Babel to Offer TTS on Texas Instruments' OMAP Processing Platform

MONS, BELGIUM - Babel has made PocketBabil - its Text-to-speech technology - commercially available for Texas Instrument's OMAP wireless processing platform. Mobile devices that feature the platform with PocketBabil embedded, such as 2.5G and 3G handsets and PDAs, will enable mobile users to listen to text messages (SMS), receive spoken feedback, and listen to e-mail and voice prompts. Mobile text messaging is becoming increasingly popular, with over 24 billion text messages sent worldwide in May 2002, according to a recent GSM Association report. The technology will help to prevent mobile phone users from compromising safety while still enjoying the benefits of communication via text message. Paul Werp, worldwide marketing director for TI's OMAP platform, said: "As text-based applications for wireless devices become more prolific, text-to-speech and speech-to-text technology will continue to gain popularity."