iPhone - Voice Box Speech Recognition Technologies

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FAQs: VoiceBox Dialer Plus with superpages.com

Apple iPhone 3.1 OS Support

When will the Dialer Plus support the iPhone 3.1 OS?

All VoiceBox Dialers support the new iPhone OS. This newest OS release provides Bluetooth support so be sure to update your phone to allow you access to the VoiceBox Dialer Plus Bluetooth features.

Does the 3.1 OS update fix the auto dial confirmation issue? Will the Dialer Plus now auto dial again?

Yes, Apple did remove the dial confirmation step in the 3.1 OS update. Update your phone and get your auto dial feature back!

Basic Instructions

Can I configure Dialer Plus to automatically dial for me?
Can I turn off the voice prompts?

The user can configure how certain aspects of the Dialer Plus work. To access these settings, just tap the "Settings" icon at the bottom of the Dialer Plus screen. The configuration settings let you choose to auto dial, set the auto dial delay, and turn on/off the various voice prompt options. (Voice prompts are included to help when you're more mobile and don't want to stare at the screen.)

How do I use the new Bluetooth feature with the Dialer Plus?

Simply pair your Bluetooth headset or in-car system to your iPhone and start VoiceBox Dialer Plus. Push and hold the talk button on the iPhone display and say your command. Make sure to direct your voice to your headset or in-car mic. The iPhone mic is disabled when paired to a Bluetooth device.

What other new features are added to this version of the Dialer Plus?

We added a couple of convenience features to the app. We now allow you to stay inside our app when you compose an email or SMS. This saves you time exiting and re-starting the app. We also now generate maps inside the business search part of Dialer Plus again saving you the hassle of an exit and re-start. The maps now include INRIX real-time Traffic flow information. And Dialer Plus is the only app in the store that supports Bluetooth, for an unprecedented 'hands-free' experience!

The Recents list inside the VoiceBox Dialer Plus doesn't seem to show all my recent calls. Why not?

Due to Apple API limitations, the VoiceBox Dialer Plus Recents will only display calls made from the VoiceBox Dialer Plus. Just make all your calls with our Dialer Plus and all your recent calls will be listed. Add us to the Dock bar at the bottom for easiest access.

I just loaded Dialer Plus but my Favorites don't show up in the list?

The VoiceBox Dialer Plus Favorites are separate from the iPhone Dialer Favorites. Sorry, but if you want to tap to dial your Favorites inside the VoiceBox Dialer Plus app, you need to add your favorite contacts again inside our app. Just tap the "+" icon and add the contacts you want.

How do I use the VoiceBox Dialer Plus?

VoiceBox Dialer Plus is very simple to use. When the Hold Talk button turns green, the app is ready for your command. Push the Hold Talk button and speak your command when the button has turned yellow. Release when you're finished speaking. With the Dialer Plus, be sure that the "Contacts" button is highlighted first. To search for a business, highlight the "Category" button.

Sometimes the Dialer Plus asks you for confirmation - simply tap the correct number.

You'll likely use the Dialer Plus quite frequently, so we advise you to drag and drop the VoiceBox Dialer Plus icon to your home page or app short list so that you can open it more easily.

How many different ways can I dial someone?

VoiceBox Dialer Plus lets you dial in many ways, allowing flexibility in commands, contacts, phone type and phone number.

You can simply say "Dial ..." but you'll notice it will still work if you happen to say "Call ...", "Get me ...", "What about ...", etc.

There's flexibility for contact name too. You can use first name, last name, first-and-last or nickname ("dial Mom", "phone home"). You can dial by company name too, if that's how you set up your contact. If you've set up the contact with multiple first names, you can use any combination:

Sue & Brian Smith
Sue
Brian
Smith
Sue Smith
Brian Smith
Brian & Sue Smith

And for any contact, you can specify which phone number:

Call Sue on her mobile
Dial Brian Smith's home phone

Of course, you can simply dial by phone number. (For international numbers, don't forget the international dialing codes, see below.)

Dial 425-555-1212
Call 011 44 000999

And remember, we've included short-cut commands to save you money on business directory information:

Call GOOG411
Call Free 411

What about International Dialing?

Yes, the Dialer Plus will dial any number associated with a contact name or the full phone number. If you want to dial an international number using just numbers, just add either "011" or "+" to the front of the number when dialing from the US.

The Dialer Plus will also work from international locations. However, your contact numbers must be entered correctly for automatic international dialing back to the US or Canada. This is usually done by just inserting a "+1" into the contact's number for calls to the US

Performance and Contact Issues

The Dialer Plus is usually rocket fast but sometimes it just seems to slow down. What's up?

The Dialer Plus is a web service app and relies on your iPhone's network connection. When you are hooked up to either a Wi-Fi or 3G network, the app will perform the best. If your phone displays an "E" next to your signal strength bars, you are connected to the slower Edge network. Hence the Dialer Plus' performance will slow down. The Dialer Plus will display a "slow network" message when network speed impacts Dialer Plus performance.

It sometimes takes a while to launch VoiceBox Dialer Plus. What's up?

The first time you run the app, the Dialer Plus initializes all your contact names. Also, if you are connected to the Edge network, loading will be a bit slower. And of course if your contact list has thousands of names, it may take a while to process. After the first use, only contact lists that have changed will update, so you won't experience continued delays.

The iPhone says I have a Wi-Fi connection but the Dialer Plus won't work. Why not?

As you'd expect, in locations where paid Wi-Fi connections exist, like in an airport or coffee shop, the iPhone will link up with the Wi-Fi service but will not work until the user enters necessary account info to authenticate the Wi-Fi connection. You can verify this by just opening the Safari browser. If you connect to your home page, the Dialer Plus should work.

If these paid Wi-Fi services cause you problems, just disable your Wi-Fi connection in "Settings". The Dialer Plus will then connect via the 3G or Edge network.

I get the following message when I load your app for the first time "We could not understand one or more of your contact names. Please check the FAQs."?

Somewhere in your contact list is a name including a character we cannot process properly. Our technology does catch many of these problem characters but some slip through. Please note, we only process contact names, not e-mail addresses, numbers, or other information in your contact list.

We think we have addressed them all, but if you see this message please contact us at support@voicebox.com with any comments or questions.

I get the following message when I try to dial a person using your application "The phone number "xxx-xxxx" contains unsupported characters." Why is that?

You might have special characters and codes preceding the phone number for that specific contact. These special codes turn on/off phone features like caller-id. The iPhone APIs that Apple provides developers does not handle these special characters and codes correctly, resulting in dialing errors.

Here is Apple's explanation of their handling of those special characters: "To prevent users from maliciously redirecting phone calls or changing the behavior of a phone or account, the Phone application supports most, but not all, of the special characters in the tel scheme. Specifically, if a URL contains the * or # characters, the Phone application does not attempt to dial the corresponding phone number."

If Apple allows these characters to be processed in the future, VoiceBox will update our app to allow those numbers to be dialed. In the meantime, if you remove those characters you will be able to dial those numbers.

Basic Dialer PlusFeatures

Can I dial free business directory assistance?

VoiceBox Dialer Plus handles this as a contact. We've already set up GOOG411 and FREE 411 for you - so all you have to do is ask for it by name. If you have any other favorites, you can add them like any other contact name.

Does VoiceBox Dialer Plus work in noisy environments?

Our technology will work in most public environments like airports and malls. If you can hear yourself talk, our technology should work. In extreme noise conditions, like in a noisy bar, just bring the phone a bit closer to your mouth and speak normally.

What languages does the Dialer Plus support?

Currently, VoiceBox Dialer Plus is available only in English for the US market. (Our technology supports many other languages, so we may add others to Dialer Plus if there's demand.)

How does the VoiceBox Dialer Plus work?

Our technology is a web service tied to your contact list. We match your voice command to your contacts and phone types and tell your phone to dial the right person at the appropriate phone type. It's powered by our patented, award-winning Conversation Voice Search™, so it's more noise tolerant and doesn't require you to memorize a fixed and limited set of commands.

Searching for a Business Category

Being able to search through local business categories with the new Dialer Plus is great. How do I use the feature?

The VoiceBox Dialer Plus adds a couple of new features, including SMS/e-mail initiation and business category search. Being able to search for a local business and either call or get directions is a great addition to an iPhone.

To do a business category search, just highlight the "Category" button on the home screen, and ask for a business category. Something like "Find coffee shops" will result in a search for coffee shops nearest your current location. From the results, you can either call, get a map or even add the business to your contact list.

To get a list of what business categories the Dialer Plus knows about, just click on the Search tab to see a list of searchable categories.

What location will be used in the business category search?

If you have the iPhone 3G or 3GS, the Dialer Plus will use the GPS location provided by the phone. For users with the original iPhone, the Dialer Plus will use the cell tower triangulation capability. Both phones will deliver accurate results for you location.

I am heading to a different city and want to search for a business there. Will Dialer Plus allow me to do that?

The VoiceBox Dialer Plus now allows you to search for businesses in a different location a couple of different ways. To change the search to a specific city or zip code, go to "Settings" and scroll down to "Search Location". Touch and then change to either the City and State or zip code where you want to search for a business. Remember to change the setting back to "Automatic" when you are done.

Can I change increase or decrease the business search radius?

You can now change the business search radius in the Dialer Plus. Just go into "Settings" and scroll down to "Max Search Radius". Change the value to your desired search radius.

Why is the Dialer Plus only available in the U.S.?

The Dialer Plus uses superpages.com for business listings and supports only U.S. business listings. And INRIX Traffic currently has the same reach as well.

Traffic

Which cities have traffic information?

INRIX has the broadest coverage in the industry. You can check out the list of North America cities on the web: INRIX Flow Coverage.

Why am I not seeing Traffic displayed all the time?

You may have missed the notification in the app to turn Traffic on by going into the Settings option of Dialer Plus.

Can I turn the Traffic off when I don't want it displayed?

Yes. Traffic display is managed in the Settings option of Dialer Plus. Go to Settings and turn Traffic on or off as you wish.

Bluetooth

What's this? Will it work for me?

Bluetooth technology allows your cell phone to wirelessly be connected to your cars systems and capabilities, like the car's speakers. So with Bluetooth, you can speak to Dialer Plus and hear the conversation without holding the phone to your ear.

Bluetooth is a feature of your car, not of Dialer Plus. So the hands-free use of Dialer Plus only works if your car is Bluetooth enabled.

My Bluetooth headset button doesn't seem to do anything with Dialer Plus. Am I doing something wrong?

Due to Apple constraints, the Dialer Plus implementation still requires use of our on screen "Talk" button to initiate a verbal dial command. When you touch the "Talk" Button, you should hear a beep through your Bluetooth device signaling that it is ready to take your voice command. Just direct your voice towards your Bluetooth mic and not the iPhone.

I don't hear the person's voice through my car speakers. What's up?

Bluetooth is a feature of your car, not of Dialer Plus. So the hands-free use of Dialer Plus only works if your car is Bluetooth enabled. Researchers say over 80% of new cars include Bluetooth. If you're not sure, check your Driver's Manual. If your car has Bluetooth, you must connect to your phone – a process called pairing. The process is simple and will be described in your Driver's Manual.

SMS and e-mail Initiation

Initiating an SMS or new e-mail is a hassle right now on the iPhone. How do I use the Dialer Plus to initiate an e-mail or text message?

The Dialer Plus easily speeds up initiating a new e-mail or SMS message. Just highlight the "Contacts" button on the home screen and say something like "Send a text to John Smith" or "Send an e-mail to Mary Jurgens". The Dialer Plus will bring up the appropriate screen for you to begin typing your message.

What number does the Dialer Plus use for text/SMS messages?

The Dialer Plus will always look for a mobile number to send the text message to. If the user doesn't have one specified, the Dialer Plus will prompt the user to select from the available numbers for that contact. Users should make sure that contacts you may want to text to have their mobile number in the appropriate contact mobile number field.

Compatibility

What version of iPhone or Update do I need before downloading VoiceBox Dialer Plus?

All VoiceBox Dialer Plus support iPhone software revision 2.0 and higher.

Does VoiceBox Dialer Plus work with my Bluetooth connection or wired Headset?

Yes. Update your iPhone to the new 3.1 OS to get Bluetooth support. You should be good to go.

Privacy

Does your technology use my personal information?

VoiceBox Dialer Plus uses the contact names you have loaded onto your iPhone solely to ensure they will be understood by our speech technology. VoiceBox does not upload any telephone numbers, postal addresses, e-mail addresses, comments, or any other contact details. For more information, see our privacy policy.

Contact Us

Who can I contact for feedback and support?

Contact VoiceBox at support@voicebox.com and we'll be happy to help. Please specify that you're using Dialer Plus.

Also, let us know if you have any other ideas for how to make VoiceBox Dialer Plus better and what other products you think VoiceBox can build for you.