How to set up voice dialing via a bluetooth headset. Voice commands from a Bluetooth headset on Android

A Bluetooth headset is a necessary, useful and simply necessary device for drivers and those who are busy 24 hours a day and cannot afford long conversations on the phone. Plantronics Explorer 110 is a headset that allows you to issue commands to voice assistants in iOS and Android. Without being distracted from your work, you can listen to the weather forecast, communicate on social networks and send queries to a search engine. In addition, the headset boasts support for Multipoint technology for simultaneous pairing with two devices, and HD Audio for impeccable sound. Let's see how the Explorer 110 performs during testing.

Equipment and technical parameters

The Plantronics Explorer 110 package includes everything you need to use the headset in a car: a charger for the cigarette lighter and a holder that can be used to attach the device to the air vent. In addition, a detachable silicone ear holder and USB cable are included as standard. From the list of main technical parameters we learn that the headset weighs 7.5 g, supports Bluetooth 4.1, a full battery charge is designed for 7 hours of continuous talk and 6 months in DeepSleep mode, the range is 10 meters.

Design and construction

The design of the Explorer 110 is extremely minimalist: there are no flashy decorative elements, everything is restrained and strict. The glossy ribbed outer panel looks interesting. We tested a gray and black headset; the line also includes a silver and white model. Volume control buttons, which simultaneously serve to switch tracks, start and pause playback, and the headset on/off lever are located at the ends of the device.

On the rear panel there is a microUSB connector for recharging the battery and a button to accept/end calls. The same button is used to activate pairing mode.

Possibilities

There are no complaints about sound transmission: the interlocutor’s voice is heard clearly, without interference or distortion. The noise reduction system blocks background sounds - only you are heard at the other end of the “wire”. Thus, you can talk on the phone while in a crowded shopping center, public transport or while driving. Multipoint technology works flawlessly: we were able to connect the headset to a smartphone and tablet at the same time - you can listen to music and receive incoming calls at the same time. The battery charge when talking on average for 30 minutes a day is more than enough for a working week.

The user receives voice notifications about battery status and volume level in three languages: English, Spanish and French. If you wish, you can install the proprietary Plantronics Hub application on your smartphone, which will help you quickly find a lost headset and provide information about the battery status and button functions. When the user removes the headset, the smartphone's speaker automatically turns on.

Connect with voice assistants

The headset transmits all sounds from the smartphone, including notifications of receiving messages on social networks. Through Plantronics Explorer 110, you can issue commands to voice assistants Siri, Cortana or Google Now. During testing, we were able to “link” the headset with the two most popular assistants. There were no complaints about Siri: we sent a message on Skype, checked if there were new messages on Facebook, and checked the weather forecast. There were some difficulties with Google Now: the assistant did not immediately respond to our requests, we had to repeat them.

Bottom line

Plantronics Explorer 110 is a compact, comfortable headset that, in addition to basic functions, supports pairing technology with two devices simultaneously and integration with voice assistants. The strict, laconic design turns the headset into a beautiful business accessory.

If you are as interested in news from the IT world as we are, subscribe to our Telegram channel. All materials appear there as quickly as possible. Or maybe it's more convenient for you? We are even in

Google Corporation began its activities as a search engine, and at the moment, searching for information using mobile devices remains one of the main directions of development. With each update of the phone/tablet system, Google Play Services and individual programs, more and more new functions appear to make life easier for the user. In this article, I'll talk about the most useful voice commands, Now on Tap contextual search, and also show you how to set up your phone to perform any voice commands, including using Tasker. After all, this is exactly what we dreamed about when reading the works of science fiction writers in childhood.

Traditionally, all the latest developments from the “good corporation” are implemented on Nexus line devices. This was the case with voice control and with Google Now, a system for presenting information in the form of a set of cards. One application is responsible for Google Now, simple Google search and voice search, this is Google. It is included with standard Google applications and is available on any certified Android smartphone.

Previously, voice control was only activated when you clicked on the microphone icon while the search program was open (or on widgets on the desktop). Then came the Google Start launcher, which allowed you to execute voice commands directly from the desktop (using the phrase “Ok, Google”). Starting with Android 4.4, the same feature became available in other launchers, but only if the launcher explicitly supports this feature (almost all popular launchers do).

There are also several smartphones with advanced voice control functions that are activated even when the smartphone screen is turned off. For example, MOTO X contains a separate processor with very low power consumption, which does nothing but listen to all surrounding sounds in the background for a key phrase.

Search widget on desktop

Voice control

Simple search for information is, of course, the most important function of Google Now. Moreover, it is intelligent enough to understand the context, which means commands can be combined into chains. For example, if you say, “Okay Google, who is the president of Nicaragua?” the search will return the answer “Daniel Ortega.” And if you further ask “How old is he?”, then the answer will be “Seventy years old.” Google Now understands a lot of commands, here are ten of the most useful ones.

Maps and navigation- “let's go/navigation #title streets #number Houses". Launches Google Maps in navigator mode at the specified address. You can also indicate a city, store, organization, and so on.
Calculator- “thirteen percent of five thousand.” Will display the answer and the form of the calculator in the search window. You can use your voice to dictate addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and the root of a number. You can also translate measures of weights, lengths, etc.
Sending SMS/messages- “write an SMS to Oleg, text I’m driving, I’ll call you back later.” You can also send messages through WhatsApp, Viber and several other popular instant messengers. Using a simplified scheme, you can dictate “message #program #contact #text.” For example: “Whatsapp message Oleg I’m driving.” After this, you can also confirm the sending by voice with the “send” command.
Dialing a number- "call Mom". You can also dictate an arbitrary number that is not in the address book. When using the “call sister/brother” command, you can specify a number from your contacts (if written differently), then the next time the call will be made automatically.
Reminders and alarms- “wake me up on Saturday at eight in the morning” or “remind me to turn off the stove in ten minutes.” You can also add events to Google Calendar. Events can be tied not only to time, but also to place. If you add “remind me to print the text at work,” then if geolocation is turned on and the work address (location on the map) is specified, the reminder will automatically pop up on your phone. The regular timer built into the Clock app is just as easy to start.
Guess the melody- “what kind of song is this?” Will start recognizing the playing music.
Music Video- “listen to (music) #group #song.” Launches the specified music in Play Music or a clip on YouTube. It works normally with Russian titles, but since it identifies English words and performers, sometimes incorrectly interpreting them for the Russian language, it does not always work.
Photo/video- “take a photo / record a video.” Will launch the camera in the selected mode.
Manage Settings- “turn off Wi-Fi”, “turn on the flashlight”.
Notes- “note to yourself: test password for service one two three four.” Adds a note to Google Keep.

Now on Tap

The description of this service was given special attention at the presentation of Android 6.0 Marshmallow. And it was presented as one of the main features of the new firmware. But we received more or less normal functionality in Russia only in December. In the official Russian translation it is called context from Now.

How it works? “When you launch context from Now, Google analyzes everything you see on the screen and searches for information based on that data,” is the official description from the support page. What this means is that instead of highlighting and copying phrases of interest on the screen, then opening the search and pasting the phrase, you can simply press and hold the Home button. Google will then offer suggestions for the keyword phrases found. This could be pictures, videos, a proposal to open this place on maps, news. May offer to open the organization’s website or make a call, open a Facebook profile or look at a celebrity’s Twitter account, or add a note. If there are corresponding applications on the device, after tapping on the icon, the page will open immediately inside the application. When listening to music from different applications, you can call up artists, albums, YouTube videos and more with one click.

Easter eggs in Google search

Just like the desktop version of search, voice search has Easter eggs. I will give only a few commands, the rest you can find out at this link. Unfortunately, almost all of them work only in English and with an English interface, or when only English is selected in the settings.

"Do a barrel roll."
“Make me a sandwich!”
“Sudo make me a sandwich!”
"When am I?"
"Beam me up, Scotty!"
“Up up down down left right left right.”
"What does the fox say?"

Tasker

If, after everything you've read, you still don't have enough commands to make your fantasies come true, then, with a little time, you can configure Google Now to execute almost any command. To do this, we will first need the AutoVoice plugin.

Using Tasker, you can perform many actions: launch applications, control sound, run scripts, control the screen, manipulate files, press buttons on the screen, manage media, make HTTP Get and Post requests and respond to them, manage advanced phone settings. And all this can be done by issuing voice commands. And with the help of many plugins, the functionality expands even further.

To get started, you need to enable the Google Now Integration item inside AutoVoice. In Tasker you need to create a separate profile for each team or group of teams. As usual, to create profiles, I recommend turning on English in Tasker settings. For the test profile, we will create a voice command to turn off the sound. To do this, create a new profile with the parameters Event → Plugin → AutoVoice Recognized. Fill in the following fields:

Command Filter- here we enter the necessary voice command, in our example: “turn off the sound.” If you click on the Speak Filter line, you can dictate the command.
Exact Command- if you check the box, it will only work on the exact command, otherwise it can work on every single word or form of a word.
Use Regex- use regular expressions. Allows you to configure recognition of several words in one profile. If in the first field you enter “(turn off|turn off) (sound|volume)” without quotes, then the profile will respond to the commands “mute sound”, “turn off volume”, “mute sound” and “turn off volume”.

For the action we use Audio → Ringer Volume and Audio → Notification Volume. To control the triggering, you can add a pop-up notification via Alert → Flash and enter “Turned off” in the Text field.

The commands “turn off Wi-Fi” work immediately in Google Now, and “turn off the sound” prompts you to open the settings. And after intercepting the command through Tasker and executing it, it still remains on the current screen with the request. Therefore, we will additionally add App → Go Home to the actions. Well, to amuse your friends, in all voice control profiles you can set Alert → Say as the first action and enter the phrase “I obey, master.” Then the phone will respond with voice in response to commands.

Using additional plugins, such as AutoRemote, you can control other Android devices. And if you install EventGhost on your computer, then with the help of numerous plugins you can do a lot of interesting things. One of the most useful applications will be setting up a smart home, but this is a separate big story. Joao Dias, the developer of all Auto* plugins, also has an add-on for the computer, which allows you to integrate mobile device management through the Cortana voice assistant on the desktop.

A few tricks

Tasker is hardcore. You can do amazing things, but to do this you need to master a lot of information, understand variables, regular expressions, and so on. For those who don't want to bother with Tasker, there are a large number of programs that use voice control capabilities, but have a clearer and more accessible interface and are easy to use. I'll stop at three.

The program allows you to change the key phrase from “Ok, Google” to any other. Unfortunately, after one of the service updates and a request from Google, it stopped working with Google Engine, leaving only PocketSphinx. In this regard, only English phrases are suitable for the key phrase, but previously it was possible to surprise those present by calling the phone “hey, you” or “listen to the command.”

However, the developer promises to fix everything in the next updates. Other functions include the launch of recognition by the proximity sensor (two waves of the hand) and by shaking the phone. Like MOTO X, it supports recognition when the screen is off, but, unfortunately, this greatly affects the battery, so it is relevant for a phone on charge or car media centers on Android with constant power. Works with a Bluetooth headset, has integration with Tasker, and can read text messages.

Another program from the developer Open Mic+. Integrates with Google Now and allows you to use an expanded set of commands. The list of supported ones includes the following: turn on/off the wireless access point, pause/resume music, next/previous song, unread SMS/gmail (voices them out), volume, phone lock, take a photo, take a selfie. You can also turn on the voice recorder, control the backlight, and auto-rotate the screen. With root, you can turn off/restart your phone, clear notifications, and enable Airplane mode. For supported functions, you can change the commands to your own. It also has integration with Tasker, allowing you to enable triggering for each task by the name Task. There is a module for Xposed that allows you to use Commandr with Android Wear.

Assistant Dusya

And finally, the brainchild of Russian developers is the Russian-language voice assistant Dusya, which combines all the advantages of the described applications and utilities. Like Tasker, Dusya allows you to create your own voice functions (they are called “scripts”), in a much more understandable and simpler form (there is help in Russian, video tutorials) and with more powerful functions for working with speech commands. In addition, it also has its own online catalog of ready-made scripts created by other users. At the time of writing there were about a hundred of them.

Just like Commandr, Dusya can integrate with Google Now, and also has many types of other contactless activations - by shaking, waving, using a headset, bringing it to the ear, and including its own activation phrase in Russian. And if you want to use the interface, then it is there, very simple, fast and functional. Among the functions there are 25 most frequently requested ones, there is even control of smart homes and home theaters.

conclusions

Today, voice search functions in smartphones are very developed, and, as you can see, developers offer us not just a set of commands for searching for information, but a full-fledged smartphone control system, which, with some effort, can be integrated with a home computer and even a smart home. So if you're more comfortable controlling it all with your voice, you've got everything you need to do so.

Last updated by at November 18, 2016.

– we bring to your attention a very practical and convenient application from the developer Hakuna_Matata, which will be appreciated by transport drivers, since using voice commands in this application you can dial a number, call, search for the necessary contact, get directions, open programs, as well as VoiceButton will announce incoming calls and automatically turn on speakerphone and much, much more. The program is activated using Bluetooth and a wired headset.

More information about the program:

The application can work in two modes:
Normal - a mode in which the program will not talk to you. When identifying a contact with high accuracy, automatic dialing can be performed after a time specified in the settings. This mode can be used when there is no headset.
While driving - a mode in which the program will synthesize voice messages. This mode is useful when using a headset or when your hands are full.

Modes can automatically switch when you connect and disconnect a headset. Each mode can use personal settings that you specify. You can launch the program using Bluetooth or a wired headset. Typically, to start from a Bluetooth headset, you need to press and hold the call button. For clarification, please read the instructions for your specific model. In some cases, launching the program from the headset does not work. The reason may be either in the headset or in the phone itself. To start from a wired headset, press and hold the headset button. To make launch when locked work, activate the item in the settings. You can use aliases (words for automatic replacement) for all commands. The program uses voice input and a speech synthesizer built into the system. To search for places and navigate by voice, the program supports Yandex navigator and Google maps. It is possible to backup and restore settings and a list of aliases.

Working with contacts
To search for a contact, you need to start the program recognition and, after the sound signal, say the search text.
Contact search works by name, number or part thereof, type, organization name
Example: Alexey Ivanov, Anton 911, Mom at home, Anton working. You can use an alias to accurately identify a contact. This function is available online and offline.

Working with programs
To start the program, you need to say the command “open application” + “program name”.
For example: open the gallery application.
If you use an alias, you can run programs using simpler words. For example, instead of “Open the gallery application,” you can say “show pictures,” unless, of course, you create such an alias. Aliases can be used to open programs with complex names. This function is available online and offline.

Working with the Yandex navigator
To find the nearest place, you need to say the command “navigator” + “place name or address”. The Yandex people's map service is used for searching. If you have Yandex navigator installed and the place is found, the navigator will be launched and the route will be plotted. This feature is only available online.

Working with Google Maps
To find the nearest place, you need to say the command “map” + “place name or address.” Google service is used for searching. If you have Google maps installed and a place is found, a program will be launched offering directions. This feature is only available online.

Current time
To find out the current time just say the command "time" and the program will tell you it.
This function is available online and offline.

Voice dialing lets you make a call by speaking a recorded voice tag for a contact.
Voice tags allow you to make calls without dialing a number. Voice tags can be any words,
for example, names.

You can store a certain number of voice tags in your phone's memory.

The name should be pronounced exactly as it was pronounced when recorded.

Background noise may interfere with the normal operation of the voice recognition system, so it is recommended to record and

Tags that are too short are not perceived by the phone; use long enough voice tags and don't

record similar labels for different numbers.

You can record a voice tag for any contact that is saved in the phone memory. Save or
Copy the contacts for which you want to record voice tags to the phone memory. Voice tags are possible
add for numbers stored on the SIM card, but in this case, when replacing the SIM card, you will need to first
remove old voice tags and then add new ones.

1. In standby mode, press

and scroll to the contact you want to record a voice tag for.

2. Click

Details

, highlight the desired phone number, press

Var-you

and select

Phonogram

3. Click

Start

and clearly say the words you want to record as a voice tag. At the end

recording, the phone plays the recorded tag.

Phonogram saved

accompanied by a sound signal. Next to the number for which you added a voice tag in the list

Contacts

symbol is displayed

Click

Menu

and select

Contacts

Phonograms

need to be reproduced, modified or deleted.

If you have an application open on your phone that uses a GPRS connection to receive or send data, close
This is the application before working with voice tags.

1. In standby mode, press and hold the selection key

. The phone will beep briefly

signal and the message appears on the display

Say soundtrack

seconds will automatically start dialing the number.

Information numbers and service numbers

The SIM card may contain information or service numbers stored by your service provider.

Click

Menu

and select

Contacts

Info numbers

Service numbers

. Select the required information or

service number and press

to call this number.

Your numbers

Phone numbers assigned to the SIM card are stored in the menu

Your numbers

(if such function is supported by SIM

card). To view numbers, click

Menu

and select

Contacts

Your numbers

. Highlight the required name

or number and press

Cm.

Contacts

How to use voice input

We have already figured out how to enable this function, now we need to understand how to use it. It will be available in almost all menus and applications in which you can use an electronic keyboard.

To start dictating text, tap on the text screen or on the portion of text that has already been entered. A standard electronic keyboard will appear.
Click on the microphone icon on the main screen, or go to the character layout if you moved the microphone key there during setup.
A menu for recording your voice and the inscription: “Speak” will be displayed on the screen. Dictate the desired text into your smartphone's microphone, and it will automatically convert your voice into text.

Punctuation marks must be pronounced with the words: “Question mark”, “Comma”, “Period”. Try to speak more clearly, otherwise the program may misunderstand your words and, accordingly, convert them into similar-sounding ones.

What settings are available for Android voice recognition?

You can configure standard voice input on Android in the “Language and input” menu, which can be accessed through “Settings”, or by clicking on the settings “gear” directly in the menu that appears after pressing the microphone (usually the settings button is located to the left of the word "Speak")

Setting up speech recognition. Here you can do the following:

Select language. Recognition is also available in offline mode, but by default you will only have Russian language installed (or Russian + English). For other languages, the function will work either only with , or when you download the required languages. You can download the required language packs in the language and input settings menu by clicking on “Offline speech recognition”.
Set up “OK Google” recognition. After setting this item, you will be able to use the search engine manager when Google is open, only by saying: “Okay Google.” And then you need to say what you need to find in the search engine.
Enable voice control from a wired headset or Bluetooth devices.
Set up recognition of obscene words. The program automatically turns on the “Hide recognized obscene words” option.
Enable or disable the results being read out in standard mode or in headset mode.

Using VoiceButton voice commands, you can perform a voice search for contacts offline, call, dial a number, search for places on the map, get directions, and open programs. Voice dialing via a Bluetooth headset will be very useful while driving a car.
The application can read incoming calls and automatically turn on speakerphone. Activation of the program using Bluetooth and a wired headset is supported. On systems with Android 4.1. and above, offline work is supported.
YouTube video channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYmMj7Lc2AwCCye0CFJJeGQ

Normal - a mode in which the program will not talk to you. When identifying a contact with high accuracy, automatic dialing can be performed after a time specified in the settings. This mode can be used when there is no headset;
While driving - a mode in which the program will synthesize voice messages. This mode is useful when using a headset or when your hands are full.

Modes can automatically switch when you connect and disconnect a headset. Each mode can use personal settings that you specify.

You can launch the program using Bluetooth or a wired headset.
Typically, to start from a Bluetooth headset, you need to press and hold the call button. For clarification, please read the instructions for your specific model. In some cases, launching the program from the headset does not work. The reason may be either in the headset or in the phone itself.
To start from a wired headset, press and hold the headset button. To make launch when locked work, activate the item in the settings.
You can use aliases (words for automatic replacement) for all commands.
The program uses voice input and a speech synthesizer built into the system.
To search for places and navigate by voice, the program supports Yandex navigator and Google maps.
It is possible to backup and restore settings and a list of aliases.

Detailed description of how some functions work

Working with contacts

To search for a contact, you need to start the program recognition and, after the sound signal, say the search text.
Contact search works by name, number or part thereof, type, organization name
Example: Alexey Ivanov, Anton 911, Mom at home, Anton working.

You can use an alias to accurately identify a contact.

Working with programs

To start the program, you need to say the command “open application” + “program name”.
For example: open the gallery application.
If you use an alias, you can run programs using simpler words. For example, instead of “Open the gallery application,” you can say “show pictures,” unless, of course, you create such an alias. Aliases can be used to open programs with complex names. This function is available online and offline.

Working with the Yandex navigator

To find the nearest place, you need to say the command “navigator” + “place name or address”. The Yandex people's map service is used for searching. If you have Yandex navigator installed and the place is found, the navigator will be launched and the route will be plotted. This feature is only available online.

Working with Google Maps

To find the nearest place, you need to say the command “map” + “place name or address.” Google service is used for searching. If you have Google maps installed and a place is found, a program will be launched offering directions. This feature is only available online.

Current time

To find out the current time just say the command "time" and the program will tell you it.
This function is available online and offline.

Call back

To call back the last number, say the command “call back”.