Vlingo is voice control taken to the next level. Instead of just being able to make a call or search for a phrase, this application adds Google Maps search, Facebook and Twitter status updates plus email and SMS messages too. Upon starting the app you’re presented with a large button saying ‘press and speak’, with a tip for what you can say to Vlingo underneath it.
For example, if you want to send an email, you simply state ‘Email person’s name, subject test, message test complete. To update your social network you must first enter your login details, then say ‘Facebook update testing Vlingo‘ and it gets posted straight away. The other commands work in the same way, using Call, Search or Find before the name or phrase instead.
When you have spoken to the app, tap the ‘press and speak’ again for it to finish listening and it will perform the given task. It’s all very easy and the app has a very fast setup, asking only to upload the names of your contacts to the Vlingo database and your social network logins. Easy it may be, but does it work? Here are a few examples of Vlingo in action.
* What I said: Text name, message shall we go to the cinema tonight?
* The result: A message to the right person with shall we go to the cinema tonight as the content.
* What I said: Find Starbucks coffee in Croydon.
* The result: Directions to a Starbucks at 22 George Street in Croydon.
* What I said: Twitter update, reviewing Vlingo on my iPhone for Dial-a-Phone.
* The result: Initially, it recognised ‘dial-a-phone’ as ‘dollar find’, but going back and speaking the name a little more slowly, it came up with ‘reviewing Vlingo on my iPhone for dial a phone. Add in the hyphens and it’s done.
So as you can see, the results are quite impressive. The app does suffer if you’re in a noisy area or if there is a lot of ambient noise – traffic roar nearby confused it a little – but this is only to be expected. The more you talk to Vlingo, the better it works too, as the engine begins to recognise your voice and the way you say words, plus we love the way we can tell it ‘comma’ or ‘question mark’ and it adds them in automatically – very handy!
As well as simply speaking at the start screen, you can select the function you want to use from an App screen. Let’s write an email as a test, as these tend to flow and contain longer sentences than the examples above.
The app happily recognised who I wanted to send an email to, but the problems started when I started on the body of the text:
* What I said: Hello, I hope you have booked your tickets ready for your holiday, because if you leave it too much longer they will become very expensive!
* The result: Hello, I hope you book your tickets ready your holiday because usually it’s too much longer they can’t become very expensive.
Not quite what I had in mind. After correcting the mistakes, it would have probably been easier and quicker to finish the email by typing it out. With the SMS feature, you’ll have to copy and paste your text from Vlingo onto another screen thanks to the iPhone’s restrictions, which just made us wonder as to its usefulness in situations where using our hands was not an option. Fair enough, the process is performed well by Vlingo, but it still felt like a few too many additional steps for what should be an easy task.
