I have avoided Google now for the previous two iterations of phone... but I'm giving it a shot on the S4!
There are two outstanding Google Now questions that I can't seem to find a clear answer to by Googling (there's a joke in there somewhere).
1) How do I actually trigger Google now? I've tried saying Google, that doesn't work. The best I've been able to do is map the double home button to launch voice input, but that's s poor solution. If I have to use button presses to trigger it, then I may as well just do whatever I was trying to do in the first place with my fingers. IE, it's no time time savings to double press the home button and then say a command, vs just clicking on the app icon I'm trying to launch (probably a time penalty in fact).
What am I missing? Why isn't my Google Now listening to me in the background? Am I just using the wrong trigger word?
2) The beep that follows voice recognition is incredibly loud, substantially louder than the speech response that Google feeds back. How do I disable the beep entirely? It's redundant and disruptive. The best solution online seems to be to mute notifications in general. That's a non starter.
You trigger it by starting the Google app and following the instructions. It's the google app, not the google+ app or the google settings app.
After that it just kind of runs. starts out slow at first but more cards appear over time, but you can pull it up anytime by running the google app.
acruxksa said:
You trigger it by starting the Google app and following the instructions. It's the google app, not the google+ app or the google settings app.
After that it just kind of runs. starts out slow at first but more cards appear over time, but you can pull it up anytime by running the google app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.... I realize how to run the app.... and how to follow its instructions
How do I trigger it, that's my question/query/frustration. As mentioned, it works fine if I double-tap the home button to launch the Google Now app manually. It also works fine if I go into my apps and find the Google Now icon, and then launch it that way, or if I use a shortcut, widget, etc to open up the app.
What I can't figure out, is how to actually trigger it during regular use. Short of going in and manually launching Google Now, I can't get it to trigger - I can't get it to listen to me. I've tried saying "Google", "Android, "Ok Android", "Ok Google", etc, and almost every other ridiculous phrase I can think of. Nothing triggers it short of manually launching the app by hand.
Once I set it up, it comes up every time I tap on the google search bar. However, normally I don't mess with it, it just automatically sends me notification cards when it thinks I need them.
For instance right now it's showing me a notification card for the last Sharks Kings game, my upcoming flight and several cards for things I've researched a lot lately like the S4, Voodoo Sound, Vsonic GR02 headphones, Fiio E07K etc. Also has my stocks and the local weather. I didn't "do" anything to get the cards, they just appear in my notification bar or whenever I tap the search bar.
acruxksa said:
Once I set it up, it comes up every time I tap on the google search bar. However, normally I don't mess with it, it just automatically sends me notification cards when it thinks I need them.
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Click to collapse
That's fine - once setup, it comes up every time I tap the Google search bar too. That's not my issue.
My problem is that I cannot get it to trigger by my voice. Unless I manually launch the app first each and every time I want it to do something, it does not respond to my voice. It responds to my voice just fine if I manually I launch the app first, but that's the only time I can get it to work. At all other times, I may as well be speaking to my shoe
Hold menu button for couple seconds.
Easy answer. You can't you have to launch it first.
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ripper4209 said:
Easy answer. You can't you have to launch it first.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
That can't be...? What use would a hands-free system be if you have to use your hands and navigate into an app before it will take hands-free voice commands?
Isn't the whole deal with this voice stuff that you can just talk to it?
In my experience, the hotword detection only works after you've manually triggered the app. It only relieves you from physically tapping the microphone icon.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
get a bt headset and activate it that way..It can't be 100% hands free; it would have to be on all the time, and then you would complain about how much battery it was eating...
On my Google Now, saying "Google" does work. As long as the actual App has already been activated and is standing by that is.
On my "S Voice", saying, "Hi Galaxy" works, but it is customizable for other triggering phrases.
You are correct about Google Now only responding the first time though. If you want it to voice activate again you have to use the back key to get back to the original screen or completely re-launch it. It just seems that is the way it is.
Wow - this is significantly less impressive than I had envisioned. I was under the mistaken impression that Google Now (and Siri on the iPhone) just responded to their trigger words whenever uttered.
This strikes me as somewhat limited in usefulness until they get these apps to listen constantly. If I need to know the weather, why use my hands to launch Google Now, then ask for the weather, and then wait for it, if I could instead just use my hands to launch my weather app directly?
I must be missing all the excitement - or maybe Siri / Google Now are meant for people who can't figure out their phones?
On the issue of that annoying confirmation sound, I'm halfway there. The APK is in data/apps, and it's called "com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox-1.apk". Inside that apk there is a folder called "res", and inside that there's another folder called "raw". In that folder you'll find the WAV files for each sound.
Unfortunately, that's where my efforts die. I can't seem to open the wav files on a PC (even in audio editing software). I can't just delete them either, or Google Now crashes. I similarly can't just replace them with less annoying wav files from my PC - that crashes Google Now also. I'll see what I can do about finding a way to just upon them for the purpose of lowering their volume (or blanking them) and report back with my results (if any).
rhd-android said:
Wow - this is significantly less impressive than I had envisioned. I was under the mistaken impression that Google Now (and Siri on the iPhone) just responded to their trigger words whenever uttered.
This strikes me as somewhat limited in usefulness until they get these apps to listen constantly. If I need to know the weather, why use my hands to launch Google Now, then ask for the weather, and then wait for it, if I could instead just use my hands to launch my weather app directly?
I must be missing all the excitement - or maybe Siri / Google Now are meant for people who can't figure out their phones?
On the issue of that annoying confirmation sound, I'm halfway there. The APK is in data/apps, and it's called "com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox-1.apk". Inside that apk there is a folder called "res", and inside that there's another folder called "raw". In that folder you'll find the WAV files for each sound.
Unfortunately, that's where my efforts die. I can't seem to open the wav files on a PC (even in audio editing software). I can't just delete them either, or Google Now crashes. I similarly can't just replace them with less annoying wav files from my PC - that crashes Google Now also. I'll see what I can do about finding a way to just upon them for the purpose of lowering their volume (or blanking them) and report back with my results (if any).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't you think some people DON'T want it on all the time? It could mistakenly trigger it and possibly do an unwanted action. It is fine in it's current implementation. I would think in the future as voice recognition and battery technology improves we might see an always on Google now or siri but right now it would/could cause more problems than create convenience.
Sent from my GT-N7100
A new version of Chrome (for desktop) is coming out that supposedly will do this, but it's just not feasible on a mobile device. At least not yet. Do you really want your phone's mic on 24/7 feeding audio to the processor, constantly running voice recognition on every sound it hears? Imagine how horrible the battery life would be. Not to mention the privacy concerns of that (and legal issues, I can see something like this breaking wiretap laws in several states).
Even Google Glass requires you to either touch it or activate it through a head motion so it starts listening. The same with Siri on iOS. The point is you only have to do one thing to start issuing a variety of commands. You can do it without looking at the phone.
rhd-android said:
Wow - this is significantly less impressive than I had envisioned. I was under the mistaken impression that Google Now (and Siri on the iPhone) just responded to their trigger words whenever uttered.
This strikes me as somewhat limited in usefulness until they get these apps to listen constantly. If I need to know the weather, why use my hands to launch Google Now, then ask for the weather, and then wait for it, if I could instead just use my hands to launch my weather app directly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As mentioned, think logically about what you are asking for. If your phone's microphone was always on, listening to and parsing every single noise it hears 24/7 to detect the word Google, think about what the battery implications. Every sound it hears it must analyze, all day long. Then, consider any time it thinks it hears Google, it will immediately turn on and listen for more input and then try to respond to that. It's just not feasible to expect this without killing your battery and also dealing with the many false positives that might constantly be making your phone do stuff you didn't intend.
Having said that, you are missing the key part of Google Now which sort of addresses your issues with it. Google Now doesn't listen 24/7 for you to speak to it, it analyzes data such as your search history, location, Google now settings, gmail, calendar, and so on, to proactively give you information before you even ask for it. That's the appeal and the main idea of Now. You still get the searching, the voice commands, etc, but you also get an "assistant" that doesn't need you to constantly tell it what you want. (In theory of course)
jsmith8858 said:
As mentioned, think logically about what you are asking for. If your phone's microphone was always on, listening to and parsing every single noise it hears 24/7 to detect the word Google, think about what the battery implications. Every sound it hears it must analyze, all day long. Then, consider any time it thinks it hears Google, it will immediately turn on and listen for more input and then try to respond to that. It's just not feasible to expect this without killing your battery and also dealing with the many false positives that might constantly be making your phone do stuff you didn't intend.
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Click to collapse
Yep - and that's where I thought the tech was at. I thought we had overcome these problems. I thought we were able to accomplish the above.
I played with it a bunch yesterday, and there was nothing that I could do faster with voice (given that I had to use hands to trigger the app first) than I could do with just hands alone. I tested a lot of common tasks, and launching the app + giving a voice command and waiting for the response action was always slower (not even factoring in voice errors - that's assuming 100% accuracy).
The ability to constantly listen is fundamental to voice commands being useful on a smartphone (in my mind). I just jumped the gun and thought we were there already (adverts certainly make it seem like we are). Until we hit that point, until we have a system that is responsive like KIT, or HAL, or LCARS, I think voice commands are impractical. It needs constant listening. Interestingly, it looks like the industry agrees:
http://www.technologyreview.com/new...d-respond-to-your-voice-even-when-its-asleep/
http://www.techradar.com/news/compu...mm-processor-will-always-be-listening-1132647
^ that tech largely addresses jsmith8858's concerns.
rhd-android said:
Yep - and that's where I thought the tech was at. I thought we had overcome these problems. I thought we were able to accomplish the above.
I played with it a bunch yesterday, and there was nothing that I could do faster with voice (given that I had to use hands to trigger the app first) than I could do with just hands alone. I tested a lot of common tasks, and launching the app + giving a voice command and waiting for the response action was always slower (not even factoring in voice errors - that's assuming 100% accuracy).
The ability to constantly listen is fundamental to voice commands being useful on a smartphone (in my mind). I just jumped the gun and thought we were there already (adverts certainly make it seem like we are). Until we hit that point, until we have a system that is responsive like KIT, or HAL, or LCARS, I think voice commands are impractical. It needs constant listening. Interestingly, it looks like the industry agrees:
http://www.technologyreview.com/new...d-respond-to-your-voice-even-when-its-asleep/
http://www.techradar.com/news/compu...mm-processor-will-always-be-listening-1132647
^ that tech largely addresses jsmith8858's concerns.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not there yet. It is still very handy when you're multitasking and the best example is driving. Sure I would love to not have to tap my phone a couple if times, but it is still worlds better than losing focus taking my phone out if dock, making those couple taps and typing out my message or commands. Not to mention keeping a CPU and microphone running at all times keeping your phone awake at the same time and it is just not viable. I don't think apple could pull it off either as it would just keep iOS running and running when the phone is not in use. Then there's the privacy factor. I don't think this will be viable for at least another couple of years.
Sent from my GT-N7100
Siri also doesn't respond by keyword launch. S-voice seems like the only one that does and it's definitely less than stellar. As jsmith8858 said above, it's a proactive assistant. Google Now is there for you to give you information it believes you might need before you ask for it. I.e. If i google a place on google maps on my desktop, When i look at google now on my phone a moment later, it has the pop up of directions and estimated time (that i can bring up in maps or navigation by tapping) of where it was when I just searched.
There are third party apps you can use with custom roms that you can bind double-tap home button to initiate voice search, or you can add voice search as a shortcut on your lock screen as well.
I was watching TV and someone on TV said Google, and it triggered the app so I'm pretty sure that there is a way to do it without using your hands, especially because of how many times they said there was a way during one of those recent Key notes regarding it
KILLplay said:
I was watching TV and someone on TV said Google, and it triggered the app so I'm pretty sure that there is a way to do it without using your hands, especially because of how many times they said there was a way during one of those recent Key notes regarding it
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Click to collapse
As far as I know, the only phone that triggers Google now by saying "Ok Google now" is the new moto X, but it has a processor dedicated to ear what you are saying.
I don't know if this ability cam be ported to our s4 and what will be the price to pay about battery consumption.
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So I have had the HD2 for a few months now and I can't seem to find its true potential. Ive had no problems with it. I can get everything working smoothly. Done. But can anyone else give me some tips as to what I can do with the HD2? What do you do with your HD2?
I also really want to utilize true multitasking but I dont know what is "true multitasking".
Can someone give me a few examples besides streaming music via web while I do a word document?
What do "YOU" do that is true multitasking?
Listening to music in the bus with Skype and IMPlus running in the background, Opera to check timetables online, Google maps open to know where I am, launch camera to take a photo of something I just saw in the street, receiving a mail and reading it, opening the tasks app to add a reminder related to said mail, switch back to google maps to check where I'm now, switch to opera again to check something online that I just thought about, switch to the music player to skip a track, switch to IMPlus to answer a message I just received, opening adobe reader to check something in a document... going back and forth between all those.
kilrah said:
Listening to music in the bus with Skype and IMPlus running in the background, Opera to check timetables online, Google maps open to know where I am, launch camera to take a photo of something I just saw in the street, receiving a mail and reading it, opening the tasks app to add a reminder related to said mail, switch back to google maps to check where I'm now, switch to opera again to check something online that I just thought about, switch to the music player to skip a track, switch to IMPlus to answer a message I just received, opening adobe reader to check something in a document... going back and forth between all those.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so by doing all those without having to close a single thing out? And you do this using the task manager in the upper right corner?
What I don't get is how is this different from Apple's iphone. Though it doesnt have multitasking, isnt it the same as opening things up and hiting the center home button and going onto the next app, etc? I dont see the difference.
the difference is on the iphone when you hit the home button it closes whatever you were in.
so any IM app such as skype, aim, facebook all get closed so you cant get messages in the background. you cant have pandora or slacker radio playing in the background. you can do one thing at a time.
pretty simple really
lemonspeakers said:
so by doing all those without having to close a single thing out? And you do this using the task manager in the upper right corner?
What I don't get is how is this different from Apple's iphone. Though it doesnt have multitasking, isnt it the same as opening things up and hiting the center home button and going onto the next app, etc? I dont see the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The difference is multitasking can switch between apps without terminal them. In iphone once you click the home buttom, the running app closes then you are able to start other app. It can't regard as multitasking cause iphone can only run a app at a moment. But wm os can run a number of apps in background at the same time and switch between them instead of close one app and start the other one app. That is mean you can play a game in wm then you skype somebody, when you switch back to the game, it resumes. But in iphone, you start skype before you terminal the game.
lemonspeakers said:
so by doing all those without having to close a single thing out? And you do this using the task manager in the upper right corner?
What I don't get is how is this different from Apple's iphone. Though it doesnt have multitasking, isnt it the same as opening things up and hiting the center home button and going onto the next app, etc? I dont see the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use taskfacade or aebplus' task manager function mapped to the windows button.
The iphone can do most of it, with a few exceptions, for example if you open google maps and do a search, have the results displayed, then close the program to do something else, once you run it again you'll arrive at the main screen and you'll have to do your search again. With skype, you open it and it connects, but then if you close it to do something else you won't be notified of new messages, you'll have to manually reopen skype once in a while to see if you've received something. On the HD2 skype stays open and will sound when you receive something.
Then, I haven't used an iphone enough regarding the web browser, if exiting and coming back keeps all your open tabs etc.
On mine I cycle/run with run.gps running actively in the foreground, Pocketscrobbler running actively in the background, along with Audiobooster, music player doing its thing, RSS reader doing its thing, Push sync doing its thing...
Good thing on multi task is surfing. U can open more than one tab and while the sides are loading u check your mails or something.
I like it and its a feature I would miss on the Iphone...
What's not to get on multitasking?
being an iphone user for a time, one of the largest complaints (even after jailbreaking) was the limited multitasking. Even with backgrounder running, the phone was slow as crap. The touch hd2 on the other hand...
I have 13 applications open and I still see no lag anywhere. nuff said
1) i noticed opera doesnt keep loading if you switch to another task. It stops.
2) music in the bg is normal and most phones can do that. unless they are streaming like pandora. but even so jailbreaking makes it possible to do this for iphones.
3) skype is required, or eventually inevitable. Using hd2 is almost like you're sucked into skype, since everyone is using it, right? LOL
4) jailbreaking an iphone allows it to multitask. why not do it besides the illegal thing and the risk? its like bricking an hd2.
the new iphone OS4 should have multitasking too.. but i heard it only allows the apps to save some services or something, but the app still closes... thats why pandora doesnt work with it i think xD
apple will always be performance > flexibility, thats why they will never have TRUE multitasking, and for me, TRUE multitasking is when the application i open are still running IN REALTIME ( and doesnt stop ) in the background.
I find it really important that I can run my navigation system while having my calendar reminding me for my appointments or being able to receive phone calls.
Can you be on a call and quickly check a document, calendar, email, or web browse on the HD2? Thanks
Tomb77 said:
Can you be on a call and quickly check a document, calendar, email, or web browse on the HD2? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. You can be on a call and continue watching a movie also.
lemonspeakers said:
1) i noticed opera doesnt keep loading if you switch to another task. It stops.
2) music in the bg is normal and most phones can do that. unless they are streaming like pandora. but even so jailbreaking makes it possible to do this for iphones.
3) skype is required, or eventually inevitable. Using hd2 is almost like you're sucked into skype, since everyone is using it, right? LOL
4) jailbreaking an iphone allows it to multitask. why not do it besides the illegal thing and the risk? its like bricking an hd2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which version of opera are you using?
mind loads perfectly well in the background.. as do all the non java browsers I use.
why is skype required, I've used it twice in all the years I've been using winmo, which is quite a while now!
woopee do you can do some basic crap on the iphmoan
***SOME*** not all, but some, try really using the hd2 as it can be used, as a true powerhouse, with full multitasking, not something that you can do a couple of basic things with.
maybe HTC and MS should sue apple for copying multitasking on a smartphone
who gives a damn about jailbreaking the iphmoan? this isn't an apple forum..
Kalavere said:
Yes. You can be on a call and continue watching a movie also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately I do not have the phone in hand but I have an HD2 user that has a hard time with entering their exchange password to get in to multi task while on a call. disabling the password probably wont work and is not a good idea. I assume there is an auto lock while on a call that he may be able to disable. any help or ideas? your help is much appreciated.
Tomb77 said:
Thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately I do not have the phone in hand but I have an HD2 user that has a hard time with entering their exchange password to get in to multi task while on a call. disabling the password probably wont work and is not a good idea. I assume there is an auto lock while on a call that he may be able to disable. any help or ideas? your help is much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything should work exactly the same while on a call... just hit the home button or start button to get whereever you need to go. Now, depending on your network, you may not be able to access the internet while on a call. If you're on 3g, you usually can... but if your on edge/2g, then you may not be able to.
An example of multitasking (seeing as that is what the op asked for):
Today. after almost bricking it setting it up how i like it (it's only a week old) i did a hard reset. Since that point i have had, the wifi on and wifi remote access doing various things, activesync doing it's thing on direct push to my exchange server, msn messenger bugging the hell out of me, pocketmusic keeping me entertained, facebook for windows mobile pissing me off, various explorer windows, word 2010 (you gotta do some work sometime), the text messaging app keeping up with the boys (and girls) that i call friends and phm registry editor (so i can install the tweaks i like) all running at the same time, since about 9am. The phone has lagged a lil here and there but nothing that has worried me and yeah the wifi needed a rest a couple of times coz the chip was getting hot and the packet loss was getting a bit high but overall i think it's done well considering it was getting hammered. Battery hasn't needed charging yet either (and it's not an extended one).
I've got a couple of friends that have (and i like this so i'm gonna use it) iPhmoan 3GS' and they want the 4G. I'm constantly being pestered by them to switch (i'm on my 5th winmo device) and all i do is laugh at them. Just yesterday one of them was wetting himself over the 4G having 256MB of ram. The direct quote he got was "my phone has 1ghz processor and 576MB of ram and can multitask better than your girlfriend. Go suck it!! It's in the corner over there" and that is my general attitude to the iphone and apple's idea of innovation right now. It's Overpriced, useless, unintuitive, lazy, anti competitive and designed to generate nothing but profit for apple. Anyone that want's or has one is more stupid than they look and far richer too.
With the Note3, and all that I have been reading, I was thinking the new phones have finally caught up. I hate to say it after spending the money, but the technology seems crude compared to the Touch Pro2. So far I've been quite disappointed.
1. With the Touch Pro2, I can hold down the button on the ear piece and say:
"Call Nicole at mobile"
it will come back with "Call Nicole at mobile?" and it will not be a robot voice. It will be as natural as a normal speech.
Then I answer either "Correct" or "Yes" and it makes the call.
I can also do this with the screen on, and pressing and holding the call button.
With the Galaxy, the screen must be off for it to work. I also have to turn it off or it keeps listening and getting confused. On my TP2 it's always on, but I need to push a button before sending it a command, not activate and deactivate it each time. This is a usability killer.
2. The S-Pen does no better job interpreting text than the TP2 does. Where the TP2 beats the stars out of the Note 3 is that with the TP2, it is simply another keyboard, just like Voice is, and it has little edit icons to fix things, again like voice. The writing area is where the keyboard would normally be, and it translates after the end of each sentence. Thus, any app you install that you can type in, can use it, such as in a Word document, with word wrap.
3. the Touch Pro2 can automatically record all of your conversations, and then ask you at the end if you want to save it. That saved me in a legal suite already where I could prove a $1300 error on a vendor's part. I've also used it countless time to forward conversations, which is far more effective and efficient than taking notes. I hope I can find an app for this that works as well.
4. I also use the TP2's voice recorder in meetings a lot in meetings. While I haven't tried one of them out yet, perhaps there is a Note 3 app that is just as good.
5. Full backups and restores were easy with the TP2, and it backed up via USB to your PC. You can clean it down to the nothing, and restore it completely, no rooting required because you always did have root.
6. With the TP2, you always have root, and you can custom flash to anything you want, and right back to factory if you want to. With the Note 3, everybody sweats warranty, no OTA updates, etc.
The problems with the TP2 is the hardware. Even overclocked it can be pretty slow at times, Microsoft turned of Bing turn-by-turn navigation for it, new apps are no longer written for it, no 4GL, and the list goes on. I like the flexibility that I'm used to from the TP2, but the iPhone app interfaces seem to be more natural and better thought out. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I didn't expect to be at this point after all of these years.
Any thoughts of what I may be missing would be appreciated.
1. If you havent, download and install google now and under settings check the box that allows you to use google now on any screen. Then you dont have to touch the phone just say "OK, Google" then your commamd such as call someone, I use it all the time especially when im driving.
2. Dont use this feature enough.
3. You can thank Verizon for this. The international variant has this feature, Verizon liking to have total control took this option away. There are 2 options though; most custom roms have that feature baked in call recording. And also there are apks out there that have been said to work really well such as AndroRec, automatically runs in the background (if you use this use mode 2 btw for best recording volume) and I believe tbis is a free apk.
4. Theres a stock android apk called voice recorder already installed on your phone. Look under your tools folder if you still have it completely stock, ive rearranged my apk draw so not sure where its at exactly but its there thats a basic apk thats preinstalled, and its simply called voice recorder.
5. You can do this to an extent using Titanium Backup, your Google account to back up apks and data, and even Verizon assistant. I just had to get a new phone 2 weeks ago and it took about 20 minutes on wifi for mt phone to auto download 95% of my old apks and sync all my contacts, email, photos, etc etc. No root required just signed into google services.
6. Dont blame the phone for lack of root. Thus is strictly an OEM/Carrier thing. As I said earlier Verizon goes in and changes things and request manufacturers to lock and block features out all the time. Every carrier does this, except for Apple every OEM listens. Including Google a la Galaxy Nexus. Its just carriers wanting the final say in a product just to hold it over the consumer as to say "It may be your phone, but we're still the boss". You cant hold this to the phone lacking.
The Note 3 and most android phones are great devices from the manufacturers. Sadly most phones are hampered by carrier needs and demands. Apple does make a great phone my wife switched from the GS3 to a 5s, and currently has a 6 plus, and I just ordered one myself for my business line. If you want a stock OS that isnt carrier modified with great support and updates thwn Apple is a great phone, you just cant modify/customize and even do as much with it as most Android phones. On ther flip side except for really Nexus devices, if you want a customizable phone with alot of tweaks and mods but for the most part be carrier locked down then go with Android. Its a rock and a hard plave thats for sure.
amebiasis said:
1. If you havent, download and install google now and under settings check the box that allows you to use google now on any screen. Then you dont have to touch the phone just say "OK, Google" then your commamd such as call someone, I use it all the time especially when im driving.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It came on my phone. It's in the Google folder. However, I don't see a check box to allow using Google on any screen. When I turned S-Voice off, it takes over when I'm connected Bluetooth. It does not respond to "OK, Google" with the screen on or off. Perhaps there is a different one on play?
amebiasis said:
3. ...there are apks out there that have been said to work really well such as AndroRec
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is clearer than Automatic Call Recorder it seems, but it suffers from the same problem in that it doesn't record any calls that are made from a Bluetooth headset. (No doubt easily cured by root access)
amebiasis said:
4. Theres a stock android apk called voice recorder already installed on your phone. Look under your tools folder...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And it works better than anything I've installed. Thank you.
amebiasis said:
5. You can do this to an extent using Titanium Backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That requires root
amebiasis said:
...your Google account to back up apks and data, and even Verizon assistant.
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Click to collapse
That wouldn't be legal for me. It must be local.
amebiasis said:
6. Dont blame the phone for lack of root. Thus is strictly an OEM/Carrier thing. As I said earlier Verizon goes in and changes things and request manufacturers to lock and block features out all the time. Every carrier does this, except for Apple every OEM listens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you get root with Apple? That would be interesting. Android is a Linux fork. IOS is a UNIX FreeBSD fork, and FreeBSD and Apple work together all the time. I moved all of our servers off Linux to FreeBSD, so the environment would probably be somewhat familiar.
amebiasis said:
...Apple does make a great phone my wife switched from the GS3 to a 5s, and currently has a 6 plus, and I just ordered one myself for my business line. If you want a stock OS that isnt carrier modified with great support and updates thwn Apple is a great phone, you just cant modify/customize and even do as much with it as most Android phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Being able to modify the looks is nice to have, but for me, Android+carriers doesn't give me the functionality I need and can get on a 2006 Touch Pro2. If I can get that functionality from an iPhone out of the box by adding a few apps, that makes sense. One other drawback that I heard though is the iPhones cannot walk and chew gum unless it is on a GSM carrier.
My needs are business needs:
1. A good local backup that I can restore the whole phone back to a previous point in time.
2. Local synchronization with Outlook desktop or exchange.
3. Automatically record both sides of telephone conversations, including when on Bluetooth.
4. Be able to initiate calls using my Bluetooth headset
5. Be able to use voice commands to initiate calls from the phone without the headset
6. Decent navigation
7. RDP so I can work on customer's and our servers.
8. VPN so I can work on customer's and our servers.
9. A good file manager like ES that can work over an SSH connection.
10. A good SSH terminal program like PuTTY.
My wants are:
1. Good speech to text. (I could care less about text to speech)
2. Good handwriting recognition in useful apps, like my TP2 has.
Thanks!
I installed "Google Now" from play, and it said it updated what was already on the phone. I haven't gotten the "OK, Google" to work, but when I press the microphone on the home screen and say "Call <somebody>", I get a popup that it wants all of my contacts. It even does that when I tell it the number to dial a number. Thus, needing them for voice purposes as indicated in the message is a deliberate lie. If I skip it, it does a web search on the phone number. I don't need to give them my contacts when I call via Bluetooth, and it works just fine. That indicates to me that Google doesn't need your contacts for voice purposes, it is selling your contacts to anyone who will pay. Those who would pay would only be unsavory characters.
I've had my Essential Phone for about three days and I've got mixed feelings about it. This is my escape from the Samsung ecosystem, and I love love love the fact that it isn't bogged down with bloat. Generally, the PH-1 does everything faster than any phone I've ever owned, even the much lauded iPhone. But there's a number of functionalities I'd like to get.
1.) File Management: I thought this was part of the Android OS. Apparently not? I would like to find a file management app that gives me Windows-like control and navigation.
2.) Camera: The PH-1's native camera app might be good someday. For now it sucks. I'd heard you could "just get the Google Pixel Camera" and everyone made it sound super easy. Well ... I did go out and find the Nougat version Google Pixel Camera APK. I installed it. It crashes instantly upon opening and never works. I'd love to know what went wrong there.
3.) Keyboard: Okay, sometimes Samsung just does it better. Their keyboard app was perfect and I'd gotten used to the layout. Now I'm wishing I could have my Samsung keyboard back. The Google one sucks, truth be told. Most keyboard apps you find searching Google Play are all about being pretty or fancy or whatever. I just want the same simple functionality back: All letters and numbers on the same screen and the most common special characters as alternate long-press options on that same page. Decent intelligent autocomplete. Larger buttons. Extensions such as .com when they make sense and not when they don't.
I'd also like to get any and every recommendation for apps. Is there any point in rooting the PH-1? That sort of thing.
Thanks in advance!
BonkersTheClown said:
I've had my Essential Phone for about three days and I've got mixed feelings about it. This is my escape from the Samsung ecosystem, and I love love love the fact that it isn't bogged down with bloat. Generally, the PH-1 does everything faster than any phone I've ever owned, even the much lauded iPhone. But there's a number of functionalities I'd like to get.
1.) File Management: I thought this was part of the Android OS. Apparently not? I would like to find a file management app that gives me Windows-like control and navigation.
2.) Camera: The PH-1's native camera app might be good someday. For now it sucks. I'd heard you could "just get the Google Pixel Camera" and everyone made it sound super easy. Well ... I did go out and find the Nougat version Google Pixel Camera APK. I installed it. It crashes instantly upon opening and never works. I'd love to know what went wrong there.
3.) Keyboard: Okay, sometimes Samsung just does it better. Their keyboard app was perfect and I'd gotten used to the layout. Now I'm wishing I could have my Samsung keyboard back. The Google one sucks, truth be told. Most keyboard apps you find searching Google Play are all about being pretty or fancy or whatever. I just want the same simple functionality back: All letters and numbers on the same screen and the most common special characters as alternate long-press options on that same page. Decent intelligent autocomplete. Larger buttons. Extensions such as .com when they make sense and not when they don't.
I'd also like to get any and every recommendation for apps. Is there any point in rooting the PH-1? That sort of thing.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can set up the Google keyboard to display letters and numbers as well as symbols on long press. It's in the keyboard settings in your phone settings but isn't turned on by default. I don't know why. I turned it on and now it's usable. Go to phone settings, language&input, virtual keyboard, Gboard and preferences. Enable show numbers and long press symbols
Also I use file explorer from play store
barleysoda said:
You can set up the Google keyboard to display letters and numbers as well as symbols on long press. It's in the keyboard settings in your phone settings but isn't turned on by default. I don't know why. I turned it on and now it's usable. Go to phone settings, language&input, virtual keyboard, Gboard and preferences. Enable show numbers and long press symbols
Also I use file explorer from play store
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer the SwiftKey Beta keyboard, been using it for years.
barleysoda said:
You can set up the Google keyboard to display letters and numbers as well as symbols on long press. It's in the keyboard settings in your phone settings but isn't turned on by default. I don't know why. I turned it on and now it's usable. Go to phone settings, language&input, virtual keyboard, Gboard and preferences. Enable show numbers and long press symbols
Also I use file explorer from play store
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the timely response. Yeah, got the Gboard sorted. Weird how you have to look to find settings and minor tweaks like that. Oddly found that I prefer ASUS file manager. Strange that the Android OS doesn't have file management built in. Is there a way to enable full control of my PH-1 files and folders from my PC?
Next problem: Sounds. Once again, Samsung made it all so much easier. Need to sort out how to specify sounds for specific apps. For example, if I get a text message, I am used to setting one sound just for that and different sounds for other specific events. What I am seeing here is ringtones, media and notifications. And quite annoyingly, EVERY APP seems to be enabled to span notifications by default. Apparently,you have to block each one individually. It's also be nice to set my phone to silent easily but on a timer so I don't forget to turn it back on. Used to just pull down top of the screen and tap the icon to silence. Had an app to turn it back on on a timer called Shush, but it didn't work reliably.
Had another "damn I love this phone" moment yesterday when I realized that I can actually just uninstall my longtime nemesis, Google Music.
BonkersTheClown said:
Thanks for the timely response. Yeah, got the Gboard sorted. Weird how you have to look to find settings and minor tweaks like that. Oddly found that I prefer ASUS file manager. Strange that the Android OS doesn't have file management built in. Is there a way to enable full control of my PH-1 files and folders from my PC?
Next problem: Sounds. Once again, Samsung made it all so much easier. Need to sort out how to specify sounds for specific apps. For example, if I get a text message, I am used to setting one sound just for that and different sounds for other specific events. What I am seeing here is ringtones, media and notifications. And quite annoyingly, EVERY APP seems to be enabled to span notifications by default. Apparently,you have to block each one individually. It's also be nice to set my phone to silent easily but on a timer so I don't forget to turn it back on. Used to just pull down top of the screen and tap the icon to silence. Had an app to turn it back on on a timer called Shush, but it didn't work reliably.
Had another "damn I love this phone" moment yesterday when I realized that I can actually just uninstall my longtime nemesis, Google Music.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the msgs app, you can set the notification sound for that.
For the timed silence, when you pull down the notification bar, you will see the do not disturb icon. A circle with a stroke through it. When you turn that on, you can set a duration for it.
I use Ex File Explorer on my phone and I use the blackberry keyboard.
There is another thread on this forum that's dedicated to the Google cam port where you can get the APK.
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
BonkersTheClown said:
1.) File Management: I thought this was part of the Android OS. Apparently not? I would like to find a file management app that gives me Windows-like control and navigation.
2.) Camera: The PH-1's native camera app might be good someday. For now it sucks. I'd heard you could "just get the Google Pixel Camera" and everyone made it sound super easy. Well ... I did go out and find the Nougat version Google Pixel Camera APK. I installed it. It crashes instantly upon opening and never works. I'd love to know what went wrong there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. If you search on the play store, there are a bunch of free file managers for download. There's a bunch of them, pick one that fits your style
2. Did you get the ported one? Havent tried it but I don't think the actual pixel camera apk will work on any phone. Check out the most recent port in this thread
https://forum.xda-developers.com/essential-phone/themes/google-camera-port-t3665197/page4
flakko86 said:
1. If you search on the play store, there are a bunch of free file managers for download. There's a bunch of them, pick one that fits your style
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got that part sorted. As a pure Android noob, I was surprised the OS doesn't have one built in.
2. Did you get the ported one? Havent tried it but I don't think the actual pixel camera apk will work on any phone. Check out the most recent port in this thread
https://forum.xda-developers.com/essential-phone/themes/google-camera-port-t3665197/page4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am pretty sure I got the right one, but I'll try the one you linked along with the instructions. We'll see how it goes.
Okay I have downloaded the APK, how do you access changelog and make the prescribed settings changes?
BonkersTheClown said:
Got that part sorted. As a pure Android noob, I was surprised the OS doesn't have one built in.
I am pretty sure I got the right one, but I'll try the one you linked along with the instructions. We'll see how it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock Explorer:
Settings - Storage - Explore
onenexus said:
Stock Explorer:
Settings - Storage - Explore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah true, found that before. It's a lot of steps. I wanted and got something to stick on my home screen that gets me there in a single tap.
BonkersTheClown said:
Okay I have downloaded the APK, how do you access changelog and make the prescribed settings changes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While you're in the app, tap the 3 horizontal lines on the top right corner of the screen. That should take you to the settings menu
More fun stuff. I would have thought that this would be simple. I dumped Google Music because quite frankly it sucks and I have always hated it. Shopped around and found a music player that I liked: Pi Music Player. Now when I try to play music via voice command via Google Assistant, it doesn't know what app to use. I'm offered the choice between Google Play and YouTube. I have looked and looked, but haven't found steps for changing the GA default music app to Pi Music Player - at least no steps that actually work. Another one of those, "this should seriously be easier than this" things.
Also, on my old Samsung phone, I was able to get the home button working in Google Chrome. Frankly, I'd rather use Brave as I prefer to not spend my bandwidth on letting Google spy on me. Same is true in Brave and Chrome: No home button possible.
Thanks so much for the help!
For year+ now Google has been insisting that we give up the well functioning Google Now in favor of that abomibation of an app known as Google assistant. There is a beautiful workaround, a tiny app called Google Now Launcher, that is easy enough to configure as the default assist app. Problem is that at least once a week Android refers to the crappy Google assistant as the default. Sometimes that happens three times a day (today is one of those days). Is there a way to prevent the reverting? Is that an OOS bug or a general Android "feature"?
And if you are reading this Google, please get the message - talking to your phone all the time is plain idiotic. Sure, when I am driving it is helpful. When I am sitting in public it is plain dumb. Sure, with much hesitation you have provided Assistant with typing interface as the default, but it still wants to have a dumb "conversation" with me when I type. I don't want to have a "conversation" with a machine, just a list of search results. You are pretty good at the latter, but horrible at the former.
I'm building a WearOS app and would want to utilize on device speech to text convertor. Is there an example or api documentation I can refer. My search ends up with Gboard, which is not what I am looking for.
The app is something like virtual assistant and listens to user's voice.
You can try mp3 to text converter. It is cheap, fast, and easy to use. Also, you can choose between Automatic and Manual Transcription Services. It depends on your needs, budget, and time.
I registered finally! been reading this site for years. (for like ten phones worth).
I just wanted to ask, if the app is/went well? You did not get good response to your question, and well, that bummed me out. (nice try McLellan, but too little too late, truly).
I would assume you would want to utilize Google's speech to text engine, to get the text, and then script out what to do with the input yourself. I AM look for an opensource solution to G-S-to-T right now, myself....
-JJ
Yeah OK, 2019 was a triumphant year for people that use their voice to a keyboard: https://venturebeat.com/2019/08/16/google-open-sources-live-transcribes-speech-engine/
now I just gotta figure out why AICP is not, using it.....
So, I fixed my problem. Gboard, for whatever reason, had rendered itself useless. So using Aurora, I uninstalled, re-installed , configured, and now i can talk out my SMS text messages in public to all-who-can-hear-me's annoyance. And, I can still talk to the voices in my head and look sane too (and my phone don't even need to be on! just in my hand.) I have never tried WearOS, but, I might need to look that up, cuz I keep hearing about it. Good luck to you and such.
-JJ