Speech Technology eWeekly - December 01, 2004

Q & A

Mitch Mandich, CEO, Edify

Mitch Mandich, CEO of Edify, explains that a company's main motivation to invest in speech is the pain that exists for customers and companies alike who suffer from poor customer service.

Speech Technology News

VoicInt Signs Agreement with T-Com on RCI Development

Ralf Rottmann announced an agreement with T-Com to certify VoicInt's capabilities as a preferred partner for T-Com's recently released Routing Configuration Interface (RCI) service.

GEOCOMtms and Vocantas Automate Home Delivery

ATLANTA, Ga. & OTTAWA, Ontario - GEOCOMtms announced that it has teamed up with Vocantas Inc. to bring automated customer self-service and home delivery scheduling to the retail industry.

Vodafone Expands Launch of Speaking Phone to Speech-Enable Handsets for Blind and Low-Vision Customers

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Vodafone is expanding its offering of ScanSoft® SpeechPAK TALKS™ application for blind and low-vision customers across Europe.

iVoice Speech Enables Bergen County Utilities Authority

MATAWAN, N.J. - The Bergen County Utilities Authority of Little Ferry, N.J. has installed an iVoice Speech-Enabled Auto Attendant with directory service.

Neoris Selects VoiceGenie for Truancy Alert Management System in Educational Sector

TORONTO - Neoris selects VoiceGenie Technology's VoiceXML 2.0-certified platform, NeXusPoint™, for Neoris' speech-driven truancy alert management application deployed at the Forth Worth Independent School District (FWISD) in Texas.

MacSpeech Releases iListen 1.6.6

SALEM, N.H. - MacSpeech has released version 1.6.6 of its iListen software.

Uniqall Joins The Envox Worldwide Developer Program

ZAGREB, Croatia - Uniqall announced that the company has joined the Envox Developer Program, formalizing the software development efforts between the two companies.

Wizzard Software Begins Shipping Talking Pill Bottle Starter Kit to Customers

PITTSBURGH - Wizzard Software and its subsidiary, MedivoxRx Technologies, announced that the Company has begun fulfilling orders and distributing its new Rex the Talking Bottle Starter Kit for personal use.

Acapela Gives Mona Lisa the Say in a Paris Museum

At the heart of 31 different animations looking at sound, Acapela opens up a dialog between Mona Lisa and the visitor.

NEC America Selects ART Voice Control for Its New NEC 232E Mobile Handsets

ATLANTA - ART Advanced Recognition Technologies announced that NEC America, Inc. (NEC) has selected the smARTspeak® NG embedded speech interface for its recently launched NEC 232E+ High Definition Mobile++ (HDM) handset.

HeyAnita Launches Rapid Message Service v2.0

HeyAnita unveiled version 2.0 of its patent-pending Rapid Message Service (RMS) software.

SpeechNet Recognized in the East African Shores

SpeechNet won the Best Existing ICT Business award at Kenya's ICT business plan competition.

IBM Voice Toolkit Preview Available for Download from Alphaworks

Voice Toolkit Preview extends the new IBM Rational Software Development Platform with voice application development capabilities.

Nuance Voice Platform Named a Top Market Leader

Nuance Voice Platform was named a "Top Market Leader" by analyst firm Forrester Research in its December 8 Forrester Wave report, Evaluating Speech Self-Service Platforms.

Who Are You Talking To?

LONDON - A new service offering companies the chance to identify the voice of an agent that best suits their business is launched by Fluency.

Apptera Rolls Out New Packaged Speech Applications for Financial Services Market

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Apptera™ announced availability of the latest packaged speech applications in the company's Financial Services Suite.

Japanese Robot to Chat with Elderly

TOKYO - Japan's growing elderly population will be able to buy companionship in the form of a 45-centimeter (18-inch) robot, programmed to provide small talk.

Pronexus Introduces CT Advance

OTTAWA, Canada - Pronexus Inc. announced an upgrade program for users of CT ADE, the Intel® NetMerge™ Computer Telephony Application Development Environment.

Diaphonics Provides Biometric Voice Verification for National Association for Variable Annuities' Electronic Signature Initiative

Diaphonics has partnered with Signix to provide a platform for the electronic signing of legal documents for the NAVA E-signature working group.

Acapela Gives a Voice to EDA's New Belgian Directory Service

EDA enters the voice-based directory assistance market with the launch of the new 1313 (thirteen thirteen) directory service in Belgium.

MM Group Handles Customer Request Peaks with Speech

LONDON - Virtual agents are proving helpful in supporting MM Group staff handle peaks in customers requesting information, as callers welcome the new interactive voices over touchtone systems.

Knowles Acoustics and austriamicrosystems Form Strategic Partnership

ITASCA, Ill. - Knowles Acoustics and austriamicrosystems announced they have signed a strategic agreement detailing their shared vision for the advancement of surface mount microphone technology.

Speedy and Quantifiable Returns Necessary to Take Speech-IVR Systems to the Brink of Mainstream Acceptance

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan,reveals that revenue in the U.S. IVR industry totaled $551.6 million in 2003.

Avaya Communications Network to Link 30,000 Washington, D.C Government Employees and Save Over $10 Million Annually

WASHINGTON - The District of Columbia has selected a new converged communications solution from Avaya for a citywide voice network that will support 30,000 government employees.

Global Reach for VSP Offering from MAP Telecom and Voxpilot

MONACO and DUBLIN - MAP Telecom has extended the reach for deployed voice solutions to 53 countries covering all five continents.

Telstra Scores $185M Centrelink Voice Contract

Centrelink has awarded its managed voice services contract to Telstra in a contract worth $185 million over five years.

Synergy Research Group Ranks Avaya Number One in Enterprise IP Telephony

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - New market information, reported by industry analyst firm Synergy Research Group, places Avaya number one in worldwide enterprise IP telephony revenue and IP telephony lines shipped in the third quarter of 2004, the most recent quarter measured.

Aer Lingus Automates Flight Reservation Calls Using Voxify Automated Agents

ALAMEDA, Calif. - Aer Lingus Airlines, Ireland's national carrier, and Voxify announced a deal whereby Voxify has been charged to support the airline's phone reservations.

Unveil Technologies and Genesys Form Strategic Relationship to Deliver Conversational Speech Self-Service Systems

WALTHAM, Mass. & SAN FRANCISCO - Unveil Technologies, Inc. and Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc. announced that Unveil has joined the Genesys InterActs Partner Program as a strategic member.

Cirque and ART Will Co-market Touchpad Input Solutions That Recognizes Handwriting in Auto Applications

ATLANTA, Ga. and SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - ART Advanced Recognition Technologies and Cirque Corporation announced that they are working together to provide a touchpad solution for automotive applications.

MacSpeech Announces New Transcription Solution

SALEM, N.H. - MacSpeech releases the iListen Transcription Solution Professional 4000.

IQ Technology Selects Wizzard Software for IQ-Alert

IQ Technology selected Wizzard Software's AT&T Natural Voices TTS Telephony Server edition for use in their IQ-Alert Emergency Notification System.

Second Edition of Talk to Santa Application is Back to Enchant Children

MONTREAL, Quebec - Talk to Santa Claus application enables callers of any age to have an interactive and personalized chat with Santa over the holiday season.

MERA Announces SIP Registrar

TORONTO - MERA Systems, Inc. announced the availability of SIP registrar functionality in its MVTS Session Controller.

Unisys Predicts Differentiated Bundled Services Will Drive Telecom Sector in 2005

Telecommunications companies will focus on revenue growth and bundled services in 2005 after several years of deferred capital investment and concentration on cost reduction, say industry consultants at Unisys.

Paracon Adds Pronexus Computer Telephony and Speech Development Tools to Product Offering

OTTAWA & GREENVILLE, Canada - Pronexus Inc. and Paracon announced that they have reached a distribution agreement.

MacSpeech Releases Video Training for iListen

SALEM, N.H. - MacSpeech announced it has released a new training video on CD for its iListen program.

Animated & Speech Enabled Characters by Inovani

Inovani has selected Acapela's TTS to voice enable its animation engine.

Metaphor Announces Three New Customers for its Packaged Speech IVR Applications

WELLESLEY, Mass. - Metaphor Solutions announced that Pull-A-Part, Wolpoff & Abramson, and Apptix signed up to deploy Metaphor's packaged applications for their speech IVR requirements.

Readspeaker's Voice-on-the-Web Services Spread

Readspeaker in Europe is equipping Web sites with Acapela's text-to-speech technology.

Gionee Selects ART smARTspeak XG as Voice Recognition Standard for Its Line of Mobile Phones

ATLANTA, Ga. - Gionee Corporation has selected the smARTspeak® XG embedded speech interface from Advanced Recognition Technologies (ART) as the voice recognition standard for its new line of handheld phones.

European Carrier Deploys MERA's Session Controller for International Traffic Exchange

TORONTO - GTS-Datanet announced that it has deployed MERA's MVTS Session Controller.

VoiceObjects and VoicInt Sign Agreement

VoicInt signed an agreement with VoiceObjects regarding their framework for custom VoiceXML applications.

Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) Endorses ScanSoft SpeechPAK TALKS

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - RNIB has signed an extended agreement to offer ScanSoft® SpeechPAK TALKS™ to individuals who are blind or visually impaired throughout the United Kingdom.

ScanSoft Unveils RealSpeak Telecom 4.0

ScanSoft announced the release of RealSpeak Telecom 4.0, a text-to-speech (TTS) solution for conversational call center and carrier-based applications worldwide.

Paraxip Technologies Unveils New IP Telephony Products

MONTREAL, Canada - Paraxip Technologies released Paraxip Gateway 1.1 and launched Paraxip IP Record, a SIP-based call recording solution.

Adidas Launches Interactive Point of Sale Experience to Promote David Beckham Predator Pulse Collection

PORTLAND, Ore. - Adidas has partnered with Angel.com to create a unique shopping experience for the soccer fan.

Loquendo Unveils Loquendo TTS Director

Loquendo has released Loquendo TTS 6.4, which includes an application development enhancement: Loquendo TTS Director.