DISQUS

TechFlash: Microsoft's Tellme on Windows Mobile: Is voice the new touch?

  • Rich · 8 months ago
    Tell me looks sweet! I want it, why are they saying it will only be avaliable on WM 6.5 when it is clearly shown on an Samsung Omnia that is running 6.1?
  • hi · 8 months ago
    Is the woman in the background on a macbook? Nice..
  • Anonymous · 8 months ago
    Try Google411 on the iPhone. It's available today, uses speech to text and provides the requested information back in a text message along with phone number, google map link, etc.

    Much better than (always in the) future Windows features that may or may not work as advertised.

    Plus, who buys Windows Mobile phones anyways!
  • Anonymous · 8 months ago
    Using voice recognition to make text input easier is trying to fix something that's not broken.

    Have you ever seen a 20 year old send a text message? From behind their back with their eyes closed? They prefer to send text than make an actual phone call. The data proves this to be true.

    This might be attractive for the over-50 crowd, but few others will find value. C'mon Microsoft, spend you time on real problems.
  • Bruce Lynch · 8 months ago
    If it saves time and works reliably it may catch on. The list of commands available will be important.
  • Bryan Mistele · 8 months ago
    Note that Monday, Microsoft/TellMe announced an upgrade to their 411 services adding traffic and directions from INRIX. Clearly, Microsoft is beefing up its voice initiatives.

    http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Update...
  • tariq · 8 months ago
    I am trying to understand why a tellme IVR solution available to mobile handsets would be successful today if it was largely unsuccessful with AT&T Wireless back in early 2000. Clearly IVR solutions may have compensated then for poorly designed handset UI and data restricted networks. However, the roll out of higher capacity networks and more efficient mobile UI would suggest a reduction in demand for these voice services. Further to that point, none of the network/handset resident voice services have ever been successful with US carriers. Why would they be successful now?
  • Avatar · 7 months ago
    @tariq: you are seriously comparing networks, hardware,software and market ubiquity of 2009 to 2000?..it will work for the same reason that Touch in computers will work now as it failed to do in 2003. the technology is better, the hardware got more power, the software got more power. everything around them is cheaper and there is a actual market of people that can consume it.
  • Sanjayvc · 7 months ago
    Its not about touch or voice. Its about ease of use, ideally some combination of voice commands augmented by touch will hit the spot for most people.
    As for Directory look-up, historically voice has had a cost associated with it while online has been free. Once both modes are free, i think voice is well suited to provide name and address details.
  • John · 7 months ago
    Baw. Seems awfully slow to me, would rather type in the text I think.
  • tariq · 7 months ago
    Avatar, voice services were underutilized at a time when you would expect them to flourish. That is, during a time when hardware/throughput could not/would not support an intuitive means of acquiring or consuming data from a mobile handset. If it didn't manifest itself then why would we expect voice services to flourish now with the significant advancements in data input/retrieval on the handset? This service will go by the wayside just like every other mobile voice service.
  • Trent · 7 months ago
    OMG, you've never used it and it's freakin free. Try it first and say something when you've got something substantial to say.
  • Kevin · 7 months ago
    The key here isn't to make it faster than texting with a physical keyboard, it's to serve as a compliment to a virtual keyboard for touchscreen devices.
  • Anonymous · 7 months ago
    because great minds around the ppc world have already ported 6.5 to other devices. im currently running WM 6.5 on my HTC Touch Pro and Diamond, but i havent seen that application on the Marketplace yet.
  • joe · 7 months ago
    way too slow!!
  • bob · 7 months ago
    Agreed - way too slow.
  • Talon Pro · 7 months ago
    How about the benefits of NOT texting while you're driving? As a motorcycle rider, i wanna yank certain people out of their vehicles and cram that cell phone somewhere more useful than their hands. This is even when I'm driving my 4 wheeled vehicle too. If people can audibly text vs. physically text while they are driving, via a headset preferably, it would be great. Even better if they would ban cell phone use unless blue tooth is active. This goes for cops too, i see too many of them driving with their phone glued to their ears while people run red lights right in front of them.