Mobile Accessibility includes an easy-to-use and powerful speech recognition feature. Please note that your phone must be running Android 2.2 or later and be connected to the Internet using Wi-Fi or a data plan to use this feature. Speech recognition can be used both in edit fields of Mobile Accessibility but also in edit fields outside of Android.
To begin speech recognition, long press the Volume down key. The device will vibrate twice when it’s ready to listen. When you’re done speaking, release the volume down key. A list of possible matches will be spoken. You can use the arrow keys or swipe up and down to move through them. To accept the current suggestion, double tap, press enter or the volume down key. To review the current suggestion by word use the volume up key repeatedly.
Speech recognition can be used to enter a single word or an entire text message. Speak slowly and clearly, and try to limit background noise whenever possible. You may wish to speak your message one sentence or a few words at a time to more quickly gain matching results.
Tips for speech recognition:
- Receiving a call: Mobile Accessibility makes it easy to determine who is calling and answer phone calls using the touchscreen or volume keys. When you receive a call, double tap anywhere on the screen to hear the name or number of the person who is calling. To answer a call, swipe up with one finger. Swipe down with one finger to reject a call. Please note to avoid accidental answering or rejecting of a call, you will need to use a longer swipe to answer or reject a call. If you have enabled the setting under Settings> Advanced > Enable Volume Keys to Answer / Reject calls, you can also press the volume up key to answer a call or the volume down key to reject a call.
- Performing tasks while on a call: While on a call, it is possible to perform several commands, including placing the phone on speaker phone, answering or rejecting additional calls, or entering numbers for interactive telephone systems.
- Speaker Phone: Simply double tap to toggle the status of speaker phone. The phone will toggle between using the speaker for your ear or the louder, room speaker.
- Call Waiting: If you receive another call, you can use double tap to hear the caller ID for the additional call. Use swipe up to answer or swipe down to reject the call. If you have enabled the setting under Settings> Advanced > Enable Volume Keys to Answer / Reject calls, you can also press the volume up key to answer the additional call or the volume down key to reject it.
- Adjusting Call Volume: To adjust the call volume, use the volume up or down keys. If you have enabled the setting under Settings> Advanced > Use Volume Keys to Answer/Reject calls, be sure to press the volume up or down keys while the phone is near your ear to avoid hanging up the call. Alternatively if you have this setting disabled, the volume keys will also allow you to adjust the speaker volume when the speaker phone is enabled.
- Entering numbers while on a call: Sometimes, it may be necessary to dial additional numbers while on a call, such as a voicemail password. To do this, press the menu key. The default Android call screen will be activated. Please note this feature works best with phones that include a dedicated hardware keyboard.
Listen to the following demo: Speech recognition with Mobile Accessibility by JJ Meddaugh. To follow JJ, visit the Blind Bargain website.
