1. jastop's Avatar
    I beleive that Nuance is the OEM that makes the voice control functionality for the Storm (and many other phones). They just announced what looks like a pretty significant upgrade. Maybe some of this functionality will come to the Storm soon?


    February 11, 2009 08:00 AM Eastern Time
    Nuance Unveils NVC 2.0 for Mass Market Mobile Devices
    Brings Open Voice Search, Mobile Message Dictation and Full Command and Control to Feature Phones and Smartphones

    BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN), a leading provider of speech solutions, today announced the availability of Nuance Voice Control (NVC) 2.0, a customizable modular framework that allows operators and handset OEMs to speech enable any feature, application, or network service on any mobile device they bring to market, including feature phones.

    The next generation of NVC integrates VSuite, the most widely distributed embedded command and control application currently available on more than 300 million phones worldwide, with Nuance�s innovative Open Voice Search (OVS), Mobile Messaging, and the ability to inform and launch any native or third-party mobile application. NVC 2.0 is the industry�s first mobile solution that includes speech recognition on the device, seamlessly integrated to speech recognition in the network. Further, NVC 2.0 is platform, operating system, and search engine agnostic, allowing operators to reach mass market consumers on a variety of devices quickly.

    This innovative suite of speech capabilities includes:

    Voice activated dialing: �Call Mom�s mobile�
    Free-form Web search: �Find tickets to Red Sox game.�
    Text or email message addressing and dictation: �Send text to Kate Smith; Hey Kate, Let�s meet at the lobby bar in 20 minutes and then go to the concert.�
    Music search: �Get Love Story by Taylor Swift�
    Navigation: �Find Directions to 159 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts�
    Games: �Go to BubbleSmile�
    Social media applications: �Go to Twitter�
    And any other feature or service operators and OEMs want to voice enable.
    All commands can be launched from the idle screen to maximize the user experience, and the graphic presentation is fully integrated with the existing branded applications on the device.

    �There is a clear demand in the broader consumer market for fully speech-enabled mobile devices, and NVC 2.0 finally gives operators and OEMs the platform to deliver against that demand,� said Mike Thompson, senior vice president and general manager, Nuance Mobile. �NVC 2.0 was designed with the entire mobile ecosystem in mind, but specifically focused on mobile operators and the services they provide for search, messaging and additional over the air consumer-generated content. Elevating the accessibility of these features increases the opportunity for both operator and handset consumer loyalty and the opportunity for increased revenue per user.�

    �For operators and OEMs to see a true ROI, they need to ensure these services are easily accessible to the mass market,� said John Jackson, vice president of research, CCS Insight. �As these speech solutions become more intelligent and pervasive across, within and among applications, they�ll be an important factor in helping the mobile market realize new revenues and increased customer loyalty.�

    As VSuite ships on millions of devices today, operators and OEMs are able to quickly take advantage of NVC 2.0 and help drive new operator and OEM search revenues through greater discovery, access, and usage of search applications. Additionally, users engage NVC 2.0 directly from the idle screen at the push of a button, making it very easy to jump directly to an operator�s purchase page in their online music store or to search results with targeted advertising � generating additional revenue opportunities. Operators can also generate new revenues from bundled messaging packages, since NVC 2.0 allows users to dictate completely open-ended text or e-mail messages. This feature is based on Nuance�s state-of-the-art Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition technology, used by millions of people worldwide.

    Mobile Industry Commentary

    �As a leader in handset innovation, Samsung invested early in the requirements definition, development and testing of NVC 2.0. We have worked with Nuance to integrate VSuite into many of our devices and found its use in navigation, Web search, and dictation both logical and intuitive,� said Omar Khan, senior vice president, Strategy, Product Management and Customer Service, Samsung.
    �In working with Nuance to bring voice command and control to our feature phones, it�s clear that they�ve invested significant resources in making speech a pervasive yet reliable interface for the broader mobile market,� said S. Jay Yim, Ph.D., executive vice president, chief marketing officer, Pantech.
    �The accuracy and performance of Nuance�s Open Voice Search feature is extraordinary. We tested it integrated to the Medio Web Search application for months and found it to be highly accurate and highly addictive,� said Rob Lilleness, president and chief operating officer, Medio Systems, Inc.
    Pricing and Availability

    The NVC 2.0 framework is available to mobile operators and OEMs today in more than 20 languages. ...
    02-11-09 07:42 AM
  2. marshalp's Avatar
    WOW, this looks cool!
    02-11-09 08:29 AM
  3. icmedia's Avatar
    If someone integrates this into the Storm, I would be very excited... I never use voice dialing anymore since it brings up contacts that start with the letter S when I ask for one that starts with the letter B.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    02-11-09 08:34 AM
  4. selmeralto's Avatar
    I wonder if anyone has an update on whether the latest Nuance Voice Control program is available for Storm. I checked the Nuance website and couldn't see where to get the program and/or whether it works with Storm.

    I'm a long-time user of Nuance Dragon Naturally Speaking voice recognition software for the computer. It's very sophisticated. Right now I'm using Vlingo on the Storm. It works pretty well but I'm intrigued about the Nuance possibility. Thanks.
    03-02-09 06:42 AM
  5. TheChampJT's Avatar
    It's just like M$ Voice Command preinstalled on most of the WM devices. It's pretty cool, especially when it doesn't need to be "trained". But it's not something I would pay for.
    03-02-09 06:59 AM
  6. selmeralto's Avatar
    Thanks. Do you know where I can get it?
    03-02-09 07:30 AM
  7. Marvelous7325's Avatar
    Im probably going to get flamed for this one....with this we probably won't be able to make the phone louder, it's just to use voice commands(?)
    03-02-09 09:25 AM
  8. selmeralto's Avatar
    Marvelous, you're probably right: the software will probably only control voice recognition.

    For others who are interested, you might want to look at the features list at the Nuance website. Google Nuance Voice Control and look for the datasheet.
    03-02-09 09:36 AM
  9. selmeralto's Avatar
    It took a few phone calls to Nuance but here is the latest story, as of March 2, 2009.

    Version 1.0 had been available by subscription through the carriers, except Verizon. Verizon users could subscribe to 1.0 through Handango. BUT 1.0 is being phased out.

    2.0 is ready and it works with the Storm(!). However, Nuance hasn't yet worked out the deals with carriers. So we must wait for the deals to be cut and a subsequent announcement.
    03-02-09 10:07 AM
  10. PavementPilot's Avatar
    This is nice, but like 50% of the public that tries to use voice apps, their voice isint recognized properly. I removed my VAD because of this. It is leaps and bounds ahead for speech commands though.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    03-02-09 10:27 AM
  11. selmeralto's Avatar
    Fair enough, but everything depends on the quality of the product at hand. Nuance is the world leader in voice recognition software for the computer. I've been using it extensively for years. That's why I'm hopeful about their adapting their technology to mobile devices. We'll only know when 2.0 becomes available and we start getting field reports.
    03-02-09 10:34 AM
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