Listen Up: Phones That Take Orders

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Almost every cell phone on the market today includes voice- dialing software that will, for example, dial Jenny's phone number when you say, "Call Jenny." The trouble is most phones can dial only numbers you've already matched to a voiceprint, and if you don't say it exactly the same way every time, the phone can get confused. Now Microsoft Voice Command ($40; available for download at handango.com) brings genuine voice recognition — the kind used by customer-service hot lines and in-car navigation systems — to Pocket PC phones (and also PDAs). After installing the software, you can use your voice to dial any number in your phone book or check appointments by asking, "What's my schedule?" The software reads your calendar out loud and can also respond to alternative requests like "What's my next meeting?" To listen to music, tell your Windows Media Player to bring up an artist or album, or call out commands like "Shuffle" or "Next track." Recognition stops shy of identifying individual songs, but it is freakily accurate when it comes to phone-book entries. The acid test: we entered Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (pronounced She-shef-ski) into the phone book and asked the Pocket PC to bring it up. Out of several hundred entries, the software found Coach K instantly, no sweat.