The latest version of Google Search, which (strictly speaking) is now part of a new Android app called ‘Google Now’, boasts a tiny microphone icon on its right side that can be used to instruct any android gadget via voice commands. By tapping this icon, you can speak your searches rather than have to type them. Better still, there are many more things you can do with android voice commands, or rather, as Google calls them, ‘VOICE ACTIONS’. This post introduces to you a composition of android voice commands that you can use to take full control of your phone.
Android Voice Commands like Siri
Back in June 2012, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean just managed to bring Android’s voice actions to the forefront in a most meaningful way. And while iOS fans have been having quite a fair experience with Apple-acquired voice-command personal assistant Siri. Android buffs cannot complain about the voice actions. Actually, by dressing up the voice searches interface like Apple’s Siri, and making voice search functions available from any screen, Android is just doing plain awesome. In tests we conducted with the Apple iOS 5 and iOS 6 devices, compared with tests on a couple of android smartphones and 7 inch tablets, android voice commands like Siri scores pretty impressive on the accuracy score sheet. Depending on their preference, some people would argue that Siri is better with more voice commands and customization, while others would insist that Google Voice Actions are better in terms of speed and accuracy. It’s an open question, but nevertheless, you get so many voice commands on android that are also on Siri, including voice search, calendar management, memo, navigation, text messaging and so on.
Android Voice Commands List
1) Google Search
The most basic thing you get to do with Google voice commands is perform a simple Google search by uttering a few words. If Google doesn’t recognize something you say to be another voice action, it will perform a simple search for it. For instance, if you say ‘history of modern artificial intelligence’, Google will get your results for the query ‘history of modern artificial intelligence’. Google has a support page that lists down key search tips and tricks.
2) What’s this song?
Well, the next time you want to know the name of the song playing on the radio, android voice commands comes in handy. Tap the microphone icon in the Google search box and simply ask, ‘what’s this song?’ Your android phablet, or rather smartphone, listens carefully for a few seconds and if it comes up with a match – it’ll pop up on the screen, complete with the link to the Google Play music store. Cool, isn’t it?
3) Map of [place]
This is another android voice command that can sometimes prove very useful the next time you want to check out the location of a place. Works this way: MAP [say a place]. For instance, if you want to go to check out Starstreak Cinema on the map, just say ‘Map Starstreak Cinema’. Or ‘Map Gas Station’ if you’re looking for places to fuel up near your current location.
4) Get Directions
Get directions is yet another one of the classic android voice commands that come in extremely handy at times. If you find yourself in some city neighborhood you are not familiar with, tap the microphone and say (for instance) ‘Get directions to the nearest bank” or just ‘Directions to Bank’. Within a couple of seconds, a series of nearby banks marked on a map pops up on the screen; tap one, and driving directions appear. If instead you want to get walking directions, just say ‘Get walking directions to a bank’.
5) Go to a Website
With android voice commands, you get to open a website by saying ‘Go to [website address]’. For instance, the next time you need to check out our latest posts, simply tap the microphone icon and say ‘Go to crazy android dot com’. Your android phone or tablet will get you right here.
6) Send Email
This is an easy way to send emails from your device. To compose an email and send it in just a couple of taps, tap the Google search microphone and say ‘send email to [contact or name], subject: let’s meet, message: I am out of work, can we meet?’ After a few seconds, your phone will transcribe your words into a new mail message and if everything goes alright, your last step will be to tap the ‘Send email’ button.
7) Note to Self
You are walking around the park on that free Thursday afternoon with your android smartphone in your pocket when suddenly a brilliant, new idea strikes you, maybe an invention!! Sometimes, you just remember the name of that thing you need from the grocery store. ‘Note to Self’ is android’s seamless way of recording notes using voice commands. Simply tap the microphone button in the Google search box and then say ‘Note to self: Kids Learning Website idea’. Your android device will send you an email with a transcription of this, plus an audio recording of your mobile musings.
8) DEFINE [say a word]
For instance ‘define prospect’ – well, you may be getting a list of guesses if the word you say is quite strange, but that’s ok because you are trying to get the definition right? Select the right word choice from the list and it then takes you to the web with the definition for that word. Easy and cool!
9) Calendar Event
By way of speaking, you can create a calendar event in a matter of seconds. Simply say, ‘Create a calendar event: Corporate meeting in Manchester, Monday at 8’o clock.’
10) Start Navigation
This is the android voice command for navigation. You say the word ‘navigate’ followed by the destination. For instance, ‘Navigate to General Post Office’.
11) Post to Google +
You may also post to your Google + profile using android voice commands. Use the format “Post to Google+ I’m chilling at the beach.”
12) Call Someone
To make a phone call, say ‘Call’ followed by the number or name of the contact you want to communicate with. For instance, ‘Call David at Home’. Call Business – you can also call a business by simply saying ‘Call Soft link enterprises’.
13) Send SMS
Android voice commands also present you with an easy way to send text messages in the same way as you can send an email. If you would like to send a text to a guy named Ben, simply tap your microphone icon and say ‘Send SMS to Ben, message, let’s meet at 4.’
14) Set Alarm Time
To quickly set up an alarm via voice actions, just say ‘Set alarm for [time]’. If I am taking a nap and I need to be woken up after an hour, I would say, ‘Set alarm for 1 hour from now’.
15) Open an App
You don’t need the internet to open an app on your android phone or tablet PC, and neither do you need to type on your screen. Simply tap the microphone icon and say ‘Open [app]’ to open the app. If I need to open the avast antivirus app to scan my tablet, I would say ‘Open Avast’.
16) Scan a Barcode
Say ‘Scan a barcode’ and Google will give you a barcode-scanner.
17) Listen to a song
You can listen to a song by saying ‘listen to’ followed by the song title, artist, and album. For instance, Listen to ‘Linkin Park’.
18) PLAY [say the name of a group or a particular song]
For instance, ‘play forever young song’. If you have the Jay Z song and a music player app on your device that can handle voice commands, it will start playing the music for you.
19) Set an Appointment
Allows you to make an appointment, for instance, ‘schedule meeting with [contact name] at [time/day]’
20) Call [Phone Number]
The next time you need to dial a phone number the easy way, simply speak the word Call followed by the digits of the phone number in question.
Android Voice Commands without Internet
You may wonder if you can use these voice commands without internet. It perfectly makes sense to do so: Who would like to switch on GPS while driving and activate voice commands? At the time of writing, we are able to confirm that only ‘Call Someone’ feature works without internet. All other features described in this blog post either need an active cell phone internet or a wifi connection. We used Nexus 5 in our testing.
Conclusion
The android experience just keeps getting better, more seamless and more convenient. With Android Voice commands, you can take control of your phone in many ways, save effort and easily accomplish tasks that would otherwise have taken quite a chunk of your time. Important to note, though, is that android voice commands, just like all other voice instructions to a computer are not perfect. But they go a long way. Using the list of commands we have outlined in this post, get your phone out of your pocket and make notes or send emails and take the full control of your android phone in easy way!
