Voice typing on smartphones :
From Google keyboard to ListNote, 4 top apps to know
Ishaan Gera takes a stock of the apps that can really help you
with those long documents and lengthy blog posts. Reviews have been voice typed
using the respective apps.
While phones and tablets have become primary devices for many,
typing is still a pain on these devices. Though one can easily chat on mobile
or write a paragraph or two, it gets difficult if you have to write more than a
tweet or a few WhatsApp messages.
But technology has an answer for our typing woes as well; people are getting
attuned to the idea of talking to their phones with help of voice assistants.
Voice typing has also a come a long way and there are few apps that can enhance
your blogging experience. Ishaan Gera takes a stock of the apps that can really
help you with those long documents and lengthy blog posts. Reviews have been
voice typed using the respective apps.
Google Keyboard
Although mobile phones come quipped with a keyboard, one can
always download Google’s offering which allows for voice typing. The voice
typing feature can be used with any app, one can even use it for WhatsApp or
Twitter or with MS Word, but the best feature is the way it picks up Indian
names. Although not accurate as others when it comes to typing out paragraphs,
Google does better than others in terms of picking up on Indian names. One of
the drawbacks of the Keyboard is that you will have to tap the screen again for
it to get active and Google may commit a lot of mistakes if your diction is not
clear or if there is a lot of noise around you. Also, while Google will pick up punctuation marks like comma, exclamation and question mark, it gets difficult to get it to change paragraph or add a full stop.
clear or if there is a lot of noise around you. Also, while Google will pick up punctuation marks like comma, exclamation and question mark, it gets difficult to get it to change paragraph or add a full stop.
Speechnotes—Speech to Text
Speechnotes, unlike Google, is a notepad with voice typing
feature. While the app lacks integration with any other app like Google, it has
a send feature where one can select the message and copy it to mail or Twitter
or any messaging app on the phone. It is very convenient in terms of writing
long texts as the voice typing feature doesn’t go off on its own. Also
Speechnotes offers a very simple, plain and easy to use design. The app has a
few punctuation marks in a panel which add to the convenience. But despite
being responsive, Speechnotes commits more mistakes than Google. It can pick up
Indian names but lacks the accuracy of other softwares. Also, it has the same
problem as Google in terms of punctuation.
ListNote Speech-to-Text Notes
Much like Speechnotes, ListNote offers the same kind of
experience on a notepad, but the user interface is very cumbersome and one can
easily get irritated with the process of creating a new note. While it has the
punctuation problem of the other two, it does not offer a one click panel like
Speechnotes which makes it more difficult to use having to switch between the
keyboard and the voice typing. But ListNote offers more in terms of accuracy
than Google or Speechnotes. It can easily understand Indian accents and would
not have a problem in typing even in noisy environments. Moreover, the
microphone stays on till you don’t close the note thus saving the trouble of
tapping the screen again and again. Although ads are not much of an irritant,
one can always go for the Pro feature which is available for less than R300.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking
If you are a professional who has to indulge in typing out long
documents, Dragon is hands down the best software available for your PC, Mac or
mobile. Offered by Nuance, Dragon is available as separate software for each.
For PC, one can choose the home version which sells for around R6,000. It also
has a much more expensive premium version with more advanced features and legal
and medical versions which provide legal and medical glossary. Dragon is not
just a voice typing software; one can also control Windows with the help of
certain commands available in the tutorial. Nuance also has a mobile app called Dragon
Anywhere, which is available for an annual subscription of $150. The software
is the best in the offering in terms of accuracy, clarity and diction. It does
not have the punctuation problem like other. While it cannot pick on Indian
words, Dragon has a learning feature unlike other apps where one can train it
to type out any word or name.
By: Ishaan Gera
http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/tech/talking-it-out/353291/
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