Mike McCue co-founded TellMe Networks with “the notion of using the Internet so people could pick up a phone, say what they want, and get it. Rather than PCs and browsers, they’d use their voices to navigate the Net. McCue called his vision DialTone 2.0″. Naturally, that failed to take off, and TellMe morphed into providing the voice recognition systems people hear when they call some big companies.
But now they’re back — mobile phones offer a better market for voice searching, not least because they can return information in a non-audio form, something landlines generally lack.
“Skeptics point out that despite technology advances, voice recognition still turns off many consumers, who remember past glitches. But experts say that will change when systems combine voice, text messaging, and graphic info from Web pages. Each mode will be used for what it does best. “People will be using voice to launch into their search, and they’ll want to see the information on a screen,” says David Albright, executive director for marketing for Cingular Wireless, which is working with TellMe.”
Also, people are used to paying for information when they call, so the charges appear normal. “Americans log 6.5 billion calls per year for directory assistance and enhanced 411 services, paying from 50 cents to $1.50 a pop.”
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