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64 Comments

BlackBerry 10 voice control lets you make calls, search, send messages and much more

By Adam Zeis on 14 Jan 2013 11:14 am
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BlackBerry 10 Voice Control 

A whie back we saw that RIM had quietly included voice control into BlackBerry 10 on the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha. Bits and pieces of the feature have appeared in various places since, but we haven't really seen it in action to know just what it would be able to do. Turning up in the CrackBerry forums earlier today, this leaked screen shows off some of the commands that are available via voice control in BlackBerry 10. It looks it will be pretty full featured in that you can perform a ton of commands using voice control. 

Seen in the screenshot, we can see that you can perform functions lile making an appointment, sending a BBM or email, make a call and search the internet. While this is just a short list of what we see here, we can assume that there will be more included commands to go along with it. We haven't heard too much else on voice control to know just what it will be capable of, but as it looks now it should be a welcome new feature for BlackBerry 10 users.

Discuss more in the CrackBerry forums  

Topics: Voice Control BlackBerry 10 News & Rumors

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Adam Zeis Adam Zeis 3025 (articles) 2789 (forum posts)
64 comments

rexxenex

Sick! Cant wait!

BlackberryTorcher

You forgot to say first lol :)

green_ember

Maybe the OP isn't 12 years old

shiftysdad

^ this

Jimcmf

Sick .... and awesome. This BBM package is going fully loaded. Worth the $2 per month to get the FULL PACKAGE.

shebmiller

I wonder how this will work. Will all voice commands work through a server "siri" style, or will some of the possible processes be handled on the device?

TomJasper

Ya watching this countdown clock?

www.V1ki.com

Exclusive (3rd party??)personal assistant for Blackberry10

MoolahMitch

It uses AT&T Watson, which has been around for awhile, 20years I believe.

shebmiller

So, If I say:

"set up an appointment ..." it need to contact the network?

or If I say,

"Open this application"

it needs to contact the network?

Just wondering if all the voice commands will operate this way or if some of data will be handled on the device.

itmccb

The even if the task can be done offline, the speech-to-text conversion/language recognition is handled over the network.

bbschorsch

lets hope it bashes siri

DJRikko

Siri work in a limited capacity in Canada, it's pretty lame. Hopefully this is one of those things were RIM can take the fight to iOS, at least in Canada; but then again, why not? RIM needs to succeed at home before it succeeds abroad.

Shanerredflag

Let's hope it's fully integrated with calendars and contacts....then it will be awesome.

peterallcdn

Especially the calendar! When I get a doctor's appointment or something, I want to be able to add it to my BB's calendar by simply saying... "Set appointment for Doctor, on January 30th at 10 o'clock AM, and remind me 2 hours before."

I hate manually adding events to my calendar, fiddling with time and date pickers, so it'd be awesome to set the calendar event by voice.

Weeniemeenie

is that a real doctor´s appointment on Jan. 30th or just a lame excuse to skip work and go to your nearest BB10 Launch event? ;)

DJRikko

I don't know... I'm starting to feel like I'm coming down with something and I might need to set a doctor's appointment on Jan. 30th as well. Must be something going around :-)

Shobhit pathak

I will have acute throat pain starting January 30th......till THOR finishes talking......LOL

TMSince1980

The days until Jan 30th just keep getting better with news like this.

Draconianfire83

Looks nice too! Getting psyched!

Smiley88

this will make Sayit history. Can't wait.

Jake Storm

They should call it Holly. As in Holly Berry. :)

TomJasper

Speaking of play on words, Rubus Labs.

Weeniemeenie

LOL! "Holly" is awesome! just like the computer´s name in Red Dwarf which is probably the smarmiest voice-activated computer ever!

NinjaB

This!

it's fun and quirky, not to mention gorgeous, lol...

it's friggin genius, seriously.

Hopefully someone at RIM's marketing team has enough style or, uh, flavor, to think of it too or something equally catchy...

mapsonburt

I think you mean "Halle" Berry. I like it... they should get her to do the Commercials. After all every Actor wants their names up in lights right? Good play on words.

Andrew4life

Wonder if this is going to be similar to the existing blackberry voice control..

Playbook007

Hope RIM gets the word out.....BB10 is shaping out nicely. If the phones are loaded natively with great features, RIM will do well!

Abrante

I like it. If they can get it to be "Cleaner" by just having the mic (Bottom) and one line of text (top). It'll be more elegant. Can't wait!

ianchristie1972

Very nice feature and looks strong. Here's hoping that they have some really exciting BB10 features hidden until launch don't want something like the lack of exciting in the iPhone 5 launch.

the_game969

We finally get Siri! :)

PLTM

No, we didn't finally get Siri and we never will. BB always had voice controls long before iPhone got it, but never give it a name and never pushed its potentials.

BBQNX

is there a name for this app, like SIRI.

Honestly i dont want my bb voice control to say stupid jokes like siri or s voice. i just need a companion to do what i say to get my things done. thats what the blackberry for. for those kids who needs some jokes they can go with iJokes

dtango

Without them consumers you hate so much, there will be no more Blackberry.

SparkyBC

Better NOT sound like Siri like the app that's out now in AppWorld. It was slow, sluggish and a waste of money.

softcactus

Anyone get the Beta Zone info on the BB7.0.1? went to download from the site and
keeps saying server error #500

PLTM

I got the same error

magtheridon2000

That's really good feature. I really look forward to end of month...

Still. Nexus 4 is pretty tempting at 309$ here in canada...compared to, what, 700$ for Z10. Argh
:'(

http://geekaphone.com/compare/RIM-BlackBerry-Z10-vs-LG-Nexus-4

dejanh

Talk about a stupid comparison. Do they own or have ever tested a Z10? "Nexus 4 wins in multitasking because it has more cores" WTF? How about, "shitty Android OS can't multitask so Z10 wins no matter what the # of cores"

Really though, these don't even compare. Z10 is an a totally different league than the Nexus 4. In fact, I'm going to say that if BB10 works as intended it will raise the bar for all smartphones in respect to the OS functionality and features.

On topic, I don't like the look. It reminds me too much of Siri on the iPhone.

magtheridon2000

Z10 kills any Android in multitasking that's for sure. As does my Playbook. I was more checking screen specs and stuff like that.

As for the look, it may be a good thing that it feels like Siri, an app pretty popular that many people know about and even featured in some tv shows.

D_shak

The only voice command that I've really ever wanted is simple but to be able to ask what time it is so If I'm busy and using my headset all I have to do is tap, ask, and keep going.

firsttimecaller

Worried about that icon, here come the lawsuits.
At least they use a square instead of circle (or hexagon).

green_ember

I view the microphone for voice control like the silhouettes for men's and women's bathroom signs: some things are just better off for everyone if they're standardized across vendors

walt63

I wouldnt worry about it. Icons like that aren't unique enough to be protected. No color or unique graphics. You can get similar icons from iStock or BigStock photos.

firsttimecaller

I feel the same way. unfortunately...
forbes.com/sites/richardsaintvilus/2013/01/11/apple-gets-robbed-again-in-las-vegas/?partner=yahootix

leanhog

Nah, they won't get sued. It's not a microphone. It's a tic-tac in a tray, and tapping it will dispense one from the headphone jack.

kupfernigk

Very unlikely as it is a well known generic for a microphone. Oddly perhaps, the symbol for voice command on my Prius isn't a microphone symbol at all, but an open mouth.

sj10689

appleinsider.com/articles/12/11/27/apple-patents-siri-microphone-icon

I have some good news: even though Apple patented the(ir) microphone icon, a similar icon has been used by many mobile manufacturers *beforehand*, such as Samsung.

Also, look very closely at the differences between the microphones in the icons. The microphone stand in the BlackBerry icon is shorter. Also, the base of Apple's microphone icon is rectangular, while the base of BlackBerry's microphone icon is more rounded at the top part. Apple only has a patent to their exact design, if I am not mistaken. But I'm pretty sure they don't have the patent to microphone icons, in general - I don't think the courts would ever allow that. $470+ billion can't buy you everything in this world. (At least, not yet...)

img688.imageshack.us/img688/9211/iconcomparison.png

hoopitz

Great to see! Being able to get things done safely while I'm driving is a huge bonus! I just pray that the commands don't have to be as rigid as the examples in the leaked picture. I don't think that Siri is g0d's gift to the smartphone, but I do love the freedom of the commands.

Playbook007

CHECK THIS OUT!

http://www.thegadgetmasters.com/2013/01/11/blackberry-10-crushes-iphone-...

sj10689

I've seen their videos on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/GadgetMastersVideos), which are heavily pro-BlackBerry. While I do not dispute the results, I'm a bit concerned about their credibility. But I'm not cynical when it comes to BlackBerry, though; the word needs to get out to the masses.

I am convinced that BB10 can very well compete (or maybe outcompete) with iPhone 5 and other leading mobile smartphones. The problems will lie mainly in marketing, informing prospective customers, and shaking customer loyalties within those who are pro-Apple or pro-Android; however, Apple's brand loyalty did drop from 2011-12 to 2012-13, in a recent survey - they took a considerable hit internationally.

collinc93

nice addition, i will wait and see

califlefty

ummm..... what's the big deal? I can do all these voice commands on my 3 year old Tour + vlingo.

SeanCunningham5

This is not a huge surprise. At least not to me after seeing the QNX Bentley car in action with its voice commands, If the QNX Bentley has it then Blackberry will have it as well. It was only a matter of time. Im excited to see it in action on the Blackberry 10. Will be picking one up as soon as i can.

OniPod

The main difference between BB's version and the one on the Q-Bentley, was that the Car's system was constantly polling for the driver's voice. You do not need to press a button to initiate the voice commands in the car.

dadathepanda

If bb10 is accompanied by the apps I need and it doesn't freeze like bb 7, then I'm all in. The leaked features make it seem a great platform. If not, then I hope xperia z makes its way to sprint.

Rootbrian

I'll have fun with that, as much fun as I use voice control already when biking. Not sure how it'll fair in windy weather, as THAT is the only thing that makes the current voice control get vastly confused. Lol

Rayysai

one thing that they better not include is the "say a command" line before you actually say a command. stick to a little half second chime. i dont want to wait a second to say something. It's just counter-productive.

3hb78ftg

I agree 100%. It drives me crazy especially when I accidentally press the button.

digitally404

I never understood the point of having voice control on a smartphone, even Siri. It seems like a trendy little thing to show off, but practically speaking, I just don't see it.

Nonetheless, it'll be nice to have :)