Voice Control

Microsoft is bringing voice control to the Xbox 360 system with an update that launches tomorrow (December 6, 2011).

The update will allow the Kinect motion sensor and Bing search to work together to turn your voice into a remote control. Using Bing on Xbox, you will be able to use your voice to find games, movies, TV shows and music by simply saying what you're searching for. You can even use your voice to pause and rewind movies and TV shows.

Starting December 6 and over the coming weeks, Bing on Xbox voice search will initially be available in English in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. for Zune video, Xbox LIVE Marketplace and select content partners. For those who do not have a Kinect for Xbox 360, text search will be available in Xbox LIVE markets.

"A new era in entertainment begins where all your entertainment is together in one place — your games, movies, TV shows, music and sports," said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "With this update, Xbox 360 system owners will experience Kinect voice control integrated with Bing search, making your TV and entertainment experiences more social and personal than ever."Read more

I have always liked Moshi's voice control alarm clocks, partly because I can yell at them and they will actually do what I say, but I also like that I can turn off the nagging alarm by just saying "turn off the alarm" – no more fumbling in my half-awake state for the right button.

Today Moshi announced the new Moshi Voice Control Reflection Clock, available exclusively at Brookstone. Using just your voice, you can set the time, set the alarm, snooze, ask for indoor and outdoor temperature and record up to an 8 minute memo.

Like all Moshi alarm clocks, the Reflection Clock recognizes your voice commands without any setup, thanks to Technology That Listens. The Reflection Clock features dual alarms, an automatic 9-minute snooze, custom alarm sounds, a choice of 6 nightlight colors, and an LCD display with adjustable brightness. Read more

BMW just announced they have a new voice control system that will be available on new cars in September 2009. The BMW Voice Control System lets you control features in your car such as your phone, climate control, navigation and sound systems, all with your spoken commands.

To activate the voice control system, simply press a key on the steering wheel, and tell the system what to do. It can recognize up to 500 preset terms, (depending on your BMW's features). Your commands are picked up by the hands-free microphone and each time you give a command, the system emits a tone to let you know it has been understood.

Up to forty telephone numbers can be saved and it has a text-to-speech function that can read aloud e-mails, SMS messages and the names of radio stations. But not only that, BMW is the first European car maker to offer voice recognition that can find individual music titles. The system monitors and interprets your voice commands regarding the type of music, the name of the artist, an album or an individual title. The system then gives you a choice of audio files saved on the hard disc in a title list – and as of spring 2010, the system will cover files on a music player connected to the car.

The new voice control system will be available on cars sold in Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States in September 2009.