Tellme Voice App for Windows Mobile 6.5

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 29 Apr 2009

Tellme, mobile voice company that became a Microsoft subsidiary after being purchased by the Redmond-based software developer a couple of years ago, has announced that the upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system will feature a native Tellme Voice app. According to Microsoft, about 75% of smartphone users would like to take advantage of a voice service such as Tellme, and consequently they would purchase smartphones running windows Mobile if the OS came with the Tellme voice app. Microsoft based these claims on a recent Sanderson Studios Inc. study that showcased how users prefer voice to keypad or touch-based methods of performing some of the most popular mobile tasks.

There are similarities between the Tellme voice app and competing voice services: you press a button to launch the app, you speak out the task you want the app to perform and let the software do its job. The difference between Tellme and the competition is that it lets you dictate an SMS text message to the app and then send it (this is on top of voice search and call by voice). There is one other notable difference: the search by voice option that Tellme provides only searches using Microsoft Live Search – not a good thing if you are looking for diversity with your search.

Senior Director of Consumer Services with Tellme, Dariusz Packzuski, comments: “Because it's so intuitive, we believe there is a real opportunity for voice to materialize as the leading user interface for the phone. By bringing voice access to calling, texting and searching, together we reduce 'menu surfing' on phones and make the benefits of voice more tangible for everyday needs.”

Here is a more in-depth look at how the Tellme voice app will work:
SMS texting: speak out the word “text”, then dictate the SMS content, says “send” followed by the name of one of your contacts when you want to send out that SMS.
Voice calling: speak out the word “call” followed by the name of the contact you wish to contact.
Voice search: simply speak out the search query of your choice and Tellme will use geolocation to provide relevant searches (like for example when you search for “restaurants”). All searches are performed via Windows Live Search.

Tellme for Windows Mobile has been released to manufacturers this week; the general public will have access to the voice app this autumn. The app will come bundled with Windows Mobile 6.5 and will also be made available via Windows Marketplace for Mobile and the mobile optimized Tellme web page.




Latest News


Sony's 'Attack of the Blockbusters Sale' Slashes Prices in Half for a Ton of PS4 Games

17 Aug 2017

How Samsung's New T5 Compares to the Old T3 Portable SSD (Infographic)

17 Aug 2017

See all