Dictate an SMS in 2009

Nuance, the leaders in mobile-phone voice recognition, has announced a new version of their feature-phone software which could potentially enable dictation in SMS, instant messaging and e-mail applications.

Nuance Voice Control 2.0 wraps together a bunch of familiar features, like voice dialing, application launching and Web searching, but adds a flexible programming interface so Nuance can voice-enable any application on a phone. Nuance has already partnered with Oz and Seven, major providers of cell-phone IM and e-mail software, to see how they can work together.

Nuance's existing VSuite product has pretty impressive powers. On existing phones such as Sprint's Samsung Instinct and T-Mobile's Samsung Behold, you can not only dial by name, but you can request playlists and launch applications by voice. You can tell your phone to start an SMS message to a certain person. But once you've started the message, you have to type it in.

Way back in 2005, Nuance predecessor VoiceSignal added dictation to phones with VoiceMode, which appeared on few phones in the US. VoiceMode was a handset-based application with limited power. Since then, Nuance has switched to a server-based model for voice recognition. Its software grabs your voice, turns it into data, uploads it to Nuance's servers, and then gets back a text response which it drops into one of your phone's applications.

Phones with the new dictation abilities are expected to appear in the US market within 6-9 months.

T-Mobile unveiled Samsung Behold and Samsung Gravity in US

Samsung has again made its way in US via T-Mobile. T-Mobile has unveiled two latest mobile devices, Samsung Behold and Samsung Gravity. The Samsung Behold is the Touch screen smart phone while the Samsung Gravity is a message focused smart phone. Both the phones have customized features to woo from low to middle level consumers.

Samsung Behold is an ultra thin phone with a large touch screen display that uses the Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface. This application will allow the user to personalize and modify the phone. It features drag and drop options to shift items easily on the main screen. This will make the phone user-friendly and can get instant access to theses functions. Behold offers a compelling mobile web application experience to the owner. The phone packs in a powerful 5 mega pixel camera with LED flash and video recorder. The phone also comprises a full QWERTY on screen keyboard with haptic feedback. Behold incorporates a built-in GPS and quad band GSM support. Behold claims to offer a super fast transfer of data and superior Wi-Fi application. The internal memory of the phone is 128 MB which can be further expanded with the external microsSD card up to 8GB.

Samsung Gravity is a phone with a convenient slide out QWERTY keyboard. Samsung Gravity has a 1.3 mega pixel camera with video recording facility that will allow the user to capture their special moments whether still or moving. Gravity also supports the T-Mobile’s MyFaves service that will help the user to keep in touch with their beloved.

It is reported that T-Mobile is planning to market the new Samsung models in two years contract agreement under the price tags of $ 49.99 and $150 for Gravity and Behold respectively. In Indian currency, the corresponding prices will be approximately Rs. 2,375 and Rs. 7,125 respectively. The two outstanding mobile phones with each having its unique features are set to release in November. The Samsung Behold smart phone is available from November 10 while Samsung Gravity will be offered from November 17.