First there was Google Voice control for Android devices now Google has added voice control for its Chrome browser, however what is not known is how it will handle an Aussie accent.
The new technology allows users to search for items with a simple voice command without having to resort to a keyboard.
The new Google Voice Search Hotword extension is available from the Chrome Web Store and Google said that it should remove the need to type search terms into its search engine.
Using it should be easy – say “OK Google,” followed by a string to search for or a command. Things like setting timers or asking math problems seem to work well.
Getting it is easy enough. You’ll need a microphone, and Google Chrome on your computer.
“You’re elbow-deep in your turkey, ready to start the stuffing and you need to quickly calculate how many ounces of walnuts are in a cup. This year, rather than stopping midway through to wash your hands and type in a search, you can just speak to your laptop: ‘OK Google, how many ounces are in one cup?’ Et voila, the cooking can go on,” the firm wrote in a Google+ post.
On the Chrome Store app page for the Hotword function Google notes that use of the service requires permission to access a laptop’s microphone and that a user must say, “OK Google” before commencing a search.
The tool is still in beta mode and in a brief test it struggled to hear our requests as it failed to act on our commands. We are not sure whether this is an accent issue.
