Bluetooth voice dialing Samsung Galaxy Ace (Android)

[Freedom55]

I'm new with smart phones and Bluetooth, I learn new things continuously and I need some help from you experienced fellows; I'm technically inclined, I read manuals (!) and search the web for info but I'm no expert.

I've easily paired my cell with the radio/Bluetooth head unit, downloaded my contact list and everything works fine but I would like to have voice command for dialing; hands free phones are mandatory here and I find pushing and turning buttons on the radio takes my attention away from the road and even if it's legal, it scares the hell out of me. When I searched for this function on my cell It was light gray i.e. not available and in the owner's manual it says depending on the cell network supplier. My cell supplier is Telus which offers cell coverage in Canada Only if I remember well; I went to their nearest branch and the first thing the young man said was "yeah yeah all the new cells have voice command". I said look at the one I got from you, it does not have it; he soon realized I was right when he pushed a few keys on my cell and he suggested I download an app. Before I do that and risk corrupting or messing up my cell, any advice from you would be much appreciated. For the record, I've had voice command back in 1995 but I often had to repeat the command as my phone was "hard of hearing" and would misinterpret my words

[RTexasF]

I have an aftermarket bluetooth speaker/mic (BlueAnt) for hands free calling & incoming calls. It has worked for years with all my dumb phones but is sporadic at best with both androids I have. Voice dial may work, may not work or require me to fiddle with the phone which defeats the purpose. The app I installed that was supposed to make it work is "Voice Speed Dial" but with little success. I'm also looking for an answer.

[Pim]

On my Samsung Galaxy S2 i have voice dialing which usually works very good.
I also use voice commands for navigation, playing music and the like.
It sometimes takes a while to recognize it and not always gets it right, but has got options to correct itself which usually display the thing i wanted. I do tend to keep the phone close to my mouth when giving voice commands to it.

Nothing i installed for that except updates on Google maps and other apps.
So i am sorry but cannot help you much further here.
Greetz

Pim

[Freedom55]

Pim. My Galaxy Ace is a low cost version of your S2. My girlfriend has a Galaxy 551 which is very similar to mine but it has a slide-out keyboard so it just hit me when I read your post, I'll check to see if hers has the app for voice command. Thanks!

[Freedom55]

I went to my local cell phone supplier sales office, called their head office, surfed the web and downloaded apps, went to my dealer. The verdict: it can't be done with my Sport perhaps the Limited with the upgraded sound system and built-in GPS could do it. A bit disappointed, blame it on the older design of the vehicle but I have already programmed speed dial numbers so I should be O.K. to call my girlfriend which is the person I call the most often! Thanks to all.

[JuneBug]

I was playing around with my new iPhone 5 and BluLogic today. I heard the "ding-ding" of a new text message arriving. I hit the button and asked Siri to read me the message. She read it perfectly and asked if I wanted to reply. I said yes and dictated my text to her. After reading it back to me I told her to sent it and she did. All this while keeping my eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. Sweet!!

[Freedom55]

Thanks JB. I saw Siri listed as one of the apps even if it's from Apple I suppose they have an Android version; worth giving it a shot.

Also, my new "smart" phone only chimes once when I have voice mail or text message; my old Samsung flip "dummy" phone gave a chime than a "beep-beep" every two minutes or so until I picked up my messages, kinda neat but the new one does not do it. Perhaps consumers complained about this annoying noise but I loved it as I didn't have to look at the screen to see if I have messages or not. My cell supplier said nothing could be done about it; to me it's a step backwards

[Pim]

Siri is purely Apple, but android has some other which do that work fairly well too, which where available earlier then Siri, especially if you are in an English speaking country.
Sadly other languages are not yet given the luxury of this. I would certainly use it frequently if it worked like Siri and was available in my native language.
Greetz

Pim

[Freedom55]

Thanks Pim you gave me hope! I surfed the web and found some Siri equivalent for Android so all hope is not lost. Jeannie, Skyvi, Vlingo, Iris (Siri spelled backwards!) are a few I found that could work. I will certainly give it a shot when I have time to waste!!!

English is my second language but thank God I've been speaking it all the time for the past 40 years or so; I'm fairly fluent and I believe I speak it with a typical North American neutral "accent" so I think it should not be a problem as Google who developed Android is based in the U.S., California if I'm not mistaken. I'll post my findings later. Thanks again

[Freedom55]

I finally managed to install Skyvi as it's one of the top rated app I could find. It took me several shots before I could install it thanks to Google not making it too user friendly, kinda like Microsoft sometimes...A bit disappointed as voice recognition is not great and keeps being "hard of hearing" and picking the wrong words most of the time. Also, instead of turning and pushing buttons on the radio, I must tap several commands on my phone which is illegal unless I get a cradle and even I'm not sure if it's 100% legal...Perhaps I will try Speak to it now that I know how to download apps properly and if that doesn't make me happy, I quit!