# Wow Google Voice is impressive! Never had a voice recognition app that really worked before **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 9, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-google-voice-is-impressive-never-had-a-voice-recognition-app-that-really-worked-before/577804 "2011-04-09T22:22:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-google-voice-is-impressive-never-had-a-voice-recognition-app-that-really-worked-before/577804/1 "2011-04-09T22:22:36Z")
I’ve got a middling deep male voice that seems to give most voice recognition software like my cars Onstar system, or automated phone voice input applications, the fits, so I’ve pretty much written off and ignored most voice recognition applications. But then I read this article below, and tried out google voice on my Droid. The recognition level is astounding! Very impressed. [Now You’re Talking! - Google has developed speech-recognition technology that actually works](http://www.slate.com/id/2290516/?wpisrc=obinsite) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-google-voice-is-impressive-never-had-a-voice-recognition-app-that-really-worked-before/577804/2 "2011-04-09T23:03:50Z")
It only works in conjunction with telephone service? I couldn’t see any way to use it on a laptop with a built-in mic. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-google-voice-is-impressive-never-had-a-voice-recognition-app-that-really-worked-before/577804/3 "2011-04-10T00:09:57Z")
I was impressed with it’s vocabulary. On my first attempt, with a demo model before it was released, I got the HTC Incredible to recognize “ennui” and a few others that I was sure it would mangle. Weirdly, I’ve never been able to duplicate that on my own Inc, and I’ve had this one since the first day of availability (pre-ordered it). It is still quite impressive and handy though. I enjoy dictating my texts including punctuation! ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-google-voice-is-impressive-never-had-a-voice-recognition-app-that-really-worked-before/577804/4 "2011-04-10T02:19:26Z")
The Google Voice speech recognition sucks (when it tries to “transcribe” a message left on your voicemail). The Google voice search, on the other hand, is pretty good but tends to screw up things on me occasionally by mashing together two words I say into one similar sounding word. Say “car bomb” to carbon or something like that ---
**Author:** ![badlyburnttoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@badlyburnttoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badlyburnttoast)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-google-voice-is-impressive-never-had-a-voice-recognition-app-that-really-worked-before/577804/5 "2011-04-10T08:51:10Z")
Is this the same voice recognition they use for the beta of youtube closed captions? Because if it is, I’ve found it’s hilariously bad most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-google-voice-is-impressive-never-had-a-voice-recognition-app-that-really-worked-before/577804/6 "2011-04-12T15:43:16Z")
> [@badlyburnttoast](#): > > Is this the same voice recognition they use for the beta of youtube closed captions? > > Because if it is, I’ve found it’s hilariously bad most of the time. That’s what I was going to post. It would be odd for them not to be using the same service, since, like everything else Google related, it’s based on heuristics. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-google-voice-is-impressive-never-had-a-voice-recognition-app-that-really-worked-before/577804/7 "2011-04-12T16:37:56Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That’s what I was going to post. It would be odd for them not to be using the same service, since, like everything else Google related, it’s based on heuristics. It can’t be. The android app is leagues better. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-google-voice-is-impressive-never-had-a-voice-recognition-app-that-really-worked-before/577804/8 "2011-04-12T17:01:03Z")
I’ve used it a while, and sometimes it transcribes perfectly, and other times it’s completely wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-google-voice-is-impressive-never-had-a-voice-recognition-app-that-really-worked-before/577804/9 "2011-04-12T20:05:54Z")
I use the Android app to text, and it is amazingly good. No training at all required, and my speech isn’t exactly newsreader quality. I am far more often in awe at what it figures out than I am frustrated by what it doesn’t.