Voice recognition app Vlingo had partnered up with Sprint in what looked like an exclusive arrangement to provide new in-car functions, but today Vlingo announced that the same features are now available globally to those nabbing the the app in the open Android Market. To kick off the new version, Vlingo has a contest where you submit a story by video vlabout how their app makes your life safer. The grand price winner can win an iPhone 4, Droid Incredible, HTC Evo, or a BlackBerry Bold, with a Jabra Bluetooth headset going to the runner-up.
InCar basically lets you handle all incoming and outgoing messages using your voice alone. Previously, Vlingo had a feature called SafeReader which just read incoming messages out loud, but the InCar significantly extends that function to initiate navigation, calls, and text messages.
As a part of the same update, Vlingo is providing a new feature called Answers, which immediately returns answers by to common questions. Wondering how many feet are in a foot? Just hold down the assigned key, say it out loud, and your phone says the answer to you. Spooky, huh? The developers are remaining tight-lipped about where exactly they’re pulling these answers from, but Google and Wolfram Alpha are both likely candidates.
Although the new version is available for any Android phone running 2.1 and up, it’s really optimized to run 2.2. Download links to the Market, and other platforms are below.
Download for Android (Free) [Market Link]
Download for BlackBerry ($19.99) [App World Link]
Download for iPhone (Free, $9.99 for e-mail and SMS paste) [iTunes Link]
[via Vlingo Blog]