Android Voice Commands - 5 Ways to Get Started

If you have the search widget on your home screen, you'll see a little microphone button on its right-hand side; click that to begin using voice commands. Alternatively, most Android cell phones have a dedicated search button that looks like a little magnifying glass; if your phone doesn't have one, then try long-pressing the menu button. One of the above should get you to the search screen with a little microphone button on the right of the search box -- that's what you press to activate voice commands and start talking to your phone.

1. Call 

The simplest and perhaps most obvious use of voice commands simply calls someone in your contact list. The voice commands function is seamlessly integrated with your address book, so it should be as simple as saying "Call Dad" to start arranging that family dinner next weekend. 

If you're calling a contact with multiple numbers, you can specify which one you'd like to use, so you can say "Call Mom work" to get hold of her on her office line rather than her home phone or cell phone.

 

2. Send text 

This is a really neat voice action. Not only can you specify who you want to send a text to, you can also dictate the contents of the message -- and you don't have to do it all in one breath! You start sending a text using voice commands by saying, "Send text to Chris: Hi Chris, happy birthday! Hope you have a great day!" You can dictate punctuation by saying "comma," "period," or "exclamation point" in the relevant places. You can even dictate simple smilies such as :) by saying "smiley face." 

3. Go to / Search 

Voice actions also have the power to replace your normal web search. Rather than typing in your query, you can tap the microphone button and ask your phone to "Go to nasa.com" or "Go to twitter.com." You can also use voice actions to find the website of a place or business you don't know the full address of by simply saying "Search for cats" or "Go to Doctor Who"; the search function will bring up a list of potential websites that might be relevant, just like a normal Google search. 

4. Navigate to 

This voice command works with Google Maps and Google Navigation. Essentially, if you ask your phone to "Navigate to Starbucks," it will pop up a list of the nearest Starbucks coffee houses from which you can select your favorite. You can also use voice commands to navigate to key landmarks. If you were visiting New York and wanted to know the best route to the Chrysler building, you could simply say "Navigate to the Chrysler building," and it would work out the directions from your current location. 

5. Note to self 

Finally, you can use voice search as a personal assistant, to help you keep track of all of the errands and tasks you have to do while barely breaking your train of thought. To use voice commands as a memory aid, simply hit the microphone button and say "Note to self: Remember to buy carrots." The voice action software will turn your words into the text of an email and email the reminder directly to you. Check your inbox, and you'll have a mini-task list to work through at your convenience. 

At your command 

So that's it, then -- five simple commands that give you power over virtually all of your phone's core functions using just your voice.