Voice Control on iPhone 3G

I wouldn't bet on it coming to the 3G. The voice control app requires a lot of processor and RAM resources. The 3G S has twice the RAM and 50% faster processor than the 3G. Also, it's very unusual for a company to expend the R&D to add features in a new model into last years...

I don't know for sure but I do know that many of the vc apps don't work well on the 3G and the ones that do, perform the analysis on the server side, not on the iPhone itself.

I'm not really trying to defend Apple, just trying to make the point that the vc on your grandmothers 5 year old phone is not the same thing that Apple is implementing on the 3GS.

The bottom line is that it was well known ahead of time that vc would not be on the 3G, it's only on the 3GS and nothing said on these forums is going to change that. Leave feedback here and maybe something will get done... http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

Not buying it.

My previous phone was a Verizon XV6700 running Windows Mobile on a 400Mhz processor. Voice control was a feature and worked just fine.

You're missing the point, as are a lot of posts here. There are already voice dialing apps that work on the 3G (i.e. VoiceBox Dialer - free).

The topic of this thread is whether the Apple "Voice Control" app as it is on the 3GS could be included in the 3G. It does a lot more than voice dial names in contacts. Besides numerical dialing, it plays songs, creates song lists and controls iPod functions. Did your Verizon do that?

That might be..... However - the hardware inside of the iPhone 3G is several leaps and bounds faster and more powerful than an original RAZR 1st Gen.

And it had it. And it worked really well.

As I mentioned in another thread - the original iMacs were capable of voice commands using the Accessibility Software built into the OS. Both OS 9 and OS X.

The original iMacs sported 256Mb RAM - 233 Mhz processors and 6Gb HDs. All the while pushing 1024x768 color displays - running Photoshop and Final Cut Pro.

The point is that the hardware on the 1st Gen iphone (which we're excluding) much less the hardware on the iPhone 3G out-paces the old iMacs by leaps and bounds. The hardware is not an issue unless Apple makes a statement to that fact. Otherwise - based solely on hardware specs - the iPhone 3G is totally capable of Voice Control implemented in the 3Gs.

I guess that you didn't read Modular747's post very closely. The 3G has less ram and a slower processor. Apple doesn't tend to do barely adequate implementations which is why the 3G is not getting video or voice.

The jailbroken apps are a lot less functional than the 3G S Voice Control, which also operates all iPod fuctions - play songs by name, list, etc. The voice recognition accuracy is also likey to be much better in the 3G S. Besides the marketing issues, I can't see Apple developing a half-a**ed voice app for the 3G. There a several voice dialing apps in the App Store now. None of them work well.

Message was edited by: modular747

Windows Mobile phones, with far less RAM and CPU power, have been able to use MS Voice Command for years, and it responds to more requests.

It's possible that Apple reserves a large section of the extra RAM on the 3GS, so their Voice Control can always be available no matter how much memory other apps grab.

You are mistaken. Voice control has been on many phones (even relatively cheap ones) for years now. This is not a processing issue. It is a differentiating issue between the 3G and 3GS. It is a shame, because the most significant use is a safety feature. Playing songs and launching apps is nice and fun, but in my book does not compare with the necessity of true hands free voice dialing.

Did you even read my post? I said voice control was relatively new compared to search. I also realize it's been on phones for several years... it was on my last one from 2003. I agree, Apple should and could have basic VC on the 3G but they don't. The point is that the VC feature that Apple has installed on the 3GS will not work properly on the 3G, primarily due to hardware.

And why doesn't Apple make an app for vc that works for the 3G?

You aren't addressing Apple in this forum. Asking the other iPhone users here about Apple policies and decisions not only violates the forum Terms of Use, but is a complete waste of time.

FYI, AT&T sells a voice activate dialing service at an extra charge, which is useable in the iPhone 3G. There are also several 3rd party apps that offer voice dialing.

I agree. My Moto WinMo phones did Voice Command just fine - 4 years ago. This is a feature decision, not one driven by hardware limitations.

The real reason is to get people to really want the 3GS. It is a minor upgrade to the 3G. Yes it is faster and has a compass - neither impresses me enough. I don't qualify for the discount until December and by then I will be waiting for the next iPhone in June of 2010.

By then AT&T will have their high speed network mostly built out and Apple should have some really nice new features in the iPhone. By then I am hoping for a return to the Aluminum case, OLED screen (hopefully more durable then glass) and who knows what else.

Maybe someone will be able to build a voice app that is easy to use and get to via BT, but if not, I am OK until the next iPhone.

Considering there are apps for jailbroken iPhones which already do this without depending on a data connection to offload the processing, I would say the 3G would be quite capable of handling it.

I rank this up there with Apple getting rid of Firewire on the 1st Gen Unibody MacBook. One would hope they address the mistake in an upcoming 3.x update much as they did with the MacBook last week.

modular747 wrote:

And why doesn't Apple make an app for vc that works for the 3G?

You aren't addressing Apple in this forum. Asking the other iPhone users here about Apple policies and decisions not only violates the forum Terms of Use, but is a complete waste of time.

FYI, AT&T sells a voice activate dialing service at an extra charge, which is useable in the iPhone 3G. There are also several 3rd party apps that offer voice dialing.

This entire thread (and many others on the forum)has been a technical speculation of why there is no vc on the 3G. To accuse this one user of violating the Terms of Use is ridiculous.

As far as AT&T, while I am sure they will thank you for the referral, please keep in mind that in addition to paying the monthly fee, you must upload your contacts to their service. If you add new contacts, you must re-upload them in order to access them through voice dial. Hardly an elegant solution.

As for the other 3r party apps, they all require significant interaction with the phone, which the previous poster said that they were trying to avoid out of safety concerns.

That makes baby Jesus cry, or at least just me. When I watched the iPhone 3G S video and saw the Voice Control, I instantly loved the idea, but upon checking the software update saw it wasn't included and I was let down. I know they want to keep all the really neat features exclusive to the new one, but this isn't hardware related at all.

In fact, if it was offered separately for as much as ten or twenty dollars I would pick it up. It looks so sweet, and the 3G S would still be distinguished with its better camera and video capabilities, not to mention the flaunting processing speed increase.

I understand not having full iPod voice functionality. But given the number of steps it takes to make a simple phone call, and the fact that my Nokia had very adequate voice dialing a decade ago, it is pretty sad that Apple couldn't whip this feature up for everyone. Seems more like a marketing strategy than a technological barrier issue to me.