[Berryman]

This new free service sounds promissing. It is scheduled for launch tomorrow.
Jott for BlackBerry

CrackBerry addicts love their BlackBerrys above all for the ease and power of e-mail on the go. Suddenly, a brand-new service makes BlackBerry e-mail even easier and more powerful. Just push a button, and reply to messages by talking. The sender gets your reply e-mail as text, with a link to your voice message. If you have a BlackBerry, you need this.

The service is called Jott for BlackBerry. It's free, and it ships tomorrow.

I was really excited to discover Jott's plans for this service, because I'm already a heavy (constant and daily) user of Jott, plus I carry a BlackBerry Pearl, which has a relatively slow-to-use keyboard. I find myself replying to e-mail between flights, while at red lights in the car and other situations where typing is hard and time is limited. I haven't tried it yet, but I expect Jott for BlackBerry to allow me to send far better and more useful replies in less time.

If you're unfamiliar with Jott, it's a free service that lets you call (via speed dial, preferably) a special number they give you. By speaking, you tell the service who you want to send the message to (from a list of contacts you set up). Jott then transcribes your voice message to text, and sends it as an e-mail. Most users send a lot of "Jotts" to themselves as e-mail reminders.

Jott for BlackBerry is software you download to your 8800, BlackBerry Curve or BlackBerry Pearl that integrates seamlessly with the phones' native email function, according to Jott. It doesn't appear as an icon in your apps area. It vanishes into a tiny new function in your BlackBerry's e-mail application. The installation adds two menu items: "Reply with Jott" and "Reply All with Jott". After installation, you'll be able to choose one of those menu items. Your reply will fit right into the thread you're having, and will look and feel like normal e-mail, with the addition of a URL link that plays the audio.

Jott says their service makes e-mail replies about five times faster than typing a reply. The real benefit, however, is that you can give longer and more detailed replies. Rather than typing "I'll call u l8tr" you can say, "OK, that sounds fine. Call Carl and Janet and get them on board, then fax me the report at my home office." In other words, you can finish your business rather than just telling people you'll connect later, which is what many of us end up doing with any cell phone based e-mail reply.

Jott will roll out this week a humorous marketing campaign centered around a malady they invented called "Terse Reply Syndrome" (TRS) for which, of course, Jott for BlackBerry is the cure. The idea is that BlackBerry replies tend to be way too short, because they have to be typed out quickly on the go and on a tiny phone keyboard.

As a longtime TRS sufferer, I'm really excited about Jott for BlackBerry. It sounds like just what the doctor ordered.

Source: ComputerWorld Blogs, March 29 2008
Reply to BlackBerry e-mail hands-free! | Computerworld Blogs

[BBMom]

Site is closed to downloads for at least a week due to overwhelming deamnd -- uggh. I want now! It's Jott fair!! :-D

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[DadTo4XYs]

I tried Jott on my Curve and did not like it. It was faster for me to just call the person back rather than use Airtime to send a an e-mail and/or text message to someone, along with a recording. Its just not worth it to me. now if there was an application that would transcribe a message and just sent a text or reply, THAT I would get.

[crzyenuf2]

Went to the website as instructed and completed instructions....still no luck,...Suggestions????

[Mini2Go]

They had to temporarily close the Beta, but it is back open again.

Unfortunately, I cannot seem to get logged in for the download. I keep getting bounced back to the blank login page. Anyone else tried successfully since it re-opened on Monday?

[sandydurst]

I keep have the same problem - i'm asked to recheck my entries

[sunkast]

Here's something that strikes me as a little odd... Okay so you are going to read an email, then phone in your reply? While there's nothing wrong with that, I just find it kind of dumb to be able to read an email but then phone in a response. It would be cooler if it could read my email to me and then take my response.

[mzshey2x]

Mmm.. I've tried it & its not too bad. My PA showed it to me since she thought it was pretty neat.

I used it in my office & had no problems since it was quiet. The service might find it hard to understand you in a place w/ a lot of traffic.

Syncing Jott w/ IWantSandy.com was something my PA did that I thought was useful. Its nice to be able to phone in reminders, appointments, & etc.



Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[adammcclain]

What I have not heard anyone comment on so far is that you can only record a 30 second reply to an email. The service is super cool don't get me wrong, I just think that for more detailed responses to an email this might not be the most efficient tool to use.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[jbraman]

Well I downloaded it. Everything worked right the first time. The only negative to it is the time it takes to transcribe. Other than that I love it.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[cate]

oooh, i'm going to play with this for a little bit.

[Berryman]

Question re: special telephone number issued by Jott via which you send your return voice attachment.

Is this a US telephone number? Alternatively, as the Jott user sets up their account, does Jott provide a list of local numbers within several countries from which to choose from?

[Mini2Go]

I'm still unable to login for this download. I keep hoping that someone from Jott is watching these threads and will come to my aid. As happy of a Jott user as I've been, I'm just as frustrated that this won't work for me. I have tried everything I can think of, bar wiping my BB.

[Mini2Go]

Question re: special telephone number issued by Jott via which you send your return voice attachment.

Is this a US telephone number? Alternatively, as the Jott user sets up their account, does Jott provide a list of local numbers within several countries from which to choose from?

AFAIK, they only offer toll-free US and Canadian numbers.

[Berryman]

AFAIK, they only offer toll-free US and Canadian numbers.

Thanks for the info. Thought that might be the case, that's pretty short sighted and narrow visioned.

[Mini2Go]

Thanks for the info. Thought that might be the case, that's pretty short sighted and narrow visioned.

Well, keep in mind it is still considered Beta. I have no idea what their long-range plans might include.

Not that this helps you much, but a similar service ReQall offers UK numbers.

[ofotay]

I'm hoping someone who is Jott savvy is monitoring this thread, as I haven't gotten an answer to a Jott question I posted elsewhere, which is this:

Every time I use Jott for Blackberry, I get *two* unread messages. The problem is that I don't actually get the unread messages, I just get two more added to the number next to the envelope signaling "unread messages" on my blackberry. I can't get rid of these alleged unread messages because they don't seem to exist anywhere. How can I stop Jott from making it look like I have unread messages?

Thanks,
Kevin