No Siri? No Problem: My Top Five Voice Applications for iPhone 4 and 3GS

Love those commercials featuring Siri on the new iPhone 4S, but can’t afford to upgrade? This isn’t a problem anymore with the many voice-command phone applications now available.

Apple advertises iPhone 4S for $200 (16 GB) to $400 (64 GB), but an iPhone 4 is only $99, and a 3GS is available for free with an AT&T; contract. Even better, the below Siri-like apps are free (or included in your phone), so you will think twice about forking over hundreds of dollars for a new phone.

Not all apps promising voice capability work very well. Some have such poor voice recognition that they are essentially unusable. In happy contrast, here are five of my favorites, which I use regularly and highly recommend.

1. “Voice Control” is built into your iPhone. Press your iPhone’ s start button, and hold it down until the Voice Control application opens. Voice Control allows you to make phone calls or play music installed on your phone. Functional commands can be seen floating across the screen as a reminder of what you can say that will be understood.

For example, the command “call home” instructs my iPhone to dial my home land line (which is listed as “home” in my contacts). Disappointingly for fans of the movie “ET,” the command “phone home” is not understood by Voice Control.

2. “Voice Memos” is a standard application that comes installed on your iPhone. It allows you to dictate and record messages. Once you’ve recorded a note, you can either simply save the message on your phone or you can e-mail or text your recording to anyone on your contacts list. Memos are stored and transmitted as recordings only; the app does not transcribe to text.

I use this function frequently, particularly when I’m out at the barn and don’t have pen, paper, or reading glasses handy. I can see well enough without glasses to hit the microphone icon and record a reminder that I need to buy more feed or supplements for my horse.

Another advantage is that Voice Memos doesn’t require a data connection. This benefits those of us who depend on limited data plans.

3. “Dragon Dictation” is a free app made available by Nuance Communications. Nuance is the company behind “Dragon Naturally Speaking,” the most powerful speech-to-text software on the market. Dragon Dictation has Nuance’s trademark high-accuracy speech recognition.

The app allows you to record a message, including punctuation and have it translated into the equivalent text. You can then pull up a menu inside the app to send your text as an e-mail or text message or to post directly to Facebook or Twitter. Alternatively, you can copy your text and paste it into any other application of your choice.

I use this app for any input on my iPhone longer than a few words. It saves so much frustration of trying to communicate using the tiny on-screen keyboard.

4. “Dragon Go!” is another Free App from Nuance. It is a voice-driven meta-search engine that allows you to give a verbal command to search the web for the item of your choice.

For example, the command, “canned tuna on Amazon,” will conduct a Google search of Amazon.com. You will get a list of links to items purchasable through that company. Alternatively, you could simply say, “Where can I buy canned tuna?” That command will bring up a Google search of vendors offering this item.

Dragon Go! doesn’t just search Google, it has direct access to over 200 web destinations, including Spotify, Yelp, YouTube, ESPN, and Fandango.

5. “Orchestra” is a free productivity app for iPhone, which allows you to enter tasks by voice. While Orchestra’s voice recognition capability is not as robust as Dragon’s, I have found it to be quite good. It is easy to bring up an on-screen keyboard and make minor corrections if necessary.

Once items are on your to do list, you can go in and categorize them however you wish. You can also set hard or soft deadlines and add a reminder schedule – including recurring reminders. The app synchronizes automatically with an online account, so you can also add and edit tasks on your desktop.

Orchestra also allows you to work with other people by sharing tasks, and exchanging messages or chatting in real time. I have not personally experimented with this part of the program, but it could come in very handy for coordinating efforts on any type of group project.

The word “iPhone” is not usually used in the same sentence with words like “frugal,” “budget,” or “tightwad.” Nonetheless, an older model iPhone can provide all the functionality most of us need, while taking a much smaller bite out of our wallets. If voice-recognition capacity is an important feature to you, these five simple apps can level the playing field between the older 3GS or iPhone 4 models and the latest 4S.

Sources:

iPhone. “Compare IPhone Models.”

Apple support, “iPhone and iPod touch: Tips for using Voice Control.”

YouTube. iPhone 3GS Features: “Voice Memos.” MacMan6294

Nuance. “Dragon Dictation” iPhone.

Nuance. “Dragon Go!” for Android and iOS.

Orchestra To-do.