Tellme Networks, a Microsoft subsidiary, is adding voice-recognition technology to Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5. The Tellme feature will allow users to say, rather than type in, a command for hands-free texting and calling.
The technology allows voice-to-text messaging, voice-activated dialing, Web searches, stock updates, and others. Instead of several keystrokes on a touch phone, a handset user can voice requests after launching the service with the touch of a button, according to the company.
Windows Mobile customers currently use voice commands with Microsoft Live Search, but the Tellme application adds text and voice calls in one service.
The service is GPS-enabled and can respond to requests for weather conditions based on the user's location. The service will be default to Microsoft Live Search, but users will be able to select other search providers.
Progress or Star Trek
"As far as Tellme is concerned, I have always looked at it saying it is the next natural step for mobile  phones," said IDC mobile analyst Ramon Llamas. "Using the phone is second nature and using the hand as part of that experience is often not the most welcome piece."
Dialing a number, texting or searching while driving is not only a hassle but dangerous, he added. "The way I look at Tellme is this is an absolutely huge help, hit one button and say call {Joe}," he said.
Still, what is a natural progression for some may be too far out for others accustomed to how they now use their phones, Llamas said.
"What does this kind of look like, it looks like Star Trek," Llamas said. "I still see some people who say: 'I can make a phone call by dialing, thank you very much.'"
Marcello Typrin, director of product management and planning at Tellme, said voice is the fundamental user interface for mobile phones, and that research shows that general adoption of voice-recognition technology on mobile phones is high.
"All things being equal on a given device, 75 percent would pick the phone that had Tellme, so we think consumers get it and get the value," Typrin said. "We have been doing this for 10 years and handle more than two billion phone calls."
Making Connections
While Microsoft is including the free offering with Windows Mobile 6.5, it's also banking on other phone operating systems using Tellme. "Our strategy over time is to make it available on any handset and we are not limited to Windows Mobile," Typrin said.
Will other vendors bite, or are they working on their own versions of Tellme?
"Should it prove successful, I don't see why some companies will entertain this a little bit more," Llamas said.
|
