How To Use Yahoo! oneSearch Voice
| Published: | Apr 21, 2008 | |||
| Author: | Michael E, Callahan | |||
| Related OS: | RIM | |||
Use Yahoo! oneSearch Voice
by Michael E. Callahan aka Dr. File Finder
Over the past several weeks I've talked about how to use Yahoo!
Go. This is a powerful application for your mobile device that gives
you all the information you want, your way. In case you missed any of
the articles in this three-part series you can go to them by
clicking on the links to part 1,
part 2, or part 3. In this on-going series on "going portable"
this week I'm going to look at how to use the new Yahoo! oneSearch
Voice. As the name implies, this innovative search tools lets you
use your voice to search from your mobile device. I have it
installed on my BlackBerry 8830 and it works beautifully. I was
impressed with how intuitive and easy-to-use the program is. My first
few attempts were a bit of trial and error and my biggest problem was
not speaking close enough to my phone. Once I figured that out I was on
my way. I did searches for things like "pizza", "Arby's", and "sushi"
and got just what I was looking for. Since the application knows my
default location it provided me with the appropriate solutions for my
area in Tennessee. It found me pizza restaurants, a good number of
Arby's, and some five star sushi places. I've done lots of searches
since my initial testing began and the biggest tip I could give anyone
wanting to try Yahoo! oneSearch Voice is to speak close to the phone.
Yahoo! oneSearch Voice doesn't need to be "trained" like
some other voice recognition software. I just started speaking and the
program found what I was looking for. Once it recognizes what you've
said it starts "thinking" and then produces your results. At the
top of the results screen it shows what area it's searching and gives
you a place where you can change this. That makes it nice if
you're traveling, for example, and want to find a certain kind of
restaurant, a certain brand of gas, or a hardware store. I have to be
honest and say that this is an amazing improvement over typing in
search queries. I'm not bad on my BlackBerry, but being able to simply
say what I'm looking for is a vast improvement. In testing it out
I tried searching for everything from my wife's incoming flight to movie
show times to scores for baseball games. Yahoo! oneSearch Voice
didn't disappoint me once. While Yahoo! oneSearch Voice doesn't
have to be trained it does learn as you use it. So, for
example, if you say "Red Sox" and it returns with "red sock you
can highlight the word that sounds similar and correct it.
In this way you can customize the way Yahoo! oneSearch
Voice works for you. By giving the program this kind of feedback it
actually gets better and better and your searches become more and more
accurate.
I have to say that Yahoo! oneSearch Voice is one of the coolest programs I've tested in recent memory. The ability to search for virtually anything using your voice is both powerful and useful. Yes, you can swing in to text mode if you want to, but personally I never found that I needed to. Yahoo! oneSearch Voice is absolutely a Dr. File Finder Favorite and it's going to stay on my BlackBerry for good. Right now it's available for BlackBerry Curve, Pearl, and the 8800 series, but very soon it will be available for over 500 different devices. This is one you have to try.
If you have a question on how to do something on the computer you can submit it via email by clicking HERE You will not receive a reply, but all topics will be considered.
About Michael E, Callahan
Michael E. Callahan, known around the world by the trademarked name Dr. File Finder, is regarded as the world's leading expert on shareware. Dr. File Finder works with software programs and developers full-time, and in the average year he evaluates 10,000 programs. Since 1982 he has evaluated over 250,000 software and hardware products. Mr. Callahan began evaluating software online in 1982 and no one has been at it longer. He currently works doing online PR and marketing for software companies, and is the Senior Content Producer for Butterscotch.Com.
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