Speech Input Comes To Google Chrome Stable Channel

Remember the voice search extension for Google Chrome, which lets you input words into Google search box using your Microphone ? The extension is one of the best ever browser add-in I have ever encountered. Simply connect the microphone, talk and the words are most likely to be entered into Google search box followed by an automatic search. The feature is not very useful but it’s surely fun to use and reminds me of my Android search box.

Nevertheless, the Google developers thought it’s a good idea to incorporate the features of the extension to Google Chrome’s stable channel. Hence, a new feature has hit Google Chrome today – speech input through HTML.

To use speech input in Google Chrome, first check whether you’re running the latest stable channel of Google chrome by clicking the wrench icon and selecting “About Google Chrome”

If you’re  running an older version of Google Chrome (i.e a version older than 11.0) which does not support speech input, update Google Chrome to it’s latest stable channel first. Next, go to Google translate and you should see a new loud speaker icon just below the translation text box. Connect your microphone and start talking.

That’s it – Google Chrome will try to recognize the words and will input them in the translation text box automatically. The input words will be translated to the target language of your choice.

Google translate already supports listening to translated texts and the new addition of speech recognition in Google chrome is a really good news for visually impaired people and lazy folks who hate to type. Another creative use of speech recognition in Google translate is that you may be able to translate audio recordings and extract the words used in translation, the only catch is that the recording needs to be play backed at very slow speed.

I tried the new HTML 5 speech input interface and the results were pretty accurate, so far. For best results with speech translation in Google Translate, try to talk slowly, maintain an average speed and hold the microphone close to your mouth. Also avoid nearby noise distractions and multiple people talking at the same time.

Another cool thing regarding the latest stable release of Google Chrome 11 is the new logo. More vibrant but why the 2D look ? More on this on the official Google Chrome blog

Related: Add Language Translation To Your Website Using Google Translate