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Promptu’s ShoutOUT iPhone app converts speech to text, takes dictation

1 Comment / Gizmo of the Day, Phones, Software / By /

promptu shoutoutGiven the overwhelming evidence that texting while driving is just as bad if not worse than driving under the influence, it’s a wonder that more speech-to-text apps have not appeared sooner.

Well at least here’s one, although only for the iPhone – ShoutOUT by Promptu. It takes your dictation via the mic and converts it into text. You can use it for your SMS messages, Facebook and Twitter updates, etc.

The app itself is free, and the first 25 voice messages are free. After that, you pay fees as follows:
50 for $1.99
150 for $3.99
250 for $4.99

Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: free (for the app)

(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

DriveSafe.ly’s app for your phone reads your text message out aloud

1 Comment / Gizmo of the Day, Phones / By /

It has been proven repeatedly that using a cell phone to talk or text is just as bad as having had a few drinks. With that in mind, not to mention that many states have either outlawed the practice or are about to, new handsfree technology is needed to help drivers to respond without taking their eyes off the road.

DriveSafe.ly is one such company providing an application to read text messages out aloud and send an automatic response saying that you will respond later. You can get the DriveSafe.ly application for your Blackberry or Android phone with versions for iPhone and Windows Mobile on the way. You can get either a free ad-supported version or a premium version for a flat lifetime price or on a monthly subscription basis.

PS> If you’re a Federal employee, then you should also know that President Obama has banned federal employees from text messaging when they are behind the wheel of government vehicles and from texting in their own cars if they use government-issued phones or are on official business.

Buy now!

More info from the manufacturer
Price: $13.95 1-time cost or $3.95/mo
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Really Easy Reader – speed reading assistant

Gizmo of the Day, Software / By /

Today’s Gizmo is the Really Easy Reader whose aim is to get you reading documents at a faster speed – they claim that this can easily be double your normal reading speed. This basically works by flashing words on your screen very quickly (hit the manufacturer link for an example), or by running a ticker quickly across the screen, forcing you to read them very quickly and, as such, decreases the amount of time taken to read a document.

reallyeasyreader

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Really Easy Reader – speed reading assistantRead More »

Maytag testing out ‘connected’ Washers and Dryers

Miscellaneous, Networking & Internet / By /

Boy I wish we had these when I was in college. I don’t miss continually walking to and from the laundry room or just sitting in those loud, hot rooms waiting for my laundry to finish. Maytag is testing out some new connected washers and dryers at a Wheelock College.

These washers and dryers can e-mail and text you when they’re done. Better yet, the whole roomful of machines is Web-ified, and you can see if (and which) machines are free and/or in use.

via Boston Herald via Switched.

GrandCentral becomes Google Voice – unified messaging, the Google Way

Networking & Internet, Phones / By /

Sweet. I’ve been enjoying GrandCentral for some time now, but was wondering like everyone else what Google was doing with it for the past 2 years or so. Turns out they’ve been hard at work improving what was there and adding new features.

First a recap –

  • GrandCentral gave you 1 number that rang all of your ‘real’ #s: cell, home, work, etc.
  • screening of incoming calls
  • a single voicemail box with Web access to your voicemails;
  • caller-specific voicemail greetings
  • specify which phones rang when certain people called you
  • telemarketer blocking
  • off-times for certain phones

What’s new in Google Voice: …

GrandCentral becomes Google Voice – unified messaging, the Google WayRead More »

kwiry adds new features: Facebook app, e-mail, photos, more

1 Comment / Miscellaneous / By /

Remember kwiry, the text-to-webpage service that we blogged about late last year? Well, they’ve been hard at work building and rolling out new extensions to their basic service.

For starters, the kwiry Facebook application lets you change the privacy of your kwirys and manage your kwirys without leaving FB.

Now you can send photos to your kwiry account from your camera phone by e-mailing [email protected], and then you can use your mobile phone to view those photos and the rest of your kwirys at m.kwiry.com.

If you want to stay abreast of kwiry news, subscribe to their blog.

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