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Voice search add on for Firefox, Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread)?

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  • Last reply by prataczak

prataczak
prataczak
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I'm stuck on Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread), and I can't upgrade to something better at the moment. I started using Firefox for android because I like the desktop version, and also because the default google browser won't let me long press and download any image (only certain images, I don't know why).

I like the Firefox browser, but when I click in the search field on the home page, the mic icon does not appear on the keyboard. However, if I go into the Android keyboard settings, I can switch voice input to 'mic on symbols keyboard,' and this works fine. But this is kind of annoying workaround, because I have to to switch to symbols keyboard anywhere else I want to use voice to text.

I opened up the Google browser, and it seems to work the same way when I tap on the 'search or type url' field at the top, *however* even though there is no mic button on the keyboard, there is a mic icon next to the search field.

I also noticed that if I tap on the search field in the middle of the screen for Google.com, the regular keyboard with the mic on the main keyboard comes up normally as expected. So I opened up Google.com in the Firefox browser, and it worked the same there also. So I guess my question is, is there any way to make the mic appear on the main keyboard on the default home for Firefox in the search field? And if not, is there a way to add a mic icon next to that field, as in the Google browser?

I'm stuck on Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread), and I can't upgrade to something better at the moment. I started using Firefox for android because I like the desktop version, and also because the default google browser won't let me long press and download any image (only certain images, I don't know why). I like the Firefox browser, but when I click in the search field on the home page, the mic icon does not appear on the keyboard. However, if I go into the Android keyboard settings, I can switch voice input to 'mic on symbols keyboard,' and this works fine. But this is kind of annoying workaround, because I have to to switch to symbols keyboard anywhere else I want to use voice to text. I opened up the Google browser, and it seems to work the same way when I tap on the 'search or type url' field at the top, *however* even though there is no mic button on the keyboard, there is a mic icon next to the search field. I also noticed that if I tap on the search field in the middle of the screen for Google.com, the regular keyboard with the mic on the main keyboard comes up normally as expected. So I opened up Google.com in the Firefox browser, and it worked the same there also. So I guess my question is, is there any way to make the mic appear on the main keyboard on the default home for Firefox in the search field? And if not, is there a way to add a mic icon next to that field, as in the Google browser?

All Replies (2)

guigs
guigs
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If you tap into the url bar then tap on the mic on the keyboard it would dictate there. However since you mentioned that the mic was not available on the preferred keyboard I do not think so. There is no add on that I have seen that has Voice search.

It also looks like it was intentionally disabled: bug 1132922

prataczak
prataczak Question owner
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I just checked on an ICS device (android 4.0.4), and it works the same as Gingerbread (android 2.3.7) - any time you tap on a field where a web address can be inputted, the mic icon is replaced with a '/' and the mic icon is nowhere to be found. I tried various settings within the 'language and keyboards' menus, but unless I'm missing something, there is no solution other than putting the mic icon on the symbols keyboard.

This is a shame - because for me browsing on the internet is only worth it on an android device if I can use voice to text. Why type it when you can use your voice? What's the point of better technology if it isn't going to be utilized? If I have to type, I'd much rather do it on a real keyboard on a desktop PC.

I think Mozilla should address this, and handle it the same way the Google browser did - any time you tap on a field where the default keyboard has a '/' instead of the mic, a mic icon should automatically appear next to the field and allow you to use voice to text.

Of course it would be better if the android keyboard would put the mic on the main keyboard, seeing as there is a setting specifically for that and it is still somehow ignored. But since that isn't going to happen it would be nice if the Firefox browser worked identically to the Google one in this respect.