Review: Say Who - Dialer

Overview Apple notoriously left off voice speed dial on the iPhone. There have been many apps scrambling to fill this much-needed void, and Say Who - Dialer is one of them. Best of all, it's free. How does it do?

Functionality

With Say Who, simply say who... or say what, wait a few seconds, and the interactive screen will present you with the options for dialing. A button at the top left corner of the screen allows you to turn on/off automatic dialing. When turned on, the voice command will dial automatically for you in about 3-5 seconds. You can use all kinds of commands to get to the number of choice. Simply say:

• Call Jeff.
• Jeff Noble.
• Call Jeff Noble work.
• Call 555-870-5555.
• Apple iPhone Apps.

In testing, all these worked immediately. There was no "training" necessary like I've had to do with other similar voice activated dialing features in the past (including AT&T's paid feature). As the app searches for the right number in response to your voice command, it will acknowledge your request with a beep and a vibration alerting you that it's found your number. This seek-found-vibrate functionality reminds me of Shazam's process for finding a song.

Review

The great thing about Say Who is that it simply works. There is some delay with startup time, however. This can get pretty irritating if you realize that by the time you wait for the app to load and find your spoken command, you could have easily found and dialed the number through your favorites screen or the contacts app.

If the wait time galls you, then perhaps the best use of this app right now is when you're on the road and can't afford the luxury of fiddling it with your phone. Keep the app in your dock for easy access, launch it, and simply Say Who. For the desperate dialer, this built-in patience monitor may reveal more about yourself than you want to know. ;)

Say Who's homepage promises a near-future version that will have faster loading times and also support for "+" and "pause" symbols.

Summary

I've found Say Who to be a fantastic little app - especially considering its price. The only caveat is its slow load time. However, I'm anxious to keep it on the springboard to wait for its next version. If it's considerably faster, it will have earned a permanent spot. Say what? Say Who!

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