Speech-enabled technology, designed to make finding, accessing and buying content and services on the mobile a no-brainer, is one step closer to prime time thanks to this deal. Nuance Communications, a provider of voice-enabled solutions, has agreed to buy MobileVoiceControl, a provider of speech-enabled mobile search and messaging services, for an undisclosed sum, according to this press release.
MobileVoiceControl is already available mainly on advanced smartphones offered by Sprint Nextel, as well as the Motorola Q and the Palm Treo 700wx. Users can also download the service from Handango.com. This article in InformationWeek provides a good description of the service as it exists now, and its potential place at the center of new mobile advertising schemes. (To date, rich, dynamic content and advertising is delivered to the MobileVoiceControl service through a strategic content relationship with Gannett Co. and the daily newspaper USA Today. In the future, Nuance expects local content from other news outlets – both print and broadcast – to be available through the MobileVoiceControl application.)
Moving forward, a top app to watch for is speech-enabled mobile search. As this article points out, the money will likely begin to really roll in when service providers link mobile search and advertising, allowing users to literally get what they ask for
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