Like WeWork, Uber, Amazon, YouTube, and every tech platform you rely on to live in the 21st century, the transcription service Rev recently screwed over the people who do the actual work. They dropped the minimum rate for their contracted transcriptionists by 33 per cent, to effectively less than $7 an hour. Luckily, there are ways to find and hire a human transcriptionist directly, without paying more money.
Voice-controlled features have gotten much better over the years, but they're still not perfect. This can actually work in your favour, if you have problems with mumbling or public speaking.
iOS: Astrid, one of our favourite to-do apps, now features full Siri integration. You can ask Siri to remind you of something and have it directed right to your Astrid to-do list, which you can then see on your phone, tablet or on the web.
Mac (Bluetooth): Previously mentioned Type2Phone has received a big update that enables you to use your Mac's dictation feature to convert speech to text and send it over Bluetooth to any compatible device. Additionally, the app now accepts AppleScript input, so you can send special commands.
You've already told your spouse, your friends and anyone who will listen about your bad experience with Company X, but putting it into an actual complaint letter seems much tougher. Use voice dictation tools to extract the call to action from your story.
Android: We discussed Vocre when it launched for the iPhone last year. Now, the app has also landed on Android with more features and a smaller price tag.
Android: There are so many personal assistants available for Android that it's difficult for one to really shine through. Utter is a new app, currently in beta, that brings the features in a useful way. With root access, it can control your phone's settings, other applications and automate actions, all with your voice.
The problem with voice-enabled "intelligent" apps is that there are way too many that are just OK Siri wannabes. Some are limited in features, intelligence levels vary widely, and there's always one or two that have been hastily knocked together by opportunistic developers. Maluuba is a new virtual intelligence app that claims to be more than just a personal assistant -- and it has big plans to prove it's better than Siri.
Astrid is one of our favourite to-do list managers, but the ability to add tasks by voice is a premium feature. Using IFTTT and Siri on your iOS device, you can add to-dos with your voice quickly without the hassle and the price tag.
iOS: The latest iPad received a global voice recognition feature for us in any app. The iPhone 4S, of course, has Siri. While there is no shortage of apps that translate your voice into the written word, most are limited by a few functions. Voice Assistant, on the other hand, will send the text it translates to pretty much any app. Additionally, it allows you to email, tweet and do a few other things without leaving the app at all.
iOS (Jailbroken): Siri, the iPhone 4S voice assistant/voice dictation system, has been locked out of other iOS 5 devices like the iPhone 4 and 3GS by Apple. Hackers have gotten it to work on the older phones in a proof-of-concept way, but nothing has been released that makes things work as well as the iPhone 4S Siri. But, if you want the voice dictation aspect, there's Siri0us.
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Android/BlackBerry: There are apps that read your email or SMS while you're driving (and DIY solutions), and apps that can send messages with your voice. DriveSafe.ly combines and automates the two for total voice-controlled messaging — and you can try it free.
Previously mentioned voice recording reminder service reQall has rolled out a BlackBerry version (there's already web and iPhone releases). While the software includes conventional text entry, the big selling point is the ability to record voice reminders, tasks or appointments. Those reminders can be emailed to you, both as a recording and as a transcription. The recognition and transcription definitely needs improvement -- the word 'Add' got rendered as 'Had' and failed to recognise an appointment; what I actually said in the screen grab was "Organise the posts for Lifehacker for the rest of the week"; and it later translated a feedback message saying "It's a shame that there's no Australian dial-in number" as "whether the shine that they no Australian doll in number". However, given my Aussie accent and customary high-speed garbling, it could have been worse.
Even when accurate, the transcription takes some time, and it'd be nice to have proper integration with the BlackBerry's own calendar and task list. But if you'd rather say it than type it while on the go, reQall may be worth a spin. reQall is free to download and sign up during its beta phase (don't use the record-to-call option unless you fancy paying for international phone calls). reQall
