Putting data into your phone usually means a variety of keyboards, whether it be on-screen or physical. Talking to your phone, and getting it to perform tasks based on your commands, has already proved popular with apps like Cyberon Voice Commander. Now “Tellme” seeks to do the same, but currently it’s only set to arrive in Windows Mobile 6.5.
The software lets you do voice to text messaging, voice dialing and more. For example, if you want to do a search, just say “number one single” and it’ll find the top music hit using Live Search. The software also integrates GPS and will return local results based on your position – weather, restaurants and more. Your popular phone functions are all available from one single button. Just press a hot-key on your Windows Mobile 6.5 handset and send a text by saying, “Text” and the name of the person you want to message. The same can be done to initiate a call. Let’s just hope that it understands the British accents, because the Bluetooth system in my car certainly doesn’t.
It’ll be available completely free from the Windows Marketplace on 6.5 phones and some handsets will have it embedded directly into the phone when phones appear in the Autumn. Read on for the full press release or click the link below to see a demo video.
Link – Tellme – Video demo
More than 75% of Smartphone Users Prefer Voice and Would Buy Phones With Tellme;
Free to Carriers and Handset Manufacturers for Windows Mobile 6.5 Phones
APRIL 29, 2009 – Mountain View, CA – Today Tellme®, a Microsoft subsidiary and pioneer of voice services, announced the first mobile voice service to combine content and communications, simplifying how people interact with their phones every day. Unlike other voice-based services, Tellme is the first to allow people to press one button, say what they want and get it, whether that is to send a text, make a call or search for information. Tellme has designed a unique version of this experience specifically for Windows phones due out this fall.
The new service puts many of the most popular phone functions behind a single button. Windows phone users just press the side button of their phone to:
– Send a text by saying “text” to open a text box, then speak the text message and send to call anyone in their contact list
– Initiate a call simply by saying “call” and then the name of anyone in their contact list
– Search the Web with Microsoft Live Search by speaking your request, such as “weather in San Francisco, California”, “Pizza in Kansas City” or “mother’s day gift ideas”
“Because it’s so intuitive, we believe there is a real opportunity for voice to materialize as the leading user interface for the phone,” said Dariusz Paczuski, senior director of consumer services at Tellme. “By bringing voice access to calling, texting and searching together we reduce `menu surfing’ on phones and make the convenience of voice more tangible for everyday people.”
In a head to head comparison, it’s clear why people prefer voice over touch. For example, it requires four touches and more than 20 keystrokes to find a business with the Apple iPhone, while it only takes one button push and one verbal command to find the same business with Tellme. Tellme’s research shows similar results for other tasks, such as making calls, sending text messages and searching for content like traffic, movies, news and sports.
“For example, we’ve integrated voice access to Live Search on all Sprint Instinct phones and subscribers love it,” continued Paczuski. “In fact, we’ve seen impressive adoption of voice with 82 percent of search queries on Instinct phones initiated by voice.”
Finally, in a recent study conducted by Sanderson Studios, more than 70 percent of respondents said that voice is superior to keypad or touch-based methods to perform some of the most popular mobile tasks. This includes looking up a business listing or location (78 percent), sending a text message (72 percent), placing a call (79 percent), getting information such as movies, weather, traffic or sports (77 percent) and getting directions (81 percent).
For the past decade, Tellme has been pioneering voice services for businesses and consumers, answering billions of calls every year and helping millions of people get the information they need simply by speaking a request. Now the convenience of voice is coming to Windows phones, bringing people closer to the things they want by providing easier access to more of the phone’s functionality. With Tellme, people using the latest Windows phones will be able to simply say what they want, such as “call mom” or “text Jim” or “pizza,” and results display on the screen.
Tellme will be available for free on Windows Mobile 6.5 phones in the Fall 2009 when the phones hit store shelves. Initially available in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile store, Tellme will also make the service available for free to mobile operators and carriers to embed `on-device’ for a voice experience right out of the box.