Earlier this month, our own Dom Tolli, senior vice president for SpinVox North America, participated on the November 2nd Mobile Monday Los Angeles panel to discuss Mobile Content with fellow panelists (and Mobile Excellence Award finalists!) from OneCast, Rubberduck Media, DIRECTV, Device Anywhere and Fox Mobile. For those not familiar with Mobile Monday, it is a monthly meeting of mobile industry minds held in major cities all around the world. Mobile Monday LA’s chapter focuses on the mobile entertainment industry, bringing together industry executives and Mobile leaders to address compelling issues surrounding market strategies, current trends and revenue generating opportunities in the Mobile Industry.

For a` virtually-there` experience read on!

Kicking off the evening event, MobiTV’s Jack Hallahan cited some interesting stats on mobile content growth – such as analyst firm InStat estimating mobile TV worldwide viewership will expand from today’s 54 million to 300 million by 2013. Jack also highlighted a PriceWaterhouseCoopers statistic that consumers will spend $630 million on mobile applications and content by 2012 – much of which has been spurred by the iPhone with the Android expected to help continue the momentum of growth. Pretty impressive numbers, eh?!

Then it was time for the real fun to begin as the panelists took over! With such a wide cross-section of companies represented each provided a unique point of view on mobile content – where it is and where it is going. Here’s a snapshot of musings….(special thanks to the Mobile Monday L.A. team!).

Fox Mobile Group noted, “….What we’re seeing now, with networks with WiFi and 4G and devices with large screen sizes, advanced processing capabilities, is that mobile is becoming a very good alternative for consumption. It’s the beginning of Internet and mobile merging.”

While relatively new to the mobile space, DIRECTV underscored this trend by noting the success of their DVR scheduler to develop the mobile SuperCast application for watching NFL games live on iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Palm Pre platforms.

And Device Anywhere indicated, “Everyone wants to be able to offer their content on mobile. Entertainment has been a big market… it’s also opening up to traditional portals like healthcare and financial that has mission critical applications that have to work.”

Rounding out the evening’s discussion, SpinVox’ Tolli shared that, “User generated content is where we’re at. The first app we rolled out in 2005 took a voicemail message and turned it into an SMS, which then became usable content on the phone. And, it’s intertwining with all other content media – it won’t dominate but intertwine. And we’re seeing a mainstream emergence of voice as the `new touch `– making your own voice a utility.”

With this rate of innovation it is without a doubt an exciting time for mobile content – increasingly we can personalize and consume it the way we want, and wherever we want – no longer tethered to a TV or PC!

Have a story to share on how you enjoy your mobile content on the go? Drop us a comment!

November 12, 2009

Much has been said about ‘visual voicemail’ the last year or so. As an ever-increasing number of people migrate to smart phones (thanks Apple!) there is ever more discussion of the ‘visual voicemail’ feature offered. But just what is visual voicemail?

Is it the ability to see the voicemails logged on your handset and you choose which one to listen to first (if any at all – instead just calling the person back and have them re-tell you their reason for calling?). Or is visual voicemail really defined by the ability to read the content of your messages as text or email and have embedded in the text/email message options as to how you can choose to respond? We at SpinVox (and Mutare Software) are inclined to go with the latter point of view.

There’s a lot of confusion in the marketplace nowadays – especially as exclusivity deals for the iPhone are coming to an end (for instance in Canada as of November 5th the ‘Big 3’ carriers now all sell the iPhone and in the UK o2’s exclusivity will end this month ). As the ever-coveted iPhone becomes more broadly available ever more people will be exposed to one of the key features routinely associated with this phone – visual voicemail! And many people will be scratching their heads trying to sort out what exactly does this mean and how should I use it?!

I’ve been using the Samsung Instinct for a year-and-a-half now. Visual voicemail, in the former definition above, always left me wanting. I still had to listen to the messages. Living in New York that is not always so easy to do when outside with all the cars honking or siren-blaring vehicles passing by. So in many cases I had to listen to the voicemail several times just to sort out what the person said. Not only annoying but incredibly inefficient!

Now having SpinVox true visual voicemail I can read my messages, file them in email folders, and easily save contact details without having to transcribe the message with pen and paper with the added step of typing the information into my outlook contacts (assuming the paper with the details had not been misplaced or lost!). And best of all I NEVER have to listen to voicemail. I actually cancelled my home phone voicemail service because it was way too cumbersome to have to punch in so many access numbers, PIN codes and menu selection options only to find out it was a hang up call?! Ugh. Are you kidding me?!

As the saying goes – ‘You say “to-may-to”, I say ‘to-mah-to’. But when we talk about visual voicemail we can agree true visual voicemail provides so many more options to us in how we receive, retain and follow-up our voice messages day-to-day. And really, as consumers don’t we demand more and better options to tailor and use a service our way?

Have any visual voicemail stories you’d like to share? Drop us a comment!

November 10, 2009

In today’s blog we talk with Roger Northrop, Director of Business Development for Mutare Software. To learn more about Mutare Software and our partnership read on!

Tell us about Mutare Software. And how long have you been working in partnership with SpinVox?

Mutare Software was founded in 1989. We develop software solutions that leverage an organization’s existing communications infrastructure to streamline costs, automate communications, meet regulatory requirements and make better use of staff resources. Among our best-selling applications is Enabled VoiceMail (EVM), a clientless solution that delivers voicemail messages to the desktop or PDA. Mutare, an Avaya Platinum DevConnect member, partnered with SpinVox one year ago to add the SpinVox voicemail-to-text conversion service to EVM. The joint solution, Speech to Text was launched for Avaya in November 2008; and for Nortel just last month.

What markets are you seeing the biggest growth of speech-to-text applications?

The adoption of speech to text is not so much identified by market as by environments. For instance, it is a solution that is particularly suited to voicemail-centric enterprises with a highly-mobile employee population; global enterprises operating over multiple time zones and with multiple languages; any enterprise focused on responsiveness to customers; and businesses requiring close collaboration between employees. We have seen a lot of enthusiasm with the legal vertical as well because of the added advantage of being able to process and respond to text-converted voicemail messages in environments, such as courtrooms, where listening to those messages is prohibited.

What has been some of the feedback from customers on how they use speech-to-text day-to-day for business? Do you hear a lot from users about not missing the dreaded message light?

Our EVM customers have always told us how much they appreciate the fact that they no longer need to dial into voicemail to access their messages since EVM delivers those messages to their email inbox or PDA. With the added benefit of Speech to Text, they can process those messages even faster, rarely needing to play the message at all. We hear all the time about instances where the increased responsiveness of Speech to Text users has improved customer relationships and colleague collaboration. Our customers are very happy to be able to process voicemail with the same ease and convenience of email – and yes, very happy to not have to worry about what’s “waiting” behind that message light.

Where do you see Mutare Software in the next five years and how do you see the world of business communications changing?

A five-year prediction in an industry that is evolving rapidly is a tough task. However, we think Mutare has always been ahead of the market, and we see a great deal of momentum in the messaging space. Mutare is playing a strong role at the integration level already. This is allowing the applications that we or others build blend voice to text as a natural means of communication – one that is both fun and productive.

So we would say, with our 20 years of experience in the messaging industry, it puts us right in the middle of being a main provider of integrated voice-to-text applications. Speech is unique to humans and is the most powerful method of communication. The technology behind speech in business applications is improving at a rapid pace, paving the way for a more natural, simple way to integrate highly sophisticated applications into our everyday lives.

You were recently invited to keynote for the AVIOS Israel Chapter’s annual conference. First, what is AVIOS and how did you become involved with the organization?

AVIOS (Applied Voice Input/Output Society) is a speech technology association founded in 1981 and with a membership consisting mainly of speech experts.  I started in speech technology in 1984 and many of the others have been around for some time too.  As it’s a small community, everyone pretty much knows everyone else.

With all the incredible technological innovations happening in the region, there must have been a great collection of speakers and attendee companies at the AVIOS Israel event. What are some of the key takeaways you brought with you from the show? Or some of the interesting side conversations that came up?

From the presentations that were in English (rather than Hebrew) and a few side discussions, three things stood out:
1.    Speech technology tends to be concentrated in certain areas – Silicon Valley, Boston, Cambridge UK, etc., and it’s clear from the caliber of the audience that Israel is one of those places.
2.    Speaker verification (voice biometrics that confirm a speaker’s identity) is drawing increasing interest and investment.
3.    There is a resurgence of new R&D for voice message to text conversion.  This is the most difficult problem in speech, but it is crossing the threshold from impossible to possible.  (At the same time, success at SpinVox is proving that there is a market hungry for the technology.)  We see a corresponding uptick in research in this area, including some new efforts in Israel.

Congratulations on presenting as the event’s keynote speaker this year! Tell us about your “Crossing Speech Technology Thresholds” presentation and why you chose that theme to share with this audience. And, what was the reaction to ‘Pedro the Voder’?

Pedro the Voder was the first electronic talking machine, demonstrated at the 1939 World’s Fair.  I showed a bit on how it worked and played an old recording.  The AVIOS audience was entertained, I think, but also realized how far we’ve come in 70 years.  I mentioned the first network-based speech recognizer that understood only three words (1989) and analyzed progress in the 20 years since then.
The presentation showed that the market is eager to adopt speech technology as it becomes ready, but that just having an impressive prototype or even a successful trial does not qualify a service as “ready.”

I also related a few interesting events from the days when speech technology was still new which have never been reported or published.  There have been some astounding breakthroughs over the past 25 years and each breakthrough has enabled a new set of applications.  The latest breakthrough – converting recorded voice messages on any topic from any speaker into text – is triggering a new wave of services in voicemail-to-text, voice-to-SMS, apps for handheld devices, and call center automation.

Your talk included some predictions.  What do you see happening in the next few years?

We can extrapolate from the past and look at the breakthroughs people are working on now to get a reasonable idea where things are headed.  We see data becoming available everywhere and information becoming decentralized.  Combined with our new ability to convert speech into text, we have now fully bridged the gap between data and voice, and we will see more of this available on handheld devices.  Whereas standard voicemail has been on the decline, we see voicemail-to-text driving a dramatic upturn.  We should also expect applications powered by voice-to-text to proliferate, including speech-to-SMS, blogging by voice, and voice powered web search, followed in a few years by language translation, intelligent concierge services, and automated systems that are as easy to talk to as live agents.

Sounds like an interesting presentation, how could I get a copy and learn more?

The paper is available here
And, the presentation is available here

What’s next for you and/or AVIOS?

On January 9th, I’m speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show, a massive conference in Las Vegas.  My topic is “The New User Interface:  Who Needs Buttons and Dials?”  The next AVIOS event is the main annual conference, recently renamed to “Mobile Voice,” in San Francisco April 22-23.

Just in time for the impending hectic holiday season, staying connected in Canada just became a bit easier for Bell Mobility customers. Starting today, Bell Mobility subscribers now have a multitude of plan and pricing options to start taking advantage of Voicemail to Text powered by SpinVox. Bell’s Voicemail to Text service – that converts voice messages to text and delivers them as SMS to the subscriber’s mobile phone – is now included standard as part of the Fun 25, Smart 40 and Smart Combo 100 mobile plans or as unlimited a-la-carte service for just CAN$5/month!

Especially useful as holiday shopping starts to get underway- arms full of packages and the shopping center is piping loud holiday music and listening to voicemail just isn’t feasible. Now while taking a much needed coffee break from shopping or whirling through the grocery store picking up last minute items, Bell Voicemail to Text enables users to read their voicemails as text and text reply back immediately. No more phone calls in the store, yelling to be heard over the crowd and letting everyone know you promise to not forget the Twinkies. With Voicemail to Text you can stay connected to friends, family, and children without slowing down your day to find a quiet place to listen to voicemail or find a mobile signal in the store to make a return call (as text messaging requires much less spectrum to work…one bar connectivity will usually do it!)

Are you in Canada – but not a Bell Mobility customer? You’re in luck! SpinVox-powered voicemail-to-text mobile services are available across more than 95% of Canada in both a-la-carte and mobile rate plans from all ‘Big 3’ Canadian carriers – Bell, Rogers and TELUS.

Already using Voicemail to Text (or Visible Voicemail) in Canada? Drop us a comment on your favorite voice-to-text message experience or tell us the craziest place you’ve received your voice messages as text.

The scenario is familiar in many households today. Dinner is ready and the kids need to come to the table. It used to be that a good yell upstairs would have the kids running to the meal. Nowadays to communicate even within the house requires an SMS update – honestly, how many of you with kids have watched with amazement as they text each other from across the room?!  

And to put some numbers against this, a 2008 study commissioned by AT&T found 73% of parents reported texting was the most effective means of communication with their children. And no wonder, as a June 2009 Neilsen Company report found the average US teen sent  nearly 3,000 text messages a month in Q1 2009, a rise from less than 500 per month in Q1 2007.

So clearly younger folks increasingly prefer text – it forms an integral part of their lives. And while the number of people over the age of 40 are texting more regularly, a vast majority of the adult mobile user population just don’t text to the same extent.  Studies show that the majority of those adults that do text primarily text with their kids – albeit many parents report it would be much faster to just have a phone conversation because the time it takes to text turns a 2-minute conversation to 20 minutes of back-and-forth typing of 160 character messages.

Communications preferences aside, today we have to also take into consideration the long-term effects of texting. HealthDay News recently reported on findings that texting can lead to painful repetitive stress injuries, ‘cell phone elbow’ also known as cubital tunnel syndrome, tendinitis of the wrist and arthritis in the thumb joint, to name a few.  Now texting goes from cumbersome to potentially a health claims issue…where’s the fun in that?!

So all things considered – how to bridge the generation gap with kids that only want to communicate via text? And how can we (and our kids) start veering off the path of thumb texting to avoid or minimize longer term effects of repetitive hand movement? 

Fortunately we are at the right time and right place for an option – speak-a-text. One click of a button and a text can be spoken to any mobile phone user with SMS anywhere in the world. And really isn’t it easier to just say what you mean than have to type it out letter by letter on a tiny mobile phone keypad? Definitely!

Anyone interested in giving speak-a-text a try can call  (980) 939-8785 in the U.S. to speak-a-text to the mobile phone user of your choice.   If you are in the UK you can do the same on 0161 369 5672.   Your thumbs will thank you later – and your kids might finally think you’re cool…!