Industry coverage, news, original feature articles, how to guides, videos, podcasts and reviews of BlackBerry service providers, software, accessories, hosted exchange providers and more

I’m going to share a dirty secret with you. While I’m driving, I’m always tempted to check my BlackBerry. Who knows what could be lurking in my Inbox? I’m sure many have similar temptations. And I’ll be that many of you (yeah, me too) sneak a peak here and there — usually at red lights and other “safe” areas. Still, even if you can check your email, there’s really nothing you can do with it until you’re stopped. To aid the addicted, companies are starting to offer various voice to text and text to voice applications. Today, we’re taking a look at Voice on the Go.

Reading your email

I know that many people have a habit of checking their BlackBerry first thing in the morning. But that just takes up time when you could be at work (or sleeping). After all, if you’re checking your work emails, you might as well be at work to get credit for the time you’re spending. In this regard, Voice on the Go can save you time, and get you in better with the boss.

The first step is registration, which can be done at VoiceontheGo.com. It’s a lengthy process, but they need you to register your email and calendars, so that the system can access them. I tried setting this up with a Yahoo! account, but I kept getting error messages. It ended up working with a POP3 account. Once you’re registered, it’s time to hit the road.

Once you’ve strapped yourself into your car, set your BlackBerry to speakerphone. Then dial one of the access numbers to begin the service. You’ll need to say your phone number, followed by your four-digit PIN to begin access. From there, everything is voice-activated, so you won’t have to worry about pressing buttons.

Just say “email” at the main menu, and you’ll be brought to a menu that will allow you to hear your new emails. During and after the reading of each mail, you’ll have the option to delete, reply, replay all, or forward. You can also tell the service to go to your next message, or your previous message.

Composing emails

Just as Voice on the Go can read your email to you, it can compose emails as well. This can be done by saying “reply” after one of your messages, or saying “compose” in the main menu.

If you choose “compose,” you’ll be asked to say the first and last name of a contact in your address book. This means you either have to manually enter contacts via the web in your Voice on the Go account, or have your current address book synced with the service. Unfortunately, you cannot dictate an email address to the service.

Once you’re done, just hang on the line for a second — the email will automatically end. From there, you can play back your recording, rerecord it, or send away. The recipient will not get a translation of your recording, but rather will receive a link to an audio file, and an attachment of said audio file for download.

Calendars and more

You can also have your daily calendar dictated to you by Voice on the Go. Just say “calendar” in the main menu, and they’ll read it back, just like your email. Plus, Voice on the Go makes it easy to add new appointments to your calendar, or delete existing ones.

The service works as a voice dialing service, too. Just bring up a contact and say “call mobile,” and the call is placed. Or, if you’re dialing a number not in your contacts list, you can dictate the number to Voice on the Go.

There are more features planned as well. Looking for traffic updates? Well, if you live in London, you have access to live information, so you can circumvent the enormous traffic jam up ahead. They also plan to add news, weather, sports, and stock features. Just think, no more talk radio on the way into work! You can skip right over the talking heads and get right to the news you care about.

Thoughts on the service

I’m not so sure how well the audio emails will go over. Too many places of business don’t have speakers on their computers. True, if they do have speakers it could make matters a bit easier; I can typically work on something else while listening to emails, but not while reading them. The audio is also of a very compressed/low quality nature. I could understand myself, but barely.

The read-back feature leaves much to be desired. I couldn’t understand every third word or so, and by the end I don’t think I understood what the email was about. This is something that will likely improve over time. But for now, I’m not sure I’d trust this to read me emails while driving. I’d have to focus too much on what the computer was saying, and not enough on the road.

As far as the access number goes, it’s a pretty simple and intuitive menu system. The system didn’t have a difficult time understanding me, and I was able to navigate with relative ease. The service will be much improved once they add news and information features.

If you’re the busy type who could free up some time by having your emails read to you while in the car, then Voice on the Go just might be what you’re looking for. You’ll have to exercise patience as the service grows, but it certainly has value as-is.

Share on Facebook | Add to De.licio.us | Digg This! | Technorati