If you’re not completely in love with the built-in voice actions that Google provides for your Android handset, you’re probably using Vlingo right now. This voice control application is one of the best alternatives you can find today and it recently got the bump to version 3.0. So what’s different in Vlingo 3.0, you ask? Not much, but that’s certainly not a bad thing, as the app is about as solid as it gets and the updates provided with the latest version just make it that much better.
Version 3.0 brings better support for French, Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese (beta), and Korean(beta) users, a simpler user interface, updated graphics, unified messaging, and improved local search results.
Vlingo is pre-installed on devices like the Samsung Galaxy S 2 and for good reason. The app itself works a lot like Google’s Voice Actions but Vlingo looks a bit nicer. Since I’ve been relatively happy with Google’s Voice Search offerings, I decided to make Vlingo my dedicated application when I hold down the search key on my phone (CM7 feature) and I do actually find myself using it more outside of regular searches. This may be due to the fact that I consciously changed the search app, so it’s fresh in my mind but I never used Google Voice Actions to send texts or anything of the sort.
Vlingo works very well and manages to grab the correct words about 98% of the time you speak into it. Drivers will appreciate the dedicated car mode option on Vlingo’s main screen so you can be on the road in now time with little setup.
While this is terribly minor and would possibly annoy some people, I miss the greeting of someone asking what I’d like to do. I found this rather amusing on the Galaxy S 2 and the fact that you can customize what is said make it’s that much more fun. Nonetheless, if you haven’t tried Vlingo out yet, we suggest you give it a try.
Grab Vlingo here from the Android Market!