Saturday, May 2, 2015

The Superiority of the Samsung S6

On Wednesday, I picked up an unlocked version of the new Samsung S6 cell phone.

I bough it largely because reviews said it had high quality picture taking capability, and such picture taking quality will come in handy if I am out and about and want to snap a picture, or video clip, and post it here at EPJ.

But what has me really impressed about the phone is the "Okay Google" function. You can press a button. speak into the phone and instructions are carried out almost instantaneously.

I have tried voice recognition programs on cell phones before and have always thought it was too much of a hassle to go back and correct the voice recognition errors. But the combination of Google Okay software and the Samsung S6 phone appears to have virtually eliminated voice recognition errors.

I have been testing out the feature since I bought the phone and it has not made a voice recognition error yet.

And it is extremely fast. If I say, "Call Chris,"  The call is made nearly instantaneously. It's quicker than if I were to go to my frequent contact list and push the button to call Chris.

If I want to send an email. I simply say, for example, "Email Sherry" and dictate my email. The email send page immediately pops up and  I just dictate my message. Google Okay detects when I am finished dictating and then asks "Do you want to send this?" I just have to say "yes" and the email is on its way.

Here is a list of some of the  voice commands that Google Okay recognizes:



General information

How old is [Rand Paul]?
Where was [Ludwig von Mises.] born?
Define [colloquial] (Or “What does [colloquial] mean?”)
What time is it in [Tokyo]?
Search for [photography tips]
Show me pictures of [the Leaning Tower of Pisa]
Do I need an umbrella today? What’s the weather like? What’s the weather in [New Orleans] [this weekend]?
What is the [Google] stock price? What is [Apple] trading at?
What’s [182 yards] in [miles]? What is [12 ounces] in [liters]?
What’s [135] divided by [7.5]? (A great many types of math equations will work.)
Search [Tumblr] for [cat pictures] (more apps are added to this search-within-apps function all the time)

Device control

Open [greenbot.com]
Take a picture (“Take a photo” also works)
Record a video
Open [Spotify]
Turn [on / off] [Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Flashlight]
Productivity

What’s the tip for [123 dollars]?
Set an alarm for [6:30 am]
Set a timer for [20 minutes]
Create a calendar event: [Dinner with Glenda, Saturday at 9pm.]
Remind me to [buy coffee at 7am] (try locations! Remind me to [buy coffee filters at Walgreens])
What is my schedule for tomorrow? (also: What does my day look like [Friday]?)
Where’s my package? (tracking confirmation must be in Gmail)
Make a note: [update my router firmware] (also try “Note to self:” This works with multiple apps, and you can even email yourself!)
Find [David Gordon's] [phone number] (Works with all info in your contacts - addresses, birthdays, etc.)
Show me my bills. (or: My bills due this week.)

Communication

Call [Jon] (also works with relationships: Call [sister])
Text [Della] [great job on that feature yesterday] (also works with relationships: Text [mom] [I’m not going to be able to pick you up from the airport, period, I’m a bad son, period])
Send email to [Mike], subject, [hunting], message, [I don’t think you should drink so much when you go hunting, period]
Post to [Twitter]: [Oh my god the Red Wedding episode!]
What is French for [I am Charlie]?
[Send a Hangout message] to [Dad].

Navigation and Travel

Where is the nearest [sushi restauraunt]?
Navigate to [Willis Tower, Chicago]
Directions to [Fisherman’s Wharf] by [bike] (also try “Directions home” or “How do I get home?”)
Where is [the Louvre]?
Show me the menu for [Green Chile Kitchen]
Call [Asian Art Museum]
Show me my flight info
Where’s my hotel?
What are some attractions around here?
How do you say [good night] in [Japanese]?
What is [50,000 yen] in [dollars]?
What’s the flight status of [United] flight [735]?
Show me restauraunts near my hotel -or- Give me directions back to my hotel (this works if your hotel confirmation was sent to your gmail account)

Entertainment

Play some music (opens “I’m feeling lucky” radio station in Google Play Music)
Next Song / Pause Song
Play [Happy] (songs must be in Google Play Music on your device)
Watch [The Lego Movie] (movies and TV must be in your Google Play account)
What’s this song?
Listen to TV
What songs does [Sinatra] sing?
Read [Hunger Games]
Did the [Red Sox] win today? What’s the score in the [Knicks] game?
What movies are playing [tonight]? Where is [Citizenfour ] playing?



1 comment:

  1. Bob, the voice recognition software you're talking about is not exclusive to Samsung. It's available on any phone running Android, which is Google's OS. it's also available through the Google app which is available for any phone. It's also been around for years. If you just want a camera, the new LG G4 will likely have an even better one and also have Google now. The S6 is a good phone, though.

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