voice

Inside CNET Labs 19: Dong needs a bucket

In this episode, we pack a lot of content into a relatively small amount of time.

First off, Eric has his nerd cred questioned because of a Warcraft comment made in a previous episode, and Dong discusses making love, not Warcraft.

Serious business then as Dong presents another PSA: how to be on the lookout for fake antivirus software.

Then, can being left-handed be equated with being gay? Not usually, but Dong finds a way to connect them. Then, getting drunk. Dong tells a "scary" Halloween story about puking in a bucket.

Thanks to a resourceful reader, we … Read more

Find your inner 'Vader' or 'Smeagol' with Sonic Vox

Every once in a while, usually on a Friday, I get into something incredibly addicting and distracting. Today is one of those days. If you're like me (and gods help you) and you like to manipulate your voice in different ways--you know, to freak your cats or even your wife/girlfriend--Smule has come up with something cool to make your Friday go by faster.

Sonic Vox is an audio engine for the iPhone that alters your voice in real time. While you speak, the program contorts and shifts your voice depending on how you set the pitch … Read more

Voice recording quietly comes to Touch 2G

What a difference a month makes. In September, we couldn't find a single voice-recording app for the iPhone that would work with the headset input included on the second-generation iPod Touch. I took a look around the iTunes App Store today and found that seven of of the 13-plus iPhone voice-memo apps now list themselves as compatible with the second-generation iPod Touch. Here's the list, so far:

SpeakEasy Voice Recorder from Zarboo Software QuickVoice Recorder from nFinity Recorder from Retronyms Note2Self from Web Information Solutions iRecorder from Simple Touch Software YouNote from Sophiacom iTalk Recorder by Griffin

If … Read more

New HP iPaqs invade Europe; no word on U.S. availability

On Tuesday, HP added two new iPaq smartphones to its portfolio. But before you go getting too attached, you should know that for the time being, they'll only be available in Europe. Partnering with Vodafone, the HP iPaq Data Messenger and the HP iPaq Voice Messenger will first be offered in the United Kingdom and then eventually make their way to the rest of Europe.

Will they ever reach the United States and join the HP iPaq 910c Business Messenger? Well, we asked our HP contact, who said she hasn't heard anything about a stateside release but would … Read more

Review: 2009 Honda CR-V EX-L 4WD with Nav

The external aesthetic of the 2009 Honda CR-V mixes the Honda Civic's space-age design with the face and bulk of a bulldog. Although you may never catch us calling the CR-V attractive, its looks aren't offensive. More importantly, spend some time behind the wheel and you'll see that the CR-V manages to combine the sporty ride and handling of a small sedan with the utility of a small SUV while making few, if any, compromises.

In its EX-L with Nav trim level, the CR-V has an extra trick up its sleeve in the form of a DVD-based … Read more

Yahoo OneSearch 2.0 slowly spreads voice search

Updated on 10/10/08 at 11:35 a.m. PST with more details about beginning a voice search on Nokia devices.

Voice-responsive search has been available from Yahoo's OneSearch 2.0 application for select BlackBerry phones since this last April, but until this week only a few of you could to try it out.

On Thursday, Yahoo slipped voice recognition into the OneSearch 2.0 home-screen shortcut--available for a smattering of Nokia Series 60 phones--and in the Yahoo! Go 3.0 files for select BlackBerry, Nokia Series 40, and Nokia Series 60 models, such as the … Read more

How to use Spoken Menus on your 4G iPod Nano

If you're visually impaired or legally blind, living in the age of the MP3 player can be frustrating. Small screens, tiny fonts, complicated menus, and imprecise controls make the majority of MP3 players very difficult to use. Until now, visually impaired users often resorted to counting scroll wheel clicks and memorizing menus, or installing and configuring third-party firmware, such as the open source Rockbox (a project not recommended for the technologically timid).

By adding a Spoken Menus feature to their fourth-generation iPod Nano, Apple is one of the first manufacturers to dramatically improve the usability of their MP3 players … Read more

Reframe It launches community markup system for Web pages

Here we go again. A new company, Reframe It, is launching its Web markup product on Wednesday. Like ThirdVoice and Stickis before it, Reframe It lets you highlight a piece of a Web page, comment on it, and discuss those comments with other visitors to the site.

I found using the service a good community experience, although I believe the concept is dated. For one, nearly all sites now have their own communities and discussion threads, and adding another discussion system could actually splinter a community instead of drawing it together. Furthermore, Reframe It currently works primarily through a browser … Read more

Verizon loses patent suit against Cox

Verizon Communications suffered a major blow in its patent battles on Monday, when a federal court ruled that cable company Cox Communications had not infringed on its patents.

The telecommunications giant has accused Cox of violating six of its patents related to Internet telephony. But a jury for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia decided against Verizon on all six patents.

Verizon settled a similar suit against digital-phone service provider Vonage last year, squeezing about $117.5 million from the troubled provider of voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP. Against Cox, it had been seeking … Read more