There has been a lot of talk about the new iPhone 5, or iPhone 4S as Apple likes to call it. The new iPhone hasn’t been released yet, but there is plenty of news about it each week and it will continue up until launch day for sure. Putting all of the Apple nonsense aside since it’s a minimum of 4-5 months before we see the new iPhone, let’s talk about some new apps from the iTunes store. The thing that makes these apps special is that they are free and voice activated.
With Apple’s recent partnership with Nunace and the Dragon Naturally Speaking software, there is little doubt about what types of features will come of this. Some apps for the iPhone already utilize the “hands free” voice activation that has become very popular over the years. Being able to speak into your phone and get it to dial a number is one of the first features that used the technology. The numbers in your contact list could be searched with a simple “call Mom” and you didn’t have to even fumble around with your phone.
The first app that is listed as free in the iTunes store is the Merriam-Webster Dictionary application. This app uses the Nunace’s Dragon Speech Recognition software and allows a user to speak into the phone to search for word meanings and more. The app was even tested with loud music playing at the same time and the software picked up words without any issues. The software does not let you decide when words like “where”, it simply gives you the most common word, but you might want to know the word “wear” instead.
Another application that uses the same software is Dictionary.com’s Dictionary and Thesaurus. The app uses speech recognition to determine what words you are searching about and provides results rather quickly. The app offers up a million words, with definitions, and to use it you don’t even need an internet connection. The thesaurus will also provide additional information when searching for words in the dictionary.
Last, but not least of course, is the Google Translate application. Apps like this can save you in a tough situation say you’re in another country and need to use the bathroom, quickly. The translate apps much easier than trying to flip through hundreds of pages in your English-to-wherever book. Talking into the app is easy, then all you do is tap the “speak” button and you will hear what you said, in another language.
The technology has come a long way and the accuracy of speech recognition is outstanding. All three of these apps are free and very helpful to just about anyone with an iPhone.
