Tip o' the Week #158 - blah blah Phone blah

If you need a reminder on what’s new with Windows Phone 8, or you’ve just picked up your white Lumia 920, check out ToW # 156.

One of the slickest updates to Windows Phone 8 is the deeper integration of voice recognition than in WP7. The previous generation phone allowed you to issue commands via voice, especially useful for making calls or starting apps – but Windows Phone 8 includes the ability to dictate emails, and there’s a whole speech SDK for developers to build great apps on. Check out Fil Alleva’s blog post, sampling 30-odd apps.

Robert Deupree Jr’s excellent “Photo Tip of the Day” Microsoft-internal blog highlights just how easy it is to use speech. Brilliantly simple.

You can even hold your phone to your ear, so it sounds like you’re talking to someone else, rather than doing an Apprentice-style Shouting At Your Palm exercise.

There’s more detail about the ways to use speech in Windows Phone 8 on WPCentral.

And if you’re interested in building some more apps, then you could start here.