From the New York Times

A Phone Service That Lets Your Larynx Do the Surfing

June 27, 2002

A Phone Service That Lets Your Larynx Do the Surfing
By SARAH MILSTEIN

If surfing the Web and sending e-mail from your cellphone seem like too much
to ask of your thumbs, why not let your vocal cords pitch in? Pronto, a new
phone service offered by
i3 Mobile
(
www.i3mobile.com),
allows customers to use voice-activated commands to retrieve information
from the Internet and send e-mail.

For $19.95 a month, subscribers can call a toll-free number and request
information 24 hours a day. Pronto's voice recognition system takes care of
standard
requests for stock quotes, sports scores and weather reports (all of which
can be personalized). For more complex questions (What's the longest home
run
in major league baseball history? Can you give me driving directions from
Brooklyn to Graceland?), a live operator will respond. Audio reports from
CNN
and The Wall Street Journal are available around the clock; ESPN Radio will
be offered later this summer. Movie tickets can be ordered through Pronto
operators,
who also provide unlimited directory assistance and will even read Zagat
restaurant reviews.

Subscribers can also dictate e-mail messages of up to 140 characters (a
Pronto operator will send additional messages if your note exceeds the
limit). Messages
can be sent to individuals or groups of up to 50 recipients. The system also
provides for three emergency contacts whom Pronto operators will send e-mail
to or call immediately on request.

The voice-prompt commands take a little getting used to, but Pronto
operators step in whenever the system does not recognize a request, and they
can provide
tips on the most effective commands.

Subscriptions for the service, which carries no advertising, are offered on
a month-to-month basis.

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