Speed dial question from a BB user

[gludington]

I currently have a BB 8830 but am seriously looking at an iphone, becuase a) my contract is up, and b), my new job does not use BIS. However, one thing that seems lacking from my limited in-store playing is easy dialing. My BB of course has voice dialing, but I do not use that very much so would not miss it. I have quite a few speed-dial shortcut, and, on the BB, they are always available with one touch. Even if the phone is in standby, I can hold down "W" for a couple of seconds and dial work, "D" to call home, "V" for voice mail, and so on. I do not use all 26, but I probably have 18 or so. As far as I can tell, the only way to do the same is to swipe, contacts, favorites, then select your favorites -- 4 gestures, or more if you have to scroll down a screen. Is there a quicker way to do this on the iphone, perhaps by creating icons on the main screens? It may seem like a tiny thing, but one-touch speed dialing is very convenient, especially if you are in the car or some situation where you cannot look at the phone for more than a second.

[edcar]

I did see a new app that allows one tap face dial but it looks like you still have to swipe, start the app then tap. There is just no getting around the fact the the iphone is probably one of the worst phones to use in a car. It does however make up for its shortcomings in other areas. I would just carry another cheap phone that has voice dial capabilites for use in the car.

[volsfan0911]

Originally Posted by gludington

I currently have a BB 8830 but am seriously looking at an iphone, becuase a) my contract is up, and b), my new job does not use BIS. However, one thing that seems lacking from my limited in-store playing is easy dialing. My BB of course has voice dialing, but I do not use that very much so would not miss it. I have quite a few speed-dial shortcut, and, on the BB, they are always available with one touch. Even if the phone is in standby, I can hold down "W" for a couple of seconds and dial work, "D" to call home, "V" for voice mail, and so on. I do not use all 26, but I probably have 18 or so. As far as I can tell, the only way to do the same is to swipe, contacts, favorites, then select your favorites -- 4 gestures, or more if you have to scroll down a screen. Is there a quicker way to do this on the iphone, perhaps by creating icons on the main screens? It may seem like a tiny thing, but one-touch speed dialing is very convenient, especially if you are in the car or some situation where you cannot look at the phone for more than a second.

I wrote a diatribe about this earlier. Just literally wiped and am unlocking my BB 8310 and yes, it's pathetic that there is no speed dial/voice dial on the iPhone. But, until the 3rd party voice activation apps get here, the "favorites" is as good as it gets. For me, I try to stay off the phone while driving as much as possible and even then, only via my BT headset. If I really need to dial someone, guess I'll be pulling over and doing it while stopped

[Rene Ritchie]

You can make the equivalent of WebClips on the home screen, where you use photos as the icon, and link to the phone number instead of a web page. It's an "ugly" as heck workaround, but Dieter posted it way back when on the blog. I'll dig up the link tomorrow.

(Though I'm also fairly certain a photo speed dial app, hopefully with CoverFlow! will be in the AppStore soon...)

[Libuff]

also.. i found when unlocked, a double tap on the home screen will bring up the "favorites" dialing screen... by unlocked, i mean turning on and swiping the lock thingy... NOT unlocking the phone...

[h22kai]

Also, there is a voice dial app for free. I don't have the iPhone (THURSDAY!!!) but you can give it a try. It is called SpeechCloud Voice Dial

[hermdog]

Originally Posted by h22kai

Also, there is a voice dial app for free. I don't have the iPhone (THURSDAY!!!) but you can give it a try. It is called SpeechCloud Voice Dial

I tried it and it didn't recognize any of my contacts.