Moto X: Do you use touchless control?

[Cozume]

It's very helpful once you are driving, but other than that it's of limited use...

I guess I must drive a lot compared to some of you!

 

[TheLibertarian]

Setting alarms at night and asking for the weather in the morning, along with asking where the thing has hidden itself a few times throughout the week.

Extremely useful.

 

[Fdmstng99]

Setting alarms at night and asking for the weather in the morning, along with asking where the thing has hidden itself a few times throughout the week.

Extremely useful.

I have this issue as well, my daughter will be playing with my phone and will just leave it anywhere.

 

[Puzzlegal]

I think that is where you can see it is not a gimmick. Most people don't pull over to read and respond to texts. With Motorola Assist and touchless controls, you don't have to. Very valuable features to the overwhelming majority of drivers out there.

I just wait until I have gotten wherever I was going to read or respond to texts. Or emails, which is mostly how my friends contact me.

I did get one text while I was driving, and the "tell the sender you are driving"feature was nice. But it's not as if he was going to do anything with that info.

 

[Cozume]

I just wait until I have gotten wherever I was going to read or respond to texts. Or emails, which is mostly how my friends contact me.

OK but many people, especially younger people, don't do that and you are one of the few people I have encountered in this day and age who gets contacted by friends mostly by email and not text. I email pretty much only for business nowadays or if I have to send an attachment for some reason.

I did get one text while I was driving, and the "tell the sender you are driving"feature was nice. But it's not as if he was going to do anything with that info.

it will stop someone from texting again and again asking why you are not responding. It also will stop someone from worrying about why you are not responding and it will stop someone from thinking you are rude for not responding.

 

[Oofa]

When all is said and done, it's nice to know that Motorola has provided a phone with a new feature that could be considered "gimmicky" by many but an actual useful enhancement by many. In many states it's supposed to be a hefty fine to use a cell phone while driving and I'm glad many are using it instead of driving with their knees and looking into their laps. It certainly makes me feel safer. I think the fact that many find it useful and don't quit using it after the honeymoon phase is over with the phone, proves just how real it is.

 

[Puzzlegal]

OK but many people, especially younger people, don't do that and you are one of the few people I have encountered in this day and age who gets contacted by friends mostly by email and not text. I email pretty much only for business nowadays or if I have to send an attachment for some reason.


it will stop someone from texting again and again asking why you are not responding. It also will stop someone from worrying about why you are not responding and it will stop someone from thinking you are rude for not responding.

Lol, my friends know better than to text again and again, asking why I am not responding, or worrying if I don't reply instantly to a text. It must be stressful to have to be always-available to lots of people. And when I did respond, after I parked, I mentioned that I'd been en route to yoga, so he would have figured out why I couldn't reply, and not thought me rude.

I understand that's a great feature for some people. It's a feature I have used exactly once in the two months I've had the phone, and while it was nice, I certainly wouldn't miss it. As I said, ymmv.

 

[Cozume]

Lol, my friends know better than to text again and again, asking why I am not responding, or worrying if I don't reply instantly to a text. It must be stressful to have to be always-available to lots of people.

It's called being a mom and yes, it is stressful, lol! Anyhow, it is not my friends who do that to me, it is my family and I am stuck with them for life.

I understand that's a great feature for some people. It's a feature I have used exactly once in the two months I've had the phone, and while it was nice, I certainly wouldn't miss it. As I said, ymmv.

It's a great feature for those who drive.

 

[davidnc]

I just wait until I have gotten wherever I was going to read or respond to texts. Or emails, which is mostly how my friends contact me.

I did get one text while I was driving, and the "tell the sender you are driving"feature was nice. But it's not as if he was going to do anything with that info.

I hear ya,, interesting to hear how other people use features of their Moto X.
I get more text messages from friends other then emails. I consider emails to be more formal and since I just sync my emails every hour unless I manually sync my emails otherwise they arrive just once an hour. However my text messages are in real time. (same with hangout)

 

[Puzzlegal]

I synch my primary email account every 10 minutes, the secondary one every hour, and gmail manually, not very reliably. I like that email is easy to save, search, and refer to.

 

[Cozume]

I synch my primary email account every 10 minutes, the secondary one every hour, and gmail manually, not very reliably. I like that email is easy to save, search, and refer to.

yes, but for messages like, pick up my dry cleaning on your way home, did you put money in my account, where are you, what's for dinner, I forgot my soccer uniform I need you to bring it to me in the next 15 minutes, etc., I neither want to save, search or refer to them ever again, lol!

 

[Puzzlegal]

yes, but for messages like, pick up my dry cleaning on your way home, did you put money in my account, where are you, what's for dinner, I forgot my soccer uniform I need you to bring it to me in the next 15 minutes, etc., I neither want to save, search or refer to them ever again, lol!

Fair enough. I'd get some of those by phone, and some via email, and wouldn't file any of them.

Now that my husband has a smart phone, maybe we will start texting. He has a really cheap plan, though, and a text costs as much as a minute of talk time, and conveys much less information.

 

[Cozume]

Now that my husband has a smart phone, maybe we will start texting. He has a really cheap plan, though, and a text costs as much as a minute of talk time, and conveys much less information.

that explains why you don't get many texts!

So I see my solution is to take away everyone's unlimited texting plans!

 

[UncleDevil]

I use touchless WAY more than I thought I would. It really helps on those long commutes.

 

[efimonkey]

I do to ask the time. However it does not work for nagivation. It just opens google maps which has the last thing you navigated to on it. Useless.
Apparently because I am in Canada and don't have access to google music, It doesn't work. It just google searches whatever I ask it to play.

Useless. The two main things I got the device for (perfect for safe handsfree driving) do not work.

 

[21stNow]

I do to ask the time. However it does not work for nagivation. It just opens google maps which has the last thing you navigated to on it. Useless.
Apparently because I am in Canada and don't have access to google music, It doesn't work. It just google searches whatever I ask it to play.

Useless. The two main things I got the device for (perfect for safe handsfree driving) do not work.

I don't understand the problem with Navigation. I just said "OK Google Now. Navigate to Target in [city]" and it went to Google Maps to navigate. I've never asked to navigate to that Target before, since I have known how to get there since it was built. Maybe the problem is only for Canadian users.

 

[b_slow1]

I bought the phone specifically for the Touchless Control feature. Its the "killer app" of the phone, and the only feature that cannot be replicated by any other smart device. I use it constantly, and with practice, it can be extremely useful, used for more than stuff like, "What time is it?".

When combined with a program like "Utter!", it becomes extremely powerful. The biggest problem with the Touchless Control, in my view, is the clunky phrase required to get it started. It sounds stupid, and takes too long to say. They need to make the dialog less robotic, but I'm still a big believer in this tech.

 

[Hoff Woohoo]

Never use it except as a party trick. Maybe I just don't know how to use it to my advantage?

I'd love to have voice commands as a part of my daily life but the fact that I cant even get it to play a song on my friggin phone is pretty discouraging...

 

[Cozume]

The biggest problem with the Touchless Control, in my view, is the clunky phrase required to get it started. It sounds stupid, and takes too long to say.

I think it needs to be something unusual and not too short so that it won't erroneously start all the time and mistakenly dial people, etc.

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I'd love to have voice commands as a part of my daily life but the fact that I cant even get it to play a song on my friggin phone is pretty discouraging...

I am not sure what you are talking about?

 

[b_slow1]

I think it needs to be something unusual and not too short so that it won't erroneously start all the time and mistakenly dial people, etc.

Essentially, it should be a customizable phrase. It needs to be something that people can say easily and comfortably. And in my case I would like it to sound more conversational. I have faith that the next model of this software (if Lenovo doesn't kill it) will be more flexible in that regard.

I also wonder if any competing companies like Samsung (who like to throw everything but the kitchen sink into their smartphones) will find a way to include a similar feature, or if they feel it is not viable, based on Motorola's poor sales numbers.