Mobile voice star Vlingo releases serious update to iPhone app - but you gotta pay

One of the features I’m happiest with on my N1 is the voice translation. On occasion, when I’m too lazy to use my thumbs, I will just speak an SMS into my phone and away it goes. But being a nativeGoogle feature, it’s limited to Android devices. Vlingo provides the same service (and more) for BlackBerry smartphones, Nokia S60 phones, the iPhone and certain WinMo devices. And the iPhone app has gotten a major useability boost today.

MWC: mobile media, voice and operators at Showstoppers

It’s the Sunday night before Mobile World Congress… which means I got to head to Showstoppers and meet some cool people. Showstoppers is a pre-MWC event where bloggers and journalists get to meet with some of the companies who will be exhibiting over the week to come.

It’s all getting a bit Star Trek - Google is working on voice-to-voice translation

Just the other night, as a friend of mine watched YouTube videos over his Wii on his plasma-screen TV, he turned to me and said “sometimes I feel like I’m living in the future.” And I know what he means. Reports have surfaced that Google is working on voice-to-voice translation software, that would take what you say in your language and translate it into another.

Are mobile voice and SMS becoming redundant? UK users waste 45% of their plans

Money Supermarket is an on-line price comparison hub - the site compares products and services across a huge number of areas like travel, energy, home and car insurance… and mobile. It has just released its fourth Mobile Money report, and has found that on average British users waste almost half of their mobile plan [...]

Has Skype jumped the shark with High-Def TV calls?

You’ve got to love CES. It’s like the global hub for digital-convergence fantasies. Nowhere are you more likely to see a combination microwave-radio-cellphone than at the Consumer Electronics Show. But one genuinely interesting hybrid caught my eye. Electronics manufacturers LG and Panasonic have gotten together with Skype, the worlds most popular VoIP client, to create a HDTV with Skype on-board.

Deutsche Telekom claims first LTE voice call using VoLGA

Rating: We’re obviously getting closer to real LTE
It’s frequently overlooked when discussing 4G networks that, besides providing high speed data links, such networks need to carry the boring stuff too – voice and SMS. Well, thanks to the VoLGA Forum, Deutsche Telekom claims it has made the first LTE phone call. Sadly, VoLGA is not [...]

ZTE scorns the safety net with Indian launch of incredibly cheap phones

Chinese mobile manufacturer ZTE has entered the explosive Indian mobile market with a 5 phone line-up of very cheap devices. ZTE has made some interesting choices here. The five devices are SIM free, so they are independent of any operator… which also means they have no operator support or subsidies.

@Mobile 2.0 Karl Good Technical director Truphone on distribution strategy

I started interviewing Karl Good the Application and Technical Director at Truphone at Mobile 2.0 and he started telling me about some press release just launched. I quickly steered the interview away from that and started getting competitive.

What’s this - reasonable mobile roaming rates? Has the whole world gone crazy?

 
So Vodafone has announced that it is abolishing (for the most part) mobile roaming rates for a grand total of three months this summer. Over 35 European countries (some reports say as many as 43) will be part of the new roaming system, which allows Vodafone customers to call and text at the exact same [...]

Mobivox launches a CRM over Voice service for mobile

CRM is critical but I am no fan of IVR. Nevertheless Mobivox has launched a new mobile voice activated services platform.

From the press release:
Mobivox CEO Peter Diedrich introduced CRM over Voice in a presentation at the Emerging Communications Conference (eComm2009) here today.
“Mobivox partners can now perform all-important CRM in the course of service delivery, rather [...]

VoiceFlash Enables Extremely Easy Voice Control of Internet Content

Talk to the Web!
VoiceFlash Enables Extremely Easy Voice Control of Internet Content
Dortmund/Cologne/Barcelona, February 16, 2009
The Information and telecommunications specialist MATERNA  Communications is presenting its patented innovation in the field of web-based and mobile voice applications, unique throughout Europe, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona for the first time: VoiceFlash enables users to systematically control [...]

4DK teams with YAP to Demo Speech Tools for Developers at CTIA

4DK Technologies has teamed with Yap Inc. for Yap’s free-form speech recognition services with various Push-to-Talk services.

4DK.com
Is a solutions interoperability company. It has a product called Super Connectivity that is an enabler of seamless solutions.
Yap
Yap offers a platform for free-form speech recognition, messaging, search and advertising. 
From the press release:
According to Yap CEO Igor Jablokov, [...]

AOL Movifone and Apptera targeted in-call advertising

Apptera’s voice and visual mobile advertising solution will manage and monetize the calls on behalf of AOL Movifone. 

What is the deal?
Basically,  Apptera gets a reach into the movie showtime and ticket-ordering industry, with the MobileAd Xchange now reaching an estimated 100 million callers a year with ads based on their geography and buying preferences.
Example?
If someone [...]

Hidden gem inside One Shot Address Entry

Rating: Nuance’s technology could provide voice search for phones

Speech recognition specialist, Nuance, was recently in London to discuss the results of an In-Car distraction survey. But it was the demo of the company’s One Shot Address Entry software which took my attention.
This software can recognise in real-time a complete street address and is chiefly aimed [...]

Mozes sign up Sony BMG to Connect

Mozes, who are just about to launch a comprehensive CRM called Connect Platinum Edition have announced a mobile marketing deal with Sony BMG. Sony’s artists will be able to communicate to their fans through text, voice and the web.Artists such as Teddy Geiger are already using the service said Mozes CEO Dorrian Porter. He continued [...]

Mobile News for Leaders