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IS THIS ANDROID’S KILLER APP?

July 10th 2011 00:03
If, like me, you crisscrosses your country like a sewing machine used to make intricately designed cloth patches, I think you’ll appreciate an app that enables you to: 1. send text messages by simply dictating them to your phone, 2. do other things like calling the best hotel in your next destination even if you don’t know its number and, 3. show you how to get to that hotel all by just telling your phone to do them for you.

That would be really cool, right?

Well, here’s stale news: An Android app is already doing that, though Google said it is still in experimental stage.


I don’t know how the app is called officially, though an electronic giant which is into smart phones is calling it by a name that gives the impression that it was their creation and not of Google, it is represented by an icon with the “Voice Search” title and the picture below once you activated it.



The title it was given however is rather a misnomer since that app does a lot of other things than just search.

I tinkered with it for a while and here are the few things I was able to make it do all thru voice commands:

1. I was able to make it write text messages (SMS)
2. I was able to make it go to any web page I want
3. I was able to make it call people without dialing their numbers myself
4. I was able to make it search anything that is on the phone or in the net
5. I was able to make it take dictations which it types automatically into a pad

6. And the app works even with third party app “Docs to Go.”


This app, however, does not function if you are not connected to the net so you better be aware that your data meter is ticking the moment you try to engage its services.

But it is really cool, considering that in one of the long trips I took with a colleague several years ago, we were kidding each other about how nice it would be if the cellular phones we were using can not only read but write text messages for us while we were driving. Handsfree!

And now, my Android phone/tablet is already doing exactly that.

But mind you, this thing, like they said, is still in experimental stage. It only works with supported languages, it only works if you pronounce the words “right”, you still have to push the "send" button after you dictated your text message to send it - and, well, it cannot drive for me yet!
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Now that i have time to write again, I thought I better revisit the content of one of my previous posts here in Orble about the Tablet computer. At that time I wrote it, I said a couple of things like: it cannot replace the old desktop and laptop computers as work horses, it could be very fragile with a 10 inch screen as it is just half a notebook or a laptop, that I would probably go for one that has a smaller and sturdier built, if at all.

Well, I finally got one about a month or so ago. It has a 7inch screen, a wifi and 3G capability made possible by a sim card slot. It is not your expensive variety but it supports an sd card up to 32 gigabyte, it comes with a removable battery that works up to about 10 hours and it has a camera that takes both still pics and videos.

It is an Android. Actually, a phone which works as a tablet, or a tablet that works like a phone. It makes and sends text messages and makes and receives phone calls. But given the press I've read since I've got my unit, it is not yet that popular.

So far the only stories I saw about it on the net (without specifically searching for them) was the original story and its rehashed version published by Bloomberg about how this giant Chinese electonics company is promoting its product via Facebook and Twitter which are said to be both banned in China.

Don't hold your breaths now, I am talking about ZTE's 7inch Android tablet called V9 light. At least, that is how it is called here in the Philippines.

Obviously, I am not talking about the Rockstar of all the gizmos but this thing has so far enabled me to connect to the net via 3G and wifi nicely, check the weather complete with weather satellite pics., read and send emails with attachments, and while my unit does not support flash I was able to watch videos in it - I mean, videos other than the ones recorded by the unit itself.

But what’s really nice about this tablet is the way it was handed to me by the sales clerk of the cell phone service provider that carries it in this country. Before finally parting with the unit, the sales clerk explained that this phone/tablet connects to the internet automatically.

Now, sharing that knowledge with me is important because it does not only tell me that I won’t have any problem connecting to the net even when I am not in a wifi hot zone, but because it also told me that since I am on a postpaid plan, I better be careful with the apps that I am installing in it because some of the apps, on their own, seek internet connection and uses it without the tablet owner’s knowledge.

And this is true with many mobile apps. They may seem cool to me as end user but in reality, they actually work more for the service providers than the consumers.

Their presence in the phone/tablet could result to huge bills for a usage that, as the owner of the tablet, I may not be aware I have consumed.

That same knowledge made me look closely into the unit’s settings and guess what I found? I can actually switch on and off the data service on the phone/tablet! Hmmm…why was it that I was not given the same information on the last smart phone that I had?

Well, I am not sure if all units are made with the same settings but if your phone/tablet does not have it, this one has.

Here's a pic of my unit.
ZTE V9 Light Tablet
My ZTE V9 Light Tablet
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YOUR IPHONE DID NOT ALARM, EH?

January 10th 2011 12:30
Iphone 3gs


I didn’t know that an Iphone alarm that did not go off on a designated time would be such a big deal, after all, it was just an alarm.

Yet, there it was. The story made it to the headlines.

Of course, given the number of units sold and the number of Iphone users who have become dependent on their phones for reminders, and the quality that the name “Apple” represents, I can understand why that rather ‘minor’ event can be a major issue.

Except, I have a personal issue with my Iphone that, as far as I am concerned, far outweighs an alarm that doesn’t go off!

And what issue would that be?

It is something that I would really be embarrassed to admit were it not for the stories that came out on the Iphone alarm that didn’t go off… because, well, it has something to do with alarms as well.

How is it different from all the rest?

Well, my Iphone alarm just keeps going off!! As in, even if it is not supposed to anymore!

You see, sometime in the middle of 2010, my doctor asked me to take a certain kind of medication which I have to ingest every morning. He said I must do it religiously and shouldn’t miss a single dose.

I wasn’t used to taking medicines every morning so I set an alarm on my Iphone to remind myself every morning at 8:30 to take my medicine for about a month, which was the doctor’s prescription.

The month went by without a hitch. The alarm went off every morning since I set it to go off repeatedly every morning, and I was able to take my medicines without failure.

No problem.

Well, there was no problem until the last of my medicines were consumed. The problem started day after I was done taking the medicines – when the Iphone’s alarm was not needed anymore.

It was only set to repeat the alarm every morning for a month. But it seems to have a mind of its own. It went off again at 8:30am the next day.

And it still does every morning since then!

I tried everything I can think of to prevent the alarm from going off again. I erased even the original entry where I set the repetitive alarm on day 1, I updated the Iphone software several times…etc.

No effect, as if I didn't do anything.

I have a feeling my iphone alarm will continue to go off every morning, for eternity or at least, for as long as its processor still works.

And me?

I think I'll just have to keep shutting it off every morning at 8:30

At least, until I ran out of patience with it.

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A GIFT NOT A TRAP

December 11th 2010 00:00

Illustration pic source: Wikipedia


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SAMSUNG CAN STILL DO BETTER

November 6th 2010 11:38
My introduction to Samsung products was actually a nice one. It came in the form of a TV set which has features that were really nifty. Considering its price and the technology it carried in its box, it was the best buy that I could ever make at that time.

When it came out with its SGH V200 clamshell phone, I immediately bought one and wowed many of my officemates when I bragged about its features which were highlighted by Keanu Reeves in one of the “Matrix” movies


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Couldn’t help it, sorry! But these guys are talking about an amazing technology which actual application could be scary. Well, depending on where you are looking it from


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NEED NEW TECHY STUFF?

June 10th 2010 00:00
10.1 inch (screen) netbook


So do I, brother. I need a new techy stuff too


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HOW ABOUT AN iPDA?

April 10th 2010 00:00

Sorry guys, but I can’t get excited over that latest Apple toy - the Ipad. As far as I am concerned, the biggest turn-off for the Ipad is its size.

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My intention is never to demean, but given the similar functions of most smart phones, I didn't think it wise to spend more on a cell phone that simply does almost practically the same things its less expensive brethrens do


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