Hello,

The following article may be of interest.  From the press release there is
no information regarding pricing of phones of the software.  This admittedly
is the TALX software.  The question, however, is whether Vodapone charges
their users for the software.  

 


Vodafone Selects SpeechWorks and Brand & Grober Communications
June 10, 2003 



BOSTON, MA - SpeechWorks International Inc. (Nasdaq: SPWX), a developer of
speech technologies and services, announced that Vodafone UK is now offering
a new application for its visually impaired customers using SpeechWorks
technology. The speech-enabled application provides audible cues to access
numerous advanced communications services including Short Message Service
(SMS), email and phone directories on the Nokia 9200 and 9290 Series
Communicator. It was developed in partnership with Brand & Gröber
Communications GbR and combines SpeechWorks' ETI-Eloquence text-to-speech
(TTS) software and Brand & Gröber's TALKS accessibility application.
Vodafone UK is currently selling the Nokia 9210i Communicator units branded
as the Vodafone Speaking Phone to its blind and low-vision customers. 

The World Health Organization (2001) estimates that 180 million people
worldwide have vision impairments. Of these, between 40 million and 45
million are blind. Without speech-enabled devices, many of these individuals
are not able to use advanced communications features such as determining
what calls have been received, sending or receiving text messages, defining
special ringtones, checking battery status and receiving network
information. 

"The blind and low-vision community represents an important and growing
audience for mobile devices and we are eager to provide them with a
state-of-the-art mobile phone that offers messaging, email, fax sending and
word processing," said Mike Duxbury, Disability Access Manager for Vodafone
UK. "High intelligibility and accuracy are key criteria for a successful
solution because we strive to offer a satisfying caller experience to all of
our customers. We're very excited about offering our blind and low-vision
customers this new service and are confident in the solution's trusted
technology from Brand & Gröber and SpeechWorks." 

The TALKS applications combined with SpeechWorks' ETI-Eloquence TTS software
converts menus and instructions displayed on the Nokia Communicator's screen
into speech for output either to the phone's internal speaker or through an
attached headset. ETI-Eloquence software is already used in many products
for blind and low-vision users. ETI-Eloquence is a TTS engine that supports
13 languages. Its low memory requirements are suited for embedded devices
such as mobile phones and other hand-held devices. 

Using the Vodafone Speaking Phone, blind and low vision users are able to:
-Write and read SMS and email;
- Send fax messages;
- Manage contact information;
- Dial phone numbers from contacts;
- Access call logs (dialed, received, missed);
- Use the appointment calendar;
- Customize phone settings according to personal preferences;
- Write and read "stickie" notes;
- Have application menus and window contents read aloud; and
- Press keys to hear the current date and time, the network signal strength,
or the battery strength. 

"In order for this solution to help the visually impaired perform these
various functions, the TTS system has to be highly intelligible.
ETI-Eloquence synthesizes ordinary text into high quality speech," said Alan
Schwartz, vice president of business development and head of the Automotive
and Mobile Device Customer Focus Unit at SpeechWorks. "In addition, the
Vodafone Speaking Phone allows blind and low vision users to control the
rate and speed of the speech output for dynamic, detailed and personalized
information, creating a much more satisfying user experience." 



Copyright © 2001-2002 AmComm Holdings LLC. All rights reserved. All product
names contained herein are the trademarks of their respective holders.

Pratik Patel
Managing Director
CUNY Assistive Technology Services
the City University of New York
  Queens College
  Office of Special Services
  65-30 Kissena Blvd.
  Flushing, NY 11367
T:  (718) 997-3775
F:  (718) 997-3768
E:  [log in to unmask]


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