Vlingo 1.1 for BlackBerry Reviewed

Posted
by
Douglas Soltys
on September 18, 2008, at 10:37 PM
in Reviews and Spotlight
. Tags: , , , .
Comments: 43 responses
43 Comments

Vlingo 1.1 for BlackBerry Pros and Cons

Pros

– Great tutorials and setup make it easy to use.
– Works as advertised: Vlingo really will learn from you over time.
– Allows you to use your BlackBerry in ways you hadn’t before or at least faster than you had before.
– It’s free!
– 1.1 additions: you can reply, reply all and forward messages with Vlingo; punctuation and automatic capitalization have now been added; additional connection options (BIS, BES, Direct TCP) make things faster.

Cons

– Mileage may vary: while Vlingo learned some BBCool staffers’ speech patterns quite quickly, for me it took a bit longer (I mumble). Don’t give up!
– Vlingo has a hard time with names (read: Balsillie, Jim). Sometimes it’s best to compose the message and add the contact by hand.
– You cannot reply or forward messages via voice command, but must instead use a menu option within messenger.
– You cannot compose an sms or email for multiple people.
– You can send messages via your default mail account only.
– No BlackBerry Messenger support.
– No SureType support.
– Doesn’t quite work on the BlackBerry Bold. Of course, Vlingo doesn’t officially support OS 4.6 yet, but I’m greedy.
– No Bluetooth headset support.

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  • Peter

    What is Vlingo’s business model? You don’t run an app that records and transcribes your voice on a remote server without having some sort of future business model attached.

  • Peter

    What is Vlingo’s business model? You don’t run an app that records and transcribes your voice on a remote server without having some sort of future business model attached.

  • http://www.blackberrycool.com/ BlackBerry Cool

    @Peter,

    That’s a really good question. I know they did the white-label development for Yahoo! OneSearch (http://www.blackberrycool.com/2008/08/yahoo-onesearch-released-to-canada-and-phillipines/), so I would think they’re trying to promote their service as much as possible to get carriers interested.

  • http://www.blackberrycool.com BlackBerry Cool

    @Peter,

    That’s a really good question. I know they did the white-label development for Yahoo! OneSearch (http://www.blackberrycool.com/2008/08/yahoo-onesearch-released-to-canada-and-phillipines/), so I would think they’re trying to promote their service as much as possible to get carriers interested.

  • berry_geek

    Would you get some information on MyCaption? I’ve a BlackBerry Bold, and apparently Mycaption is the only player which offers speech-to-text on Bold.. but i’d rather have your opinion on it before i buy it (by the way i already tried out the free trial and works really well)

  • berry_geek

    Would you get some information on MyCaption? I’ve a BlackBerry Bold, and apparently Mycaption is the only player which offers speech-to-text on Bold.. but i’d rather have your opinion on it before i buy it (by the way i already tried out the free trial and works really well)

  • Tom

    I have an older blackberry 8703E with the 4.1 operating system. Vlingo software download says it will not work on my model. Can I update this or do I need new hardware?

  • Tom

    I have an older blackberry 8703E with the 4.1 operating system. Vlingo software download says it will not work on my model. Can I update this or do I need new hardware?

  • rf10

    Is this supposed to work on the Storm? I tried and get “Could not record”

  • rf10

    Is this supposed to work on the Storm? I tried and get “Could not record”

  • Betsy

    I also have the storm and cannot get it to work. I used the 4.6 operating one assuming it was the newest version. I can not get it to record either. Any ideas?

  • Betsy

    I also have the storm and cannot get it to work. I used the 4.6 operating one assuming it was the newest version. I can not get it to record either. Any ideas?

  • Betsy

    I also have the storm and cannot get it to work. I used the 4.6 operating one assuming it was the newest version. I can not get it to record either. Any ideas?

  • Betsy

    I also have the storm and cannot get it to work. I used the 4.6 operating one assuming it was the newest version. I can not get it to record either. Any ideas?

  • http://NitinProductions.com/ Kevin

    Hey guys I have the storm 9530 and got it to work. I’m running the OS 4.7 which I believe is the latest version. However, when I started to setup Vlingo it asked me to download a 4.6 version update. Also during the setup wizard it had issues with detecting where my finger was but all you have to do is keep your finger on the screen and find what is being highlighted. Once you figure that out it works perfect after setup. One thing you have to be sure is set the permissions to allow pretty much everything. Hope that info helps?

  • http://NitinProductions.com Kevin

    Hey guys I have the storm 9530 and got it to work. I’m running the OS 4.7 which I believe is the latest version. However, when I started to setup Vlingo it asked me to download a 4.6 version update. Also during the setup wizard it had issues with detecting where my finger was but all you have to do is keep your finger on the screen and find what is being highlighted. Once you figure that out it works perfect after setup. One thing you have to be sure is set the permissions to allow pretty much everything. Hope that info helps?

  • glumpster

    Im using vlingo on my pearl and just love it.there are a few apps you just wouldn’t do without and this app is one of those for me.

  • glumpster

    Im using vlingo on my pearl and just love it.there are a few apps you just wouldn’t do without and this app is one of those for me.

  • MaYNOR

    I totally love this app and have been using it and providing feedback since the beginning- 1 of the main reasons I dig it so much is because its an excellent alternative to the dangerous “text-while-driving”- they’ve also updated the app so you can open other apps and even update your Facebook Status and Twitter allllllll with the sound of your voice

    I’ve gotten it to work on my Storm with all four OS’ .75, .76, .83 and .85 … you I just couldnt use the right hand side convenience key — LEFT ONLY.

  • MaYNOR

    I totally love this app and have been using it and providing feedback since the beginning- 1 of the main reasons I dig it so much is because its an excellent alternative to the dangerous “text-while-driving”- they’ve also updated the app so you can open other apps and even update your Facebook Status and Twitter allllllll with the sound of your voice

    I’ve gotten it to work on my Storm with all four OS’ .75, .76, .83 and .85 … you I just couldnt use the right hand side convenience key — LEFT ONLY.

  • Bevan

    Anyone had success with VLingo on the bold?

  • Bevan

    Anyone had success with VLingo on the bold?

  • Dick FEldman

    All I get with Vlingo in its setup on my Storm is “listening” for half a second and then “Can’t record. Please try again.” I’ve set it to the left side key. Any help? Thanks.

  • Dick FEldman

    All I get with Vlingo in its setup on my Storm is “listening” for half a second and then “Can’t record. Please try again.” I’ve set it to the left side key. Any help? Thanks.

  • Dick FEldman

    All I get with Vlingo in its setup on my Storm is “listening” for half a second and then “Can’t record. Please try again.” I’ve set it to the left side key. Any help? Thanks.

  • http://thefreewarejunkie.com/ Rob Dunn

    If you get the “could not record” error, try enabling all permissions for Vlingo in options> advanced options> applications. Just find Vlingo and click the menu button to enable permissions.

  • http://thefreewarejunkie.com Rob Dunn

    If you get the “could not record” error, try enabling all permissions for Vlingo in options> advanced options> applications. Just find Vlingo and click the menu button to enable permissions.

  • florenceit

    works on the bold 9000 really well! i would like to know the business model too.

  • florenceit

    works on the bold 9000 really well! i would like to know the business model too.

  • http://none florenceit

    works on the bold 9000 really well! i would like to know the business model too.

  • http://martinocartier.com/ martino cartier

    I insyalled vlingo onto my storm but now my keyboard is always ontop how can I gat it to go away

  • http://martinocartier.com martino cartier

    I insyalled vlingo onto my storm but now my keyboard is always ontop how can I gat it to go away

  • Clare

    I’ve been trying to use it on my Storm, but can’t get through Step 4 of Setup, where you test recording “search concert tickets”. I get an “unexpected server error”. I’ve tried changing all of the permissions in Options > Advanced Options > Applications > vlingo to “Allow”, but I still end up with the same error. Any other ideas? Thanks!

  • Clare

    I’ve been trying to use it on my Storm, but can’t get through Step 4 of Setup, where you test recording “search concert tickets”. I get an “unexpected server error”. I’ve tried changing all of the permissions in Options > Advanced Options > Applications > vlingo to “Allow”, but I still end up with the same error. Any other ideas? Thanks!

  • Clare

    I’ve been trying to use it on my Storm, but can’t get through Step 4 of Setup, where you test recording “search concert tickets”. I get an “unexpected server error”. I’ve tried changing all of the permissions in Options > Advanced Options > Applications > vlingo to “Allow”, but I still end up with the same error. Any other ideas? Thanks!

  • Jack Morgan

    You can not find a 800 help number it is no longer on my black berry i want my money back or some one to call its a joke the service.480-540-2867

  • Jack Morgan

    You can not find a 800 help number it is no longer on my black berry i want my money back or some one to call its a joke the service.480-540-2867

  • kathy

    I haven’t downloaded or used the Google version yet, but you should have mentioned a synopsis of the license agreement for vlingo. This is quite an extensive set of rules the user is agreeing to and there is a mention of a subscription fee basis without any further explanation. I would simply recommend anyone who chooses to use the free app to read carefully the terms of service agreement which you must accept before gaining access to the app

  • kathy

    I haven’t downloaded or used the Google version yet, but you should have mentioned a synopsis of the license agreement for vlingo. This is quite an extensive set of rules the user is agreeing to and there is a mention of a subscription fee basis without any further explanation. I would simply recommend anyone who chooses to use the free app to read carefully the terms of service agreement which you must accept before gaining access to the app

  • leona

    Not only that, but it clearly states on their website that they collect all your address book contact names and companies so it can perform the contact searches. There’s no opt-out either, it says on their website if you’re not comfortable with the data collection then you should simply not install the produc

  • leona

    Not only that, but it clearly states on their website that they collect all your address book contact names and companies so it can perform the contact searches. There’s no opt-out either, it says on their website if you’re not comfortable with the data collection then you should simply not install the produc

  • Debbie Cole

    Will there ever be a capability to use the headset button to dictate rather than having to hold the side button on the phone?

  • Debbie Cole

    Will there ever be a capability to use the headset button to dictate rather than having to hold the side button on the phone?