Dictator Update to Android 4

The latest app in the catalog to undergo the Android 4 treatment is Dictator.  If you don’t have an Android 4 (API 14+) device, you won’t receive any more updates.

We are removing lots of cruft from Dictator, and the associated screens.  The following are going away:

  • Keyword Gallery: taken over by the main screen.
  • Open-mic: taken over by the main screen.
  • Item List: taken over by the main screen.
  • Tap Editor: removed.
  • Full Record title/body/keywords: removed.

If you loved any of the “removed” screens, email us and we will put it back.

The Main screen is now where all the action is.  There is now only one group of settings for Quick Keys, etc.  The “list” navigation  mode is used, and this provides ways to filter the dictation list, which is now presented as a 2-level list, grouped by the filter (e.g. Keywords).

There are now only two recording modes: Quick and Open-mic.  The Open-mic mode is started from the Action Bar, and Quick mode uses the Quick Keys or Action Bar.

The “recording” UI now uses an Action Mode instead of custom UI; you can use the Back Key or the “Close” button to cancel recording.

The Keywords field of new dictations is automatically filled in with the new “Current Keyword” setting, which has a UI on the Action Bar so you can set and clear it.

We are also revamping how the Audio Capture features work, because so few devices actually support it, and there is no way to query the system for its presence.  With that said, all Audio Capture settings will be disabled until the application detects the audio data callback is called.  At this point, Dictator will display a message “Audio Capture Unlocked” and then enable the Audio Capture settings for you to manipulate.  The only downside is you must perform a dictation first so the Auto-detect triggers.

We will be pushing a Beta to Google Play shortly for early preview and feedback.

Current Dictator users can get access to the Beta release of all our applications on Google Play by joining our Google Group, then going to the appropriate page.