How to Use Your iPad 3’s Voice Dictation Function
If you think that Apple let you down big time when they released a new iPad model without a Siri function then think again. I know you may be a little pissed because you may have went to arm’s lengths of effort in selling an old iPad for a new iPad 3 and thought that it was the white elephant of all mobile platforms but you have to save your breath. While the iPad maker is still on the verge of developing a better Siri version for their magic slate, it may be helpful to know that they have given you an assistant on your own iPad 2, without you even possibly knowing about it.
The Siri addition on your iOS 5.1 running iPad 2 doesn’t answer your questions or call you by your name. Instead, it shows up as a tiny picture of a microphone on your keyboard waiting for you to tap and talk. If you haven’t noticed it yet, go ahead and tap on your Pages app to start typing. Look on the lower part of your virtual on-screen keyboard and you’ll be able to see the small dictation button that will not only help your tired hands from resting, it will also help to keep your spelling in check. Then again, if you’re holding an old iPad original in your hands, you might as well start selling an iPad because no matter what you do, this and other Siri functions will never be included on old iPad or iPhone models.
So how do you use this Siri function on your new iPad? It’s actually pretty simple. All you have to do is to go to Settings, tap on General and out comes a dozen options where you can select Dictation. Make sure that the dictation function is enabled and that you have a data connection. Now this might become a problem if you’re using a Wi-Fi only model as connections may break and your dictation could be messed up. Aside from selling an iPad Wi-Fi only model, you can also make sure that your Wi-Fi connection is clear and continuous if you want a good dictation job.
Now you can test it out by going to your Pages app or your Mail app and creating a test document. Tap on the screen to access your on screen virtual keyboard and check if the microphone button on the lower left portion of the keyboard has the same color as the rest of the keys. Now tap on that button and start talking clearly. The words should be enunciated well because it dictates whatever it understands from you and you wouldn’t really want to see some baby talk or gibberish across your documents right?
For better dictation, use phrases and commands to create punctuations in your sentences. Use the phrase “full stop” to create a period or “at sign” for the snakey ‘a’ you use in your email addresses (most commonly known as ‘@’ or ‘commercial at’). You can tell your iPad “new paragraph” to create a new slew of sentences. For example, you can say, “I don’t have money / full stop / new paragraph / I want to sell my iPad / full stop” and it will look like this:
I don’t have money.
I want to sell my iPad.
Easy right? Try it on your new iPad (because it only runs on the iPad 3)! Happy Siri dictating!
If you think that Apple let you down big time when they released a new iPad model without a Siri function then think again. I know you may be a little pissed because you may have went to arm’s lengths of effort in selling an old iPad for a new iPad 3 and thought that it was the white elephant of all mobile platforms but you have to save your breath. While the iPad maker is still on the verge of developing a better Siri version for their magic slate, it may be helpful to know that they have given you an assistant on your own iPad 2, without you even possibly knowing about it.
The Siri addition on your iOS 5.1 running iPad 2 doesn’t answer your questions or call you by your name. Instead, it shows up as a tiny picture of a microphone on your keyboard waiting for you to tap and talk. If you haven’t noticed it yet, go ahead and tap on your Pages app to start typing. Look on the lower part of your virtual on-screen keyboard and you’ll be able to see the small dictation button that will not only help your tired hands from resting, it will also help to keep your spelling in check. Then again, if you’re holding an old iPad original in your hands, you might as well start selling an iPad because no matter what you do, this and other Siri functions will never be included on old iPad or iPhone models.
So how do you use this Siri function on your new iPad? It’s actually pretty simple. All you have to do is to go to Settings, tap on General and out comes a dozen options where you can select Dictation. Make sure that the dictation function is enabled and that you have a data connection. Now this might become a problem if you’re using a Wi-Fi only model as connections may break and your dictation could be messed up. Aside from selling an iPad Wi-Fi only model, you can also make sure that your Wi-Fi connection is clear and continuous if you want a good dictation job.
Now you can test it out by going to your Pages app or your Mail app and creating a test document. Tap on the screen to access your on screen virtual keyboard and check if the microphone button on the lower left portion of the keyboard has the same color as the rest of the keys. Now tap on that button and start talking clearly. The words should be enunciated well because it dictates whatever it understands from you and you wouldn’t really want to see some baby talk or gibberish across your documents right?
For better dictation, use phrases and commands to create punctuations in your sentences. Use the phrase “full stop” to create a period or “at sign” for the snakey ‘a’ you use in your email addresses (most commonly known as ‘@’ or ‘commercial at’). You can tell your iPad “new paragraph” to create a new slew of sentences. For example, you can say, “I don’t have money / full stop / new paragraph / I want to sell my iPad / full stop” and it will look like this:
I don’t have money.
I want to sell my iPad.
Easy right? Try it on your new iPad (because it only runs on the iPad 3)! Happy Siri dictating!
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