Google Android Voice Actions - useful, but worth a press conference?

Google Android Voice Actions - useful, but worth a press conference?

Filed under: Utilities, Google, Android

Google announced a new Android feature called Voice Actions today, and it's useful, but maybe not a big enough deal to warrant the press conference they held for it. Voice Actions allows you to control your Android phone (2.2 Froyo only) with spoken commands: you can send email, call any contact, get a map of a location, load a webpage or leave a note to yourself.

Here's the full list of commands:

• send text to [contact] [message]
• listen to [artist/song/album]
• call [business]
• call [contact]
• send email to [contact] [message]
• go to [website]
• note to self [note]
• navigate to [location/business name]
• directions to [location/business name]
• map of [location]

Plus, of course, the existing voice command to run a Google search.

It's somewhat useful, especially if you need to do things on your phone while driving, but seriously? A press conference? I feel like Google should be saving those for its big, iPhone-killing announcements, instead of underwhelming us with a handy but not-so-revolutionary feature.

Oh yeah, there was also that push-to-phone thing, but we already knew about that, too...

Google Android Voice Actions - useful, but worth a press conference? originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pen�lope Cruz
Hilary Duff