do you want to call Mary Smith at work and I will say YES and then it goes I can't find yep in your phone book and I have to start all over.
Is there a way to switch off confirmations? Is there a way to switch which voice dialer (I tried VLINGO but it no longer supports BT dial).
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I use the headset that came with the S4. Long press on the bottom button and make my calls when driving. I haven't hooked up my S9 to it yet but then again that one is a stereo headphone headset so it goes in both ears.
DarkMenace said:
I use the headset that came with the S4. Long press on the bottom button and make my calls when driving. I haven't hooked up my S9 to it yet but then again that one is a stereo headphone headset so it goes in both ears.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I should have been more specific. I'm curious about the voice dial software people are using and if there are any options within the S4.
boe said:
Thanks. I should have been more specific. I'm curious about the voice dial software people are using and if there are any options within the S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was having a similar problem. Except I wanted to change the default application that was launched when I hit my bluetooth function button in my car. It was launching SVoice by default. SVoice really sucks on my phone when it is connected to my car's bluetooth. Not so with my wife's S4. Not sure why.
I wanted to use Google Search- works flawlessly for making calls, navigation and finding points of interest, weather... but cannot do as much as SVoice or a few of the other apps available. Anyway- a couple weeks I did a series of searches and found the solution on these forums but can't find the the thread anymore...
So in case you are wondering how to change what is launched: you have to go into application manager (under settings) and disable svoice. Now, when you launch one of these apps it will ask you to pick a new default. If you would like to launch Google Search you have to download the app Bluetooth Launch which lets you assign any app to launch when bluetooth function button is pushed. You choose com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox.VoiceSearchActivity in the bluetooth launch app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kin.bluetooth_launch&hl=en
I tried a lot of other apps in the app store like vlingo, assistant, skyvi, maluuba, dragon voice, etc... a lot of them had problems with voice recognition, but had a lot more functionality. Oh and vlingo still supports bluetooth... The one that seemed to have the best voice recognition was assistant.... which i may eventually switch to.
fun4stuff said:
I was having a similar problem. Except I wanted to change the default application that was launched when I hit my bluetooth function button in my car. It was launching SVoice by default. SVoice really sucks on my phone when it is connected to my car's bluetooth. Not so with my wife's S4. Not sure why.
I wanted to use Google Search- works flawlessly for making calls, navigation and finding points of interest, weather... but cannot do as much as SVoice or a few of the other apps available. Anyway- a couple weeks I did a series of searches and found the solution on these forums but can't find the the thread anymore...
So in case you are wondering how to change what is launched: you have to go into application manager (under settings) and disable svoice. Now, when you launch one of these apps it will ask you to pick a new default. If you would like to launch Google Search you have to download the app Bluetooth Launch which lets you assign any app to launch when bluetooth function button is pushed. You choose com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox.VoiceSearchActivity in the bluetooth launch app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kin.bluetooth_launch&hl=en
I tried a lot of other apps in the app store like vlingo, assistant, skyvi, maluuba, dragon voice, etc... a lot of them had problems with voice recognition, but had a lot more functionality. Oh and vlingo still supports bluetooth... The one that seemed to have the best voice recognition was assistant.... which i may eventually switch to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I finally tried the latest dragon (I think they took over vlingo and their newer version supports BT). It BLOWS the doors off Svoice and google voice dial. I don't need to play music or anything else via BT command so I don't know if it is good or not for that sort of stuff but for calling my contacts from my exchange account, it is nearly flawless. I've only tested for a day but so far so good. If it ends up having issues, I'll be sure to post back.
fun4stuff said:
I wanted to change the default application that was launched when I hit my bluetooth function button in my car....you have to go into application manager (under settings) and disable svoice...If you would like to launch Google Search you have to download the app Bluetooth Launch ...choose com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox.VoiceSearchActivity
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks fun4stuff!! That's exactly what I was looking for!

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