What do we want? More voice and video chat capabilities! When do we want it? As soon as companies can provide us with an affordable and reliable option!

At least, that’s what the report from the Consumer Electronics Association (News - Alert) (CEA) has found. In its “Eye on Emerging Technology” studies for voice-to-text and text-to-voice, as well as for voice control and for video chat, it has found what consumers are looking for, how satisfied they are, and ultimately, what they need.

The CEA studies have found that for all three technologies, consumers are well aware of what they are and what they can do. Even the least well-known of them, voice-to-text and text-to-voice, is recognized by at least 50 percent of the online U.S. adult population, with higher percentages recognizing voice control and video chat technologies.

“Mobile devices, such as powerful smartphones and tablet computers, are increasingly coming to market with these features already built in and have, in turn, catapulted these technologies into the realm of consumer desires,” says Kevin Tillmann, a senior research analyst for CEA. “These technologies are quickly becoming an integral part of Americans’ lives and are significantly changing the way in which consumers interact with their tech devices.”

Of course, just knowing what they are does not automatically equate to wanting them. Around 34 percent of those surveyed found voice-to-text to be desirable, with five percent less also wanting text-to-voice. Far more were interested in voice control capabilities, yet surprisingly, only around 23 percent expressed interest in video chat.

There are also places where consumers want to see improvement.

Most voice-to-text and text-to-voice users want better speech recognition technology, and on a similar note, about half of the consumers asked would prefer more reliable voice control technology. Suffice to say, while it is improving, voice recognition still has a long way to go before we can say “Computer, enhance the image and connect me to Starfleet.” On a related note, we’re not quite at the point of science fiction-style video communication either, as around 55 percent of the video chat users surveyed want better video quality as well.

The studies have found that while the technology is constantly improving and growing more widely accepted and recognized, it is far from perfect. Consumers are looking for changes and improvements, and while what we have now is good, it can stand to be greater.