Speech Technology eWeekly - May 01, 2004

Q & A

John Shea, Vice President of Product Marketing & Management, Nuance Communications

This week, NewsBlast caught up with John Shea, Nuance's vice president of product marketing and management, to discuss two recent announcements of new Nuance offerings: Nuance Flexible Application SuitesTM and Nuance Voice Platform 3.0.

Speech Technology News

ScanSoft Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit against ART Technologies

PEABODY, Mass. - ScanSoft Inc. has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc.

TranscriptionGear.com Certifies the Acoustic Magic's Voice Tracker Array Microphone

TranscriptionGear.com has tested and "certified" the Voice Tracker array microphone from Acoustic Magic.

Preferred Voice Appoints New Chairman and CEO and Raises $1 Million

DALLAS - Preferred Voice Inc. announced that it has appointed former Microsoft executive Latif Nathani, as chairman and CEO, and has raised $1 million in a private placement of equity securities.

Kodak Selects Edify for ASR Application

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Kodak utilizes Edify for business processes and customer service.

Lyrix Announces Numberless PeopleFind Conferencing

PeopleFind Conferencing builds on PeopleFind's command of phonetic directories to offer speech control of spontaneous conferences as well as Web controls for traditional meet-me conferences.

Tell-Eureka Names Hubbell and Krogh to Lead VUI Team

NEW YORK - LevelOne Virtual CSR technical support application achieves 90 percent caller satisfaction rate.

Audium Names Scott Ganson Vice President of Sales

NEW YORK - Ganson has more than 20 years of senior sales, business and channel development experience and will assume responsibility for worldwide sales at Audium.

Commetrex Names Kinra to Head Western Region Sales

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Kinra will direct the company's marketing operations for the region from its newly opened office in San Jose, Calif.

Eicon Networks Joins Nuance Partner Program

LONDON - Diva™ Server V-Series line of products integrated with Nuance technology

Newfound Communications Launches Nuance Voice Platform Start Kit featuring the Paraxip Media Gateway

Opens new channel to offer VoiceXML speech systems to developers and SME market

ScanSoft Introduces Steffi, Female German TTS Voice

LONDON - Steffi is the first in a series of new TTS voices to be introduced.

Telisma Introduces teliSpeech

PARIS - Driven by a user-centric approach, teliSpeech has been conceived to anticipate market requests for free expression, real-time interactivity and customization.

Empirix Solution Monitors Contact Center Technology

WALTHAM, Mass. - AT&T Wireless is among the first to use OneSight for contact centers to monitor its "other workforce" - its automated systems.

Teleperformance USA Awards Contract to Genesys

SAN FRANCISCO - Company will deliver Genesys Voice Platform and Genesys Framework as hosted service.

Brooktrout Adds Burger to Team

NEEDHAM, Mass. - Eric Burger has joined the Brooktrout team as vice president, chief technology officer of Next-Gen Communications.

ScanSoft Speech System Deployments Receive Industry Innovation Awards

PEABODY, Mass.— : Verizon and The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Deployments chosen by Speech Technology Magazine for increasing customer satisfaction and improving operations ScanSoft Speech System Deployments Receive Industry Innovation Awards

PhoneAnything Secures First "Web-over-Phone" Contract

LONDON - United Kingdom citizens can now access the full range of information available on DCMS's Web sites by dialing a special local-rate phone number.

Intervoice Teams with Apptera to Offer Applications to Financial Services

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Alliance will drive broader adoption of voice-self-service across enterprise.

Aculab Announces Support for Nuance 8.5 and Nuance Voice Platform

MILTON KEYES, UK - Aculab's Audio Provider now supports Nuance™ 8.5, as well as Nuance Voice Platform™.

Emerging Technologies and PACC Electronic Engineering Form SPEAKATEL

CAIRO and ABU DHABI - The new company will focus on the delivery of Arabic and multilingual speech recognition solutions.

Vianix Ports MASC to Texas Instruments Digital Signal Processors

Vianix has ported its MASC (Managed Audio Sound Compression) technology to Texas Instrument's (TI) TMS320C54x, TMS320C55x, and TMS320C64x DSP generations.

W3C Announces CCXML Last Call Working Draft

The W3C Voice Browser Working Group has published the "last call working draft" of CCXML.

Voxify Announces Partnerships with BeVocal, ScanSoft, and Vocomo

Allows Voxify clients to select speech technologies through a single point of contact

Loquendo and MET France Realize CRM Voice Portal for Marionnaud

TURIN, Italy - Loquendo and MET SA announce the launch of the CRM voice application for Marionnaud, the European chain of perfumeries.

Viecore Implements New Solution at DTE Energy

Viecore and DTE Energy receive Most Innovative Solution Award.

Wizzard Closes Acquisition of MedivoxRx Technologies

Wizzard plans to market "Rex" to pharmacies in the United States immediately.

LG Electronics Selects ART to Supply Advanced Cell Phone Voice Control

ATLANTA, Ga. - Speech interface smARTspeak XGT will be added to new high-end CDMA phone.

Astute Solutions Partners with Unveil Technologies

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Astute Solutions and Unveil Technologies announce a strategic partnership that will accelerate the implementation of voice-based, self-service strategies.

Motorola and WorldGate Announce Distribution of Ojo™ Video Phone

TREVOSE and HORSHAM, Pa. - Motorola and WorldGate Communications Inc. announce an exclusive multi-year agreement for the worldwide development and distribution of the Ojo™ personal video phone.

Envox 6 Offers VXML, Speech, Web Services and VoIP Capabilities in Single Standards-based Platform

WESTBOROUGH, Ma. and STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - Platform optimized for deployment of voice solutions

Nuance Introduces FASt

Nuance FASt was architected to meet the needs of both Nuance customers and partners and to empower them to change and maintain the applications themselves.

Sterling Audits Offers Clients Multi-Channel Contact Options

LAS VEGAS - Sterling Audits announced enhancements to its customer contact options.

Loquendo Technology Powers INOV Platform Solutions

TURIN, Italy - Loquendo and INOV signed a value added reseller agreement whereby Loquendo's multilingual TTS and ASR engines will be offered within INOV's platform.

Loquendo Announces Appointment of Marco Romagnoli

TURIN, Italy - Loquendo appoints Marco Romagnoli CEO.

Voxeo and TARGUSinfo Partner to Deliver Name and Address Capture

ORLANDO, Fla. - Voxeo Corporation and TARGUSinfo announce a comprehensive partnership combining TARGUSinfo's name and address capture services with Voxeo's Interactive Voice Response platforms, hosting and developer solutions.

Pronexus Awarded 2004 Canadian Innovation of the Year

OTTAWA, Canada - Telephony and speech company recognized for technological vision, excellence and economic impact.

Motorola's M900 Car Phone Utilizes Clarity CVC Software

M900 car phones are now available in Israel.

ART Responds to ScanSoft Lawsuit

TEL AVIV, Israel - The board of directors and the management team at ART consider this suit baseless, frivolous and completely without merit.

SAFLINK Selected for National Biometric Security Project

BELLEVUE, Wash. - SAFLINK to assist NBSP's biometrics for national security program to meet goals established by U.S. policymakers.

AVST Selected as 2004 Entrepreneurial Award winner from Frost & Sullivan

Foothill Ranch, Calif. - Winner of the Frost & Sullivan 2004 Entrepreneurial Award for demonstrating entrepreneurial ability through its accomplishments and leadership in the speech solutions market.

Cellcom Launches its First Public Speech CRM Service in Four Languages Based on NSC ASR Engine

TEL-AVIV, Israel- The service provides roaming information and pricing in English, Hebrew, Russian and Arabic for Cellcom's 2.3 Million Subscribers

Acoustic Technologies' Hands-Free Car Kit Now Shipping

MESA, Ariz. - Acoustic Technologies announces the general availability of the ATR3001CK hands-free car kit reference design and development kit.

Philips Speech Processing and Language and Computing partner to further digitalize medical reporting

VIENNA, Austria and RESTON, Va. - Philips Speech Processing (PSP) and Language and Computing (L&C) announce a commercial and technological co-operation agreement

VAS Signs Basic Employment Verification Pilot

WOODSTOCK, Ga. - VAS International has signed an agreement with the SSA and INS to implement a pilot program to provide employment eligibility verification services for employers.

Loquendo and VoiceWeb SA sign VAR Agreement

TORINO, Italy - VoiceWeb will exclusively distribute Loquendo's products in Greece and Cyprus as a value added reseller

The Great Voice Company appoints new National Sales Director

ENGELWOOD CLIFFS, N. J. - The Great Voice Company announced that it has appointed Clay Toye as National Sales Director to oversee all existing and new business opportunities.

SautinSoft Releases HTMLtoRTF Converter 2.5

HTMLtoRTF Converter is a software utility that takes a Web page and converts it to .rtf file that can be used in any word-processor.

Frost & Sullivan Names ScanSoft Market Share Leader in North American Telephony Speech Market

From TMC.net, Copyright 2004PEABODY, Mass. - SpeechWorks division of ScanSoft surpasses competitors in market share for speech technology licenses and professional services.

SBC Communications Honors ScanSoft

PEABODY, Mass. - ScanSoft was one of a group of 39 suppliers honored for their work in helping SBC deliver outstanding service to its customers.

MicFlex Certified For Use With MacSpeech iListen

HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. - MacMice announces its new MicFlex USB microphone has been officially certified for use by MacSpeech with their iListen speech recognition software

Arcosoft's RunFAX Joins Eicon Networks' ETP Program

PLANO, Texas - Eicon Networks Corporation announces Arcosoft's RunFAX fax server support for the Eicon Diva Server platform.

IBM Outlines New Software Model

SOMERS, N.Y. - IBM's new server-managed client model enables customers to centrally manage, provision and immediately deploy key business applications and data to a range of client devices.

Voxware's new VLS-410 Wireless computer now shipping

PRINCETON, NJ - Faster processor, extended battery life, new smart charger, and VoiceXML architecture combine for new wearable computer offering. Industrial-Strength Voice Technology

SandCherry and Pario Solutions Announce VAR Agreement

BOULDER, Colo. and KINGSTON, Jamaica - Pario Solutions to resell SandCherry advanced speech-enabled solutions in Caribbean market.

Witness Systems Appoints Senior Executive

LONDON and ATLANTA - Witness Systems announces the appointment of Steve Allen to senior vice president of international operations.

Witness Systems Extends Call Visualization Capabilities

ORLANDO and ATLANTA - New integration helps companies visualize their database of customer call characteristics and replay recorded interactions to identify trends and patterns.

Voxpilot and MAP Telecom Sign Distribution Agreement for the Middle East

MONACO and CHATILLON - Partnership creates a bridge between Europe and the Middle East.

Acoustic Technologies Introduces Speakerphone IC

MESA, Ariz. - Acoustic Technologies introduces the ATH3000 full-duplex speakerphone integrated circuit for improved sound quality in telephony applications.

Voxpilot and Eureka Soft Announce Merger at Voice World 2004

LONDON - The new company will be presenting its portfolio of complete solutions for mobile and fixed-line operators, service providers and enterprises worldwide.

China's Capital Train Station Selects InfoTalk's Technology

BEIJING and HONG KONG - Beijing train station's first automated information system enhances travelers' overall satisfaction with faster information access.

AVST Adds "Acknowledge" Feature

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. - Patent-pending feature allows call recipients to acknowledge callers even when they are not immediately available to take calls.

ScanSoft Unveils OpenSpeech Recognizer 3.0

PEABODY, Mass.- Release draws on merged company assets to deliver Increased performance and broad language portfolio

Voxeo VoiceCenter 5.5 Supports W3C CCXML Last Call Working Draft

ORLANDO, Fla. - Voxeo Corporation announces Voxeo VoiceCenter 5.5.

Copytalk Announces New Mobile Dictation Service

SARASOTA, Fla.- A "compliance friendly" service addressing industry privacy and security needs.

AudioCodes Announces Acquisition of Ai-Logix

LOD, Israel - Acquisition to expand AudioCodes' voice over packet communications boards business into the call logging and recording market.

MacSpeech Releases ScriptPak for QuickBooks Pro 6

SALEM, N.H. - MacSpeech offers several iListen packages, including a software only solution for $99 and a software and headset with microphone for $149.

Eicon Networks Joins Nuance Partner Program

From marketWIRE, Copyright 2004PLANO, Texas - Eicon Networks Corporation announces that it has joined the Nuance Partner Alliance Program as a Technology Partner.

Genesys Honors Application Developers at G-Force 2004

SAN FRANCISCO - Apptera, NetByTel and Unveil Technologies were the three category finalists, with Unveil named as the ultimate "Genesys Voice Idol 2004."

ScanSoft Introduces SpeechPAK 1.0 for Utilities

PEABODY, Mass. - ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT) introduced SpeechPAK™ 1.0 for Utilities, its latest vertically-focused suite of packaged speech application offerings.

Envox 6 Now Available

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. and STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - Platform optimized for rapid application development to accelerate deployment of voice solutions.

Chefs Convey Orders by Voice while Making Sushi

TOKYO, Japan - Industry's conveyor-belt sushi order-recognition system uses IBM voice-recognition technology.

ScanSoft and Infinity Telecom Partner

PEABODY, Mass. - Companies leverage expertise to offer dictionary functionality on mobile devices.

Nuance Announces Winners of Inaugural Voice Industry Partner Awards

Orlando, Fla. - New Awards Program Recognizes Nuance's Partners and Their Commitment to the Expanding Voice Automation Market