Windows Mobile 6.5 will get a Voice Command function allowing users to control their phone just using spoken commands.
Microsoft has acquired voice recognition technology company Tellme and plans to use its Tellme service to allow voice control of many of the functions of a Windows Mobile phone.Microsoft announced that Tellme will find its way into many of the devices that will launch running Windows Mobile 6.5.
Tellme will be activated, Microsoft said, by a dedicated button on most WIndows Mobile 6.5 devices. By pressing the Tellme key, users will be able to say things like ‘Search weather’ to search their search engine of choice for weather information.
Other aspects of the phone can be controlled too, such as placing calls and sending SMS. It works a little like the Google voice search for the iPhone – just without the fancy ‘hold it to your ear’ activation, but with more generally useful features.
Microsoft has said that it may not keep the Tellme service as a Windows Mobile exclusive and may licence the tech to other mobile platforms. Tellme should launch to coincide with Window Mobile 6.5 – either as a download or preinstalled on new Windows Mobile devices.
11th May 2009 | £tbc | Microsoft Windows Mobile Team (via Gizmodo)
