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A long list of Jelly Bean voice commands for your Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7 and other JB devices

Categories: Android
By: , IntoMobile
Saturday, July 28th, 2012 at 7:54 AM

Got a new Nexus 7 or Galaxy Nexus with Jelly Bean? Want to check out the voice commands feature, but don’t know what to say? Here is a long list of commands and questions you can use when you’re talking to your Nexus device. Some of these commands will help you manage your schedule, some will let you send a message and some are just plain fun.

If you can’t use some these commands, check to make sure your device’s default language is set to US English. It needs to be English to unlock all the commands. If there are some that I have missed, please let me know in the comments and I will add them to the list. You can also head over to Android Central forums, which also has a growing list of user-submitted commands. Enjoy!

Productivity

Text <contact name> <message> — Sends a text message to the person in your contact list.

Email <contact name> <message> — Sends an email to the person in your contact list. Can be natural language, “Email John and tell him I’m heading home.”

Note to self <a note> — Will email a recording and the text of your note to your Gmail account.

Remind me to <task name> at <time> — Will add an alarm with the task name at the time requested. Only works with time, not dates.

Set alarm for <time> — Will add an alarm via the stock clock app or give you option of using 3rd party app if one is installed.

General Search

When was <name> born? — Searches for the birthdate of a famous person and reads it back.

When did <name> die? — Searches for the date that a famous person died and reads it back.

What is <object>? — Searches and reads back information about the item.

Define <word> — Searches and reads back a definition.

Show pictures of <item> — Shows pictures of requested item

Stock <company> — Shows and reads the stock details for a company.

What is the stock price of <company>? — Shows and reads the stock details for a company.

Who is the CEO of <company>? — Reads the name and shows his/her picture.

Music and Entertainment

Tell me show times for the <movie> — Pulls up movie listings for your local theater.

Play <name of song> or <name of artist> — Shows a list of installed music players and plays either your song or a song from the artist. Asking for both the song and artist does not work.

Who directed <movie name>? — Reads back the name of the director and shows his/her picture..

What movie was <actor/actress name> in?  — Reads back a short list of movies and shows his/her picture.

When was <movie name> released? — Reads back the date a movie was released with a picture of the movie.

Web

Browse to <website> — Shows a screenshot of  the website and then opens it in Chrome. Needs the tldr like .com or .net.

Open <website> — Shows a screenshot of  the website and then opens it in Chrome. Needs the tldr like .com or .net.

Location/Maps

Where is the closest <storename>? — Shows location on a map with an option to get directions via Google Maps.

Directions to <place name> –Shows location on a map with an option to get directions via Google Maps.

Navigate to <place name> –Shows location on a map with an option to get turn-by-turn directions via Google Maps.

Nearest <place> — Shows location on a map with an option to get directions via Google Maps.

What time is it in <city/state/country>? –  Reads back the local time in the location.

What is the date in <city/state/country>? –  Reads back the date in the location.

What language is spoken in ? –  Reads back the language in the location.

What is the currency of <country>? –  Reads back the currency with the conversion to USD.

What is the National Anthem of <country>? — Reads back the National Anthem in the location.

What is the capital of ? — Reads back the capital’s name in the location.

What is the state bird of <state>? — Reads back the bird name in the location.

What is the population of <city/state/country> ? — Shows the population statistics of a location.

What does <country>’s flag look like? –  Shows an image of the flag.

Sports

Does the <team name> play today? — Reads back the game time and opponent.

How tall is <sports star>? — Reads back his/her height and shows picture.

How much does <sports star> weigh?– Reads back his/her weight and shows picture.

When is the <sporting event>? — Reads back the event date and time, if applicable.

When is the next baseball game? — Will show search results with the MLB schedule for the day at the top. May work for other sports when they are in season.

Baseball schedule — Will show search results with the MLB schedule for the day at the top. May work for other sports when they are in season.

Time and Date

When is daylight savings? — Reads back the local date and time when daylight savings begins and ends. .

When does <season> start? — Reads back the local time that the season (spring, summer, fall, winter) will start.

When is <sundown>? — Reads back the local time that the sun will set.

When is <sunrise>? — Reads back the local time that the sun will rise.

When is <holiday>? — Reads back the local date and time of the holiday.

What time zone  is <state/country> in? – Reads back the time zone of the state/country.

Weather

What is the weather <today/ tomorrow/ specific day>? — Reads back and displays local weather information for specified day.

What is the weather <today/ tomorrow/ specific day> in <location>? — Reads back and displays local weather information for that location on the specified day.

Do I need an umbrella <today/ tomorrow/ specific day>? – Responds yes or no about rain and displays local weather information for the specified day.

Do I need an umbrella <today/ tomorrow/ specific day>in <location>– Responds yes or no about rain and displays weather information for that location on the specified day.

Do I need a jacket <today/ tomorrow/ specific day>? – Reads back the temperature and displays local weather information for the specified day.

Do I need a jacket <today/ tomorrow/ specific day>in <location>?  — Reads back the temperature and displays weather information for that location on the specified day.

Other

What is <math problem>? — Shows the answer with a calculator. You can ask “What is 1500 + 279?” or  “What is the square root of 925?”

What is <conversion>? — Shows the answer with an option to open the online converter. You can ask  “What is 5 inches in centimeters?” or “What is 87 degrees Fahrenheit in Celsius?”

What is <currency conversion>? –Reads back and shows the answer with an option to open the online converter at the bottom of the screen. You can say “What is 10 Euros in US Dollars?”

Do a Barrel Roll — It’s an amusing result.

[Via Android Central forums]

About The Author

Kelly Hodgkins

Kelly spent the last four years covering mobile technology at places like BGR, Gizmodo and The Unofficial Apple Weblog. Before writing, she spent a few years working with and teaching others how to use Adobe Flash and Macromedia Director. Even earlier than that, she spent several years as a Ph.D student in Microbiology. When she's not writing, she can be found fishing the lakes and hiking the mountains of Western Maine with her husband and tribe of children. You can follow her on Twitter @kellyhodgkins.

  • Guest

    None of these work on my nexus 7 :-S

    • Dilks Craig

      most of these work with nexus 7, The only one that wouldnt work for me was the text function.

    • Daedalink

      Are you sure you’re not using a Kindle?

  • ggnexus

    This works with Nexus S?

  • http://frasercain.com Fraser Cain

    I like this one: “wake me up at 7 am”

    • Anonymous

      The only one that wouldnt work for me was the text function. &#x43A&#x73hLaz&#121.&#99o&#x6D

  • Stephan Schmitz

    All commands just work fine on my Nexus One, too. For those asking: And of course this works with every device that runs a JB build (/w working GNow).

  • Houari

    work also on any computer with google search :)

  • Will Smith

    Add to productivity : “create appointment on thursday at 11 30 am”

  • febb

    Missing also : “Wake me up in minutes”