Tellme,
a Microsoft subsidiary,
announced the addition of local 'on-the-go' information to its voice portal for
mobile phones. Now instead of typing in a request or scrolling through menus to
find information, people can simply hold down the 'talk' button, say a keyword
and see the results on the phone's screen. Tellme is initially available on
BlackBerry phones and will roll out on future versions of Helio phones.
"Tellme believes in the power of voice to transform how people use
devices," said Mike McCue, founder and general manager of Tellme.
"Tellme delivers an end-to-end experience. As opposed to Web-search
services, Tellme focuses on specific tasks where the request leads to a
specific answer -- like a movie show time, weather info or
driving directions."
Mobile users surfing for information while on-the-go no longer need to
type their location or starting point, Tellme uses global positioning
system (GPS) technology to deliver local information right to the
phone's screen. For example:
-
Business Finder: Say the name of a business or business
category, such as "coffee" or "hardware"
and see the Live Search results with the business address,
driving directions, an option to call the business or
share the listing with a friend. -
Movies: Say the name of a movie theater and see theaters closest
to you, movie show times, driving directions to the theater and
the ability to buy tickets powered by Fandango, the nation's
leading moviegoer destination. -
Traffic: Say "traffic" and get a map with traffic
conditions on major local routes, all using Live Search Virtual Earth. -
Weather: Say "weather" and see a five-day forecast for
your local area or say a different city to see weather for
any other U.S. city. -
Maps: Say "map" and, using GPS and Live Search Maps,
see a map of the local area or say a new city and the map is
automatically updated. -
Driving Directions: Say "driving directions" and speak
or type a destination to see step-by-step directions from your
current starting location.
Building on its leadership in voice services, history with 411 business
search and 1-800-555-TELL voice access to content, Tellme provides the
information people want when they are on-the-go. In the year ahead, the
types of things people can use Tellme's service for will expand to include
more mobile content and communication services.
MOBILE INTERACTIONS: TOUCH VS. TYPE VS. TELLME
While the complexity of the phone is increasing, new interfaces such as touch
are making access to information and services much easier. However even touch
remains a challenging interface to use when walking, driving or multitasking at
home or work. For example, in a touch vs. type vs. Tellme task completion
comparison it took 29 touches vs. 29 keystrokes vs. two voice requests to get
the same task done (in this test, from the launched application, the task was
to find Amici's Pizza, Mountain View, CA). The ability to speak a request and
see the results not only allows faster entry of data but also provides a more
natural, intuitive process for viewing and navigating results.