Siri is honestly a more stand-alone voice-to-task application as opposed to the newly launched Voice Dictation. Apple has dubbed the feature as Dictation in its list of newly added features to the iPad.
Voice Dictation is somewhat similar to Siri, but it is not as efficient. Why is not as efficient? Well, for one reason, you need to have an internet connection to use Voice Dictation. On the plus side, you will be able to send emails, open messages, search Google or create notes with your voice. If your hands are occupied by other important tasks for your business, you can control your device by just using your voice. Dictation has also been designed to work with applications that are not part of the stock applications.
Since Voice Dictation works with any third party application, you will be able to control those applications with your voice as well. Update your Facebook account or tweet about something by simply saying it out loud to your new iPad. With voice recognition that allows you to control your iPad, the possibilities are quite endless! You can use Voice Dictation in six known languages such as US English, French, German, British, Australian and Japanese. As part of the Apple keynote today, the CEO of Apple also announced that it would be rolling out iOS 5.1 to all devices.
The launch of the new iOS will definitely make things easier for Siri users who have been finding it hard to get it do understand them. In terms of Voice Dictation, none of the pre-testers at the even said anything about bugs with the voice system, but we will only begin to hear real news once consumers get their hands on the device. As for now, Dictation will only be available on the new iPad, which is a little surprisingly as it could be loaded onto the iPad 2 through iOS 5.1.
When testing out the new iPad at the event, there was one thing that really seemed to catch our buzz. When you are offline or put your device onto airplane mode, the microphone button at the bottom will completely disappear. On your onscreen keyboard, you will find the microphone button which will activate Voice Dictation on the new iPad. So, there you have it folks, that’s Voice Dictation for your new iPad – and your voice-activated business assistant!
Ivan Widjaya
On iPad 3 Voice Dictation
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