Choice Dialer

Fast, hands-free voice control for Android.


Paid and free versions are on Android Market. Issue List

Upcoming

  1. If your phone has a security passcode on the lock screen, the app is not dialing calls. Looking at this...
  2. The user may now preface any notes s/he may wish to squirrel away with a contact name (i.e., to help overcome deficiencies in the Contact app's search functionality) after a double colon marker -- "::". If present, this marker and anything following it will not be considered part of the contact/song/album/whatever's name

Sep 1st, v1.6.6

  1. Possible fix for Bluetooth headset becoming stuck, requiring restart of Choice Dialer
  2. The "Help" command and menu function were accidentally changed to access the "Settings" panel. Fixed.
  3. Choice Dialer could cause volume-guard apps (such as RingGuard) to object when it set the notification volume. Choice Dialer now broadcasts the OpenIntents Intent to declare that it will alter the volume. RingGuard should no longer object, and other, less-well-behaved apps can be mollified by disabling this feature within Choice Dialer from the Settings panel.
  4. It was pointed out that HTC's messaging app (on 2.x, at least) was not a very helpful place to send the user after sending a dictated text message. An option on Choice Dialer settings allows you to suppress this behavior. A better solution is to install Handcent SMS, which behaves really nicely there.
  5. The "Cubed" and "bTunes" music players could not be launched by voice. Fixed.
  6. Added special handling so acronym-named stock apps such as "IM", "APNs", "SD card", etc would be recognizable.
  7. "Enable silent mode" will now silence notifications as well as the ringer.

Aug 26th, v1.6.5 -- many fixes!

  1. Fixed a terrible bug in the Android 1.x version that would prevent contact names from being recognized after a sync
  2. Free users can now set the volume of the voice confirmations
  3. The Text-to-Speech volume slider was not adjusting the voice volume when using Bluetooth.
  4. Max volume for voice confirmations in Bluetooth has been increased
  5. Volume levels in the app (voice confirmations and blips and bonks) are controlled from the app's Settings panel
  6. The panel that showed up if the app could not understand the user was annoying in hands-free use. App will now provide 5 tries (rather than 3) for a command when in voice confirmation or car mode, and then will quit altogether rather than display a panel.
  7. No feedback was provided when enabling/disabling Bluetooth
  8. Stock music players on Froyo will resume music playback if your command does not place a call or cause other music to play.
  9. New command: "Set my Facebook status". The Free apps will get to use the transcription feature for this command.
  10. The call confidence slider under Settings was not working.
  11. Added smarter handling of commas and periods in contact names should permit domain names and acronyms to be recognized automatically.
  12. The Free versions were syncing contacts every 2 minutes. Now, they will do so only once every 24 hours, like the Paid versions.
  13. Some users found calls placed via BT did not set the call into BT mode. This should be fixed.
  14. The SMS composition window used when dictating in Paid versions now allows button-presses for redoing the dictation or to append more dictated text.
  15. Removed the preference to keep the keyguard off, as the phone could not be locked without killing my app! The automatic handling of suspending it when a call is placed is smarter now, and keyguard will lock after placing a call.
  16. If it was between noon and 1 PM, "What time is it?" would report the hour as "zero".
  17. The code to prompt the user to download missing text-to-speech data was not working. It should now work.

Aug 16th, v1.6.4

  1. Free versions crashed on "Send a text to (whom)" (fixed)
  2. The app was not cleanly exiting after dictating text

Aug 15th, v1.6.3

  1. Debug logs sent by the stock Email app were being truncated.
  2. Disable the "Send" button on composed text messages when sending, to avoid multiple sends
  3. Use the preferred SMS app rather than the integrated composition window when typing the text messages.
  4. Perform a soft, dynamic resolution of duplicate contacts in which their various phone numbers and email addresses are aggregated, giving preference to the person most often contacted.
  5. Some phones required the user to wake and unlock the phone after a call command issued by Bluetooth.
  6. Feedback by TTS provided after commands issued over Bluetooth were being sawn off.
  7. Alarm and notification audio files and songs under 4 seconds in duration are now omitted from song name recognition.
  8. If phones running Android 1.6 or later did not have text-to-speech data installed, the app hung. This has been improved and they should be directed to download this data.
  9. The app had been limited to recognizing integers in the range 1-50. I added support for 50-90 (by 5s) in order to permit "schedule an event in 90 minutes".

Aug 11th, v1.6.2

  1. Nicer welcome sequence - longer on first installation, and briefer on updates
  2. Feedback reports can now be 512 characters of length
  3. New "Car Mode" combines Voice Confirmation with automatic use of speakerphone while placing calls. It is intended for non-Bluetooth users for car use.
  4. Now supports email dictation for users of K9 Mail
  5. Added a debugging sequence to learn more about phones whose microphones do not open.
  6. Belatedly, allow Android 2.x users to select "All Contacts" rather than just "My Contacts"
  7. Scheduling reminders for a number of minutes, hours, days, weeks or months which would cause cycling of higher level divisions was not causing that to occur.

Aug 3rd, v1.6.1

  1. Choice Dialer Plus's attempt to tell sidegrading users how to refund was causing a crash
  2. Sidegrading users will be reminded to uninstall the earlier version of the sidegraded app.
  3. New command: "What time is it?" It always uses voice feedback
  4. Choice Dialer Plus users on Android 2.2 with Bluetooth headsets were never hearing the prompting blip. It now honors the preference in the Settings panel.

Aug 1st, v1.6.0

  1. Android 1.5 users of the Free version were not being taken to get TTS Extended when needed
  2. Now works on small-screen devices, e.g. HTC Wildfire
  3. Choice Dialer Plus users will be able to toss Choice Proxy
  4. Settings panel is reorganized and slightly prettier
  5. Feedback/refund panel had a bug
  6. Sped up the voice confirmations slightly in the Free editions
  7. Made voice confirmation mode the global default, even though I think visual confirmation mode is better when the voice would be over the speakerphone
  8. New debugging system allows users to send debug logs to help me understand issues better.
  9. Disabled "Daisychain dialer launch" if we were launched from a locked screen.
  10. Made the "Daisychain dialer launch" be off by default, as few can anticipate this, and it troubles low-vision users.
  11. (BETA FEATURE) Paid users will be able to actually dictate text messages, emails, and the body for scheduled events!
  12. Adding an option to have "Send a text to (who)" assume the mobile number when no specific sub-place is specified.

July 22nd v1.5.2

  1. Wired headset button would not wake app from sleep.
  2. Bluetooth button would not wake app from sleep.

July 21st v1.5.1

  1. Phones running the Plus version crashed on long-press of the call button. This may be fixed
  2. Refund handling was not working well. Much improved. I have refunded many buyers already.
  3. Disabled Shake-and-Talk when a phone call is ongoing.
  4. changed some text to more accurately describe the refund process. I refund the original app's purchase

July 16th v1.5.0

  1. Changed wording of "hands-free mode" into "voice confirmation mode" to avoid issues with Bluetooth hands-free dialing expectations.
  2. Android 2.x users are being encouraged to sidegrade to a new app customized for Android 2.x
  3. Voice confirmation speed is now adjustable (on Paid versions)
  4. BETA of hands-free Bluetooth dialing on Android >= 2.2 (from the new app only)
  5. Choice Dialer Free now has voice confirmations! I set a slow speech speed, however.
  6. better first-run behavior to describe Bluetooth limitations (if any) and launch options
  7. Media button and Bluetooth voice command will work when phone is asleep
  8. alternate ways to open microphone on recalcitrant phones (e.g.: some Samsung Moments)
  9. "noon" and "midnight" were reversed in their meaning -- fixed
  10. fixed bugs in feedback report format
  11. voice/visual confirmation mode preference now separately remembered for car dock/earphone/Bluetooth headset/other cases.
  12. (after 1.5.0) Android 2.x users of the sidegrade version will be able to uninstall Choice Proxy

June 28th v1.4.13

  1. Android 2.2 version now called "Choice Dialer Plus", as it will eventually offer more features on the 2.2 platform, and this will help me present it differently in the Market
  2. Some crashes on verbal confirmation dialogs may be fixed
  3. Some crashes on phones with no compatible music players are fixed
  4. Some phones failed on occasion to make their "blip" sound. If this happens now, no crash will occur -- the blip will simply be omitted.
  5. Better format for feedback and crash reports
  6. Support for phones that can store music on internal media (e.g.: Incredible). Individual music apps may require similar fixes.

June 10th v1.4.12

  1. Fixed a crash caused by some app names.

June 9th v1.4.11

  1. Contacts, apps, artists, etc with names longer than 80 characters or more than 6 words are ignored.
  2. Scheduling events for 12:XX "in the afternoon" or PM was scheduling them in the morning. Fixed.
  3. Shake-and-talk explained more fully in Settings
  4. Accelerometer sampling rate is now adjustable, which may make Shake-and-Talk work on some phones where it was problematic before
  5. more comprehensive crash detection/reporting
  6. Blip tone volumes can be adjusted
  7. Home key would cause a zombie Choice Dialer screen. Fixed.
  8. If an app cannot be opened by the Open command, feedback will be offered, but it will no longer be treated as a bug.
  9. Tried a more flexible means of opening apps in hopes that more will respond as desired.
  10. Reduced excessive logging output

May 14th v1.4.10

  1. Allow people to try using HTC's stock music app on Android 2.x.
  2. Adjustable volume for voice confirmations
  3. Launch on long-press of camera button works
  4. Launch on wired headset button (as on an iPhone-style headset) works

May 10th v1.4.9

  1. Fix some FCs on exit

May 7th v1.4.8

  1. I found that HTC phones running Android 2.x (Incredible) have an (as yet) incompatible music app. Updated Choice Dialer to recognize this and steer them to download "Cubed".

May 5th v1.4.7

  1. Scheduling an event for anytime "AM" behaved as if you said "PM". This is fixed.
  2. Placing phone calls was not offering the name of the place it was calling the person. Fixed.

Apr 20th v1.4.6

  1. Some phones (Droids?) were checking their music at the drop of a hat. I disabled the auto-sync of music and apps for now, which should solve this.
  2. Hands-free mode could get into a funk and stop doing confirmations. I think this is now fixed.
  3. Fixed a typo in the Settings panel

Apr 16th v1.4.5

  1. Fixed a bug in feedback/bug reporting
  2. Selecting 3rd party music apps could produce a crash

Apr 12th v1.4.4

  1. Fixed a bug where shake-to-talk would stop working after placing a call in hands-free mode.
  2. Compatible with third-party music apps bTunes (Android 1.6 or Android 2.x) and "Cubed". A control on the Settings panel allows you to select the one you prefer to use.
  3. Some Android 1.x users were unable to voice dial contacts synced from Outlook. A new option on the Settings panel to recognize "All Contacts" as opposed to "My Contacts" may help them.
  4. I withdrew support for launching Choice Dialer by Bluetooth buttons, as no one could tell me this was working for them.
  5. I made "Play the song (title)" command default to being disabled, as an increasing number of users were unable to load up all their music in Choice Dialer. This change is one of perception management.
  6. Shake-to-talk sensitivity default has been increased, as some users found it too sensitive and it was hard for them to tell what was going wrong.

Mar 31st v1.4.3

  1. Artist names that are acronyms (e.g., R.E.M.) will recognizable in the manner users expect
  2. Touching the app logo in the upper left will toggle hands-free mode in full version.
  3. Android 1.5 users have voice confirmations working in this version through a separate helper app
  4. Choice Dialer will now auto-sync if an attempt to play a song or album fails in a way that indicates a need to synchronize
  5. Choice Dialer will now auto-sync music entries when mounting or unmounting media

Mar 27th Choice Proxy v1.0.7

  1. Restore lost function to users of Choice Dialer BETA. They receive a beta notice and upgrade panel every 100 invocations.

Mar 24th v1.4.2

  1. Removed Android 1.5 support for now, as the hands-free mode is not working as I thought it was

Mar 23rd v1.4.1

  1. Removed copy protection. This is proving MOST unwise.

Mar 23rd v1.4.0

  1. New "Shake and Talk" launch option (on by default, and adjustable from Settings). Unlock your phone and give it a vigorous shake... Choice Dialer beeps and listens for a command.
  2. Long-press on search will no longer go straight to the next configured dialer
  3. Long-press on call will no longer go straight to the next configured dialer
  4. Fix for Exchange contacts on Android 2.x -- should be fully supported
  5. Option for people with "too many contacts" (1200+ or so?) to have Choice Dialer only recognize the starred contacts.
  6. Beta launch options for long-press-on-Camera and Bluetooth media button. See Settings panel.
  7. Crash bugs fixed. I hope you hear feedback on any new ones so I can fix those, too.
  8. Email addresses attached to crash reports were not getting sent to me. Now they are. I deeply regret any signal of unresponsiveness this bug might have caused.

Feb 21st v1.3.1

  1. Fixed a crash that occurred after accepting the EULA

Feb 20th v1.3.0

  1. A new hands-free mode prompts weak recognition results verbally on all phones but Android 1.5 phones which instead use a separate confidence slider to reduce confirmations in hands-free mode.
  2. There is an option to have Choice Dialer switch to hands-free mode automatically when placed in a car dock.
  3. The "always confirm calls" checkbox on the Settings panel has been replaced with a confidence threshold slider whose value must be >= that of the one that governs the non-calling commands.
  4. Free version now supports "Quick Start Mode" which should reduce its start-up time considerably.
  5. Free version now has a manual "sync" button.
  6. A long press on the search button will now open Choice Dialer
  7. Similarly, other apps available by long-pressing the search button (Google Voice Search) will be selected as daisy-chain apps to be launched from Choice Dialer
  8. A crash seen on a call command is fixed
  9. Explicitly sending a text message to mobile was treated as impermissible. This should be fixed.
  10. Choice Dialer was not exiting after playing music on Android 2.x phones (Nexus One, Droid). Fixed.
  11. Choice Dialer was not enabling/disabling Bluetooth on Android 2.x phones (Nexus One, Droid). Fixed.
  12. "Edit contact for (name)" command was not working on Andr4oid 2.x phones. Fixed.
  13. "Dial" command was not working when you gave it 7 digit numbers. Fixed.
  14. Option to extend support for 7 digit dialing to all applications on the phone.

Jan 28th, v1.2.8

  1. An attempt to fix "Enable Bluetooth" on Android 2.x
  2. Fixed a force-close on a Droid -- thanks for the detailed bug report

Jan 27th, v1.2.7

  1. Cleaned up the "Open (app)" code a LOT. All should work now, but some names have changed (see Help panel). Still a crash on Android 2.x "Open Gallery", though. I have no insight on that one.
  2. Released a Free version without music, calendar or enable/disable commands.
  3. I see a crash report on "Enable Bluetooth" on Android 2.x -- thanks. It was detailed enough that I think I can fix this without even having a phone to run the code on. Tomorrow? Soon, anyhow.

Jan 25th, v1.2.6

  1. Added "Enable/disable Bluetooth" and "Synchronize" commands
  2. Fixed a bug in music support for Android 2.x phones.
  3. Bluetooth toggle in Android 2.x is not tested. Let me know!

Jan 24th, v1.2.5

  1. Fixed a crash that could occur upon hitting the menu key
  2. Bug and Feedback reports provide more options to speed resolution of any issues.
  3. Able to invoke other dialers conveniently
  4. May be able to work with new com.android.musik service (Nexus)
  5. Blazingly fast start-up mode (on by default)

Jan 21st, v1.2.4

  1. Sync dialog removed in favor of indication at screen bottom.
  2. Button and menu option to sync on demand
  3. Upcoming paid version will feature faster performance
  4. I was still seeing crashes from some phones. I may have fixed it.

Jan 18th, v1.2.3

  1. Removed the last of some very poorly considered microphone logic that SHOULD address all first-run force closes. If you still get one, please email me if Choice Dialer does not offer an automated bug report.

Jan 18th, v1.2.2

  1. Trying to fix a recent force-close crash introduced by trying to support different microphone hardware. I'm sorry to have such difficulty here, as the issue does not arise on my phone.
  2. relaxed the low-end of the confidence threshold in settings, as one user reported he was unable to get calls to go off without confirmation.

Jan 17th, v1.2.1

  1. Added code to detect extremely high record levels, as seen on some CLIQs. Should alert user to the problem.
  2. Pulse users were seeing a crash on start. I think I fixed this, but I cannot tell. They have incompatible microphones, I think.
  3. I may have fixed the bug with Droids seeing a crash on "Open Gallery"
  4. Nicer welcome screen and first compilation of the grammar.

Jan 11th, v1.19

  1. Failed recognitions offer user option to quickly retry
  2. CLIQ users are told to speak quietly and far from their phones -- the mikes are just wicked hot on gain and I do not think I can adjust it. Raise a fuss with the manufacturer... this will likely impact all speech rec stuff you try to do
  3. Choice Dialer tries to know which phones have call keys and which do not, and advises them accordingly
  4. Added a "Settings" command so user can quickly get to Choice Dialer settings. Phone settings are accessible via "Open Settings".

Jan 11th, v1.18

  1. Music commands should now work well on Droid and Nexus One
  2. A start-up bug that crept into v1.17 should be fixed
  3. Better logic for when the app should finish up
  4. Added a progress dialog used when names are compiled
  5. The app is looking close to set for sale. Thanks, testers!

Jan 8th, v1.17

  1. Fixed an odd crash where a phone could not catalog apps for "open (app)" command.
  2. Shortcut key options added: call button, camera button, media button (whatever that is). Not sure if they work on all phones.
  3. "enable silent mode" now sets vibrator on and disables ringer. This is one thing the iPhone actually got right.
  4. Fixed a bug where the Call command's confirmation might not include the person's name.

If you are having problems, please use Choice Dialer's feedback menu option.



Choice Dialer is a trademark of Resounding, LLC.