INTRODUCTION

    PDA voice control functionality has been
rapidly moving from a luxury to a requirement. This is especially true
with many converged PDA devices, which haven’t necessarily been designed
with the streamlined interface of a dedicated mobile phone. Combine
this with contact lists many hundreds of entries long, driving or other
personal multi-tasking, and you have a user interface nightmare. Users
who wish to add voice control functionality to their Pocket PC device
have a surprisingly limited number of choices, and VITO
Technology’s new offering, Voice2Go, is a welcome addition.

     Voice2Go
offers several great features. As a long time user of Microsoft’s
Voice Command (reviewed here),
I was eager to evaluate Voice2Go, and see if it addressed some of Voice
Command’s limitations.

WHAT’S HOT

    Voice2Go builds on VITO Technology’s Voice
Dialer software. Whereas the Voice Dialer software concentrates solely
on phone functionality, Voice2Go provides a broader suite of features,
and promises that "…you can forget about tapping the screen with
the stylus…"

SETUP

    Installation was simple and straightforward.
I connected my Pocket PC to my computer via its USB cable, and launched
the executable. I went through the standard Pocket PC dialog, and the
setup program didn’t install anything on my PC, which I appreciated.

PROGRAM FEATURES

    Voice2Go offers 6 main features:

    The Command window
initializes with a futuristic sound. After you speak your command, it
plays a confirmed or denied sound, and it also plays back your own recorded
command on a positive match. Now here’s where it gets tricky. If you
have magic words enabled, you can say Correct or Wrong,
but if you don’t, you have to press correct or wrong on the screen.
This seems to be a big design flaw. It would seem to me that you would
want to enable magic words for a short period after a positive match
so you could say Correct or Wrong.

Here are a few short videos showing Voice2Go
in action.

	Successfully dialing with Magic Words (AVI 4.6MB)
	Unsuccessful match with Magic Words (AVI 3.4MB)
	Dialing without Magic Words enabled (AVI 4.4MB)

    Accuracy was relatively
usable, but perhaps not as good a some other voice recognition products.
Accuracy (and recording quality) improved tremendously by holding the
mic much closer to my mouth. Obviously, consistency in your own pitch
and timbre increases the accuracy, as does a low amount of ambient noise,
but I still had some troubles in quiet environments (see the unsuccessful
match video). Voice2Go had significant difficulty with positive matches
in my car or with music playing, but to be fair, I have yet to find
a voice recognition product that does an adequate job in noisy environments.

Continue
On: Bugs and Wishes / Pros and Cons / Conclusion . . .

HELP SUPPORT

    Voice2Go doesn’t come with any desktop PC
help or manuals, however VITO
Technology provides a relatively decent online
manual. An older version of this manual is also installed in your
Pocket PC help system. The manuals explain most tasks sufficiently,
but oddly enough never tell you how to place a phone call to a contact.
There are also forums
online at the VITO Technology web site that are periodically reviewed
by VITO company employees.

    Free email support is available from
support@vitotechnology.com. The techs responded within 24 hours and
were helpful and friendly.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

    VITO
Technology states simply that Voice2Go supports Pocket PCs with integrated
phones, with the exception of the GSP module in the Audiovox Thera.
Fortunately a free demo is available to try it out on your system.

    Installation required
an initial 710K of storage memory, and 1.07Mb of program memory. However
keep in mind that each command you record requires additional space.
My unscientific research shows that it’s in the neighborhood of 91K
per command.

BUGS AND WISHES

   
VITO
Technology has released a product with powerful features, and great
potential. However a few major design oversights and finicky accuracy
make version 1.1 problematic at best.

   
I
would like to see a few changes in the next version or update of this
product. Of course greater accuracy is a wish for virtually all voice
recognition software, however the accuracy of Voice2Go fell short of
some of its competitors. My biggest desire is that after pressing an
initial Listen button, I would like to be able to complete
a call without touching my Pocket PC, and without having Magic Words
enabled. Having to press Correct after a positive voice match
seems like a step backwards. I’d like to be able to turn off the sound
effects associated with the Command screen, and I’d like to be able
to use drop-down lists with the macro functionality. Finally, I’d like
to see some ability to dial a phone number by voice, e.g. "Dial
5-5-5 1-2-1-2"

PURCHASING

   
Voice2Go
is available directly from the VITO
Technology
web site for $24.95. A free 14 day demo is also available for download,
and I highly encourage you to try before you buy.

PROS

• 
  

  Powerful macro functionality

• 
  

  Language independence

• 
  

  Completely hands free with Magic
  Words

CONS

• Finicky recognition accuracy
• 
  

  Tedious setup

• Significant disk storage and
  power requirements

Value
Ease of Use
Features
Overall

OVERALL IMPRESSION

    VITO Voice2Go provides a relatively solid
set of features including a great macro capability and language independence.
The Magic Word functionality is fun, but the power requirements make
this a feature you can only use while connected. These positives were
marred by design oversights and a slightly finicky voice recognition.
Combined with steep set-up times and significant price and disk requirements,
Voice2Go made me feel relieved to return to my Microsoft Voice Command.