Voice is choice with Bing

Thursday 08 October 2009 | By Heidi Scott, Gosh! Media Copywriter

In the US, Sprint Wireless has announced the launch of its new Samsung Intrepid Smartphone, which is the first mobile to feature Microsoft's brand-new voice user interface, Tellme.

Available in the States from October 11, the new mobile will allow users to search the web with Bing, compose a text message or dial a friend by simply talking instead of typing. The phone features a dedicated Tellme button, which users press when they want the device to 'listen'.

Samsung Intriepid & Microsoft's Tellme

The Intrepid has been designed to meet the needs of what are known in the industry as 'multitasking scenarios' – when a user is either on the move or so involved in other activities that using a mobile is difficult. Writing on the Bing blog, Bing's Senior Director for Tellme Mobile Speech, Dariusz Paczuski, says of these multitasking scenarios:

"They are more common than you think. According to a recent study from Sanderson Studio, 40% of Smartphone usage occurs in multitasking scenarios where the user cannot offer their undivided attention to their phone.
This is where the voice interface from Tellme will help simplify your life. Tellme makes many of the most popular phone functions easily accessible from a single button. Users just press the voice button on their phone and talk."

The Samsung Intrepid certainly looks pretty smart and – if the Mountain View promos currently playing on YouTube are anything to go by – the voice recognition technology seems robust. The Intrepid features Windows Mobile® 6.5 Professional, plus a customizable 'Today' screen that displays the items the user accesses most frequently, along with new emails, text messages, missed calls and calendar appointments.

The device has a 2.5-inch touchscreen interface with 320x240 resolution, full QWERTY keyboard, 3.2-megapixel camera and camcorder. It also features all the must-have mobile office capabilities such as corporate email and the ability to view attachments and manage the calendar.

Other key features include stereo Bluetooth®, multimedia with microSD slot (up to 32 GB), easy access to social networking sites (including Facebook®, Flickr® and Twitter), instant messaging and threaded text messaging, Wi-Fi and pre-installed SIM.

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