Vlingo for iPhone - 5 days later!

Since launching version 2.0 Vlingo for iPhone last week, we have seen some great success. In fact, AppHQ states that Vlingo is one of the most talked about apps right now among leading iPhone blogs worldwide.

Some of you have also commented on the in app purchase functionality we’re leveraging. This is relatively new and was implemented by Apple. It is a payment function that many other apps are using. So we are just one of the users, not the designers. Users can read about the free verse paid features of the Vlingo app on the App Store description page, in the app itself, on the Vlingo website, in the press release and in the most recent blog posting.

Take a look at what our users are already saying on Twitter and in the media!

Twitter Comments!

• Kyle Adkins @Vlingo ok now I can get an iPhone. This was one of the small things holding me back. Also from upgrading to plus. Thank you!

• clintmckoy RT @jaceman: The new Vlingo iPhone app update is sweet.
  

• athinkingman Really enjoying the new voice controlled Vlingo iPhone app. Once you get used to it, it is really accurate.
  

• ayb35 Just started using Vlingo for iPhone, so cool!! -composed with vlingo
  

• thirstforwine If you think I tweet a lot now imagine what it will be like now that that i don't even have to type #Vlingo
  

• jordanpsky Trying out Vlingo 2. It rocks. May never type an update again.
  

• TracyTodd1 COOL! RT @gussilber: Yes, I'm tweeting while stuck in the traffic. I am not using my hands, I'm using my voice, thanks to the Vlingo...

Check out the early media reviews!

• [Comparable Apps} are all recent voice-to-text applications that can offer some of the similar functionality as Vlingo. The big difference is that Vlingo lets you do more from within a single application. Voice-to-text apps are improving at a startling rate and Vlingo is unique in its convergence of multiple functions into one application. – Mashable, Send Email and SMS Message Using Voice commands with Vlingo for iPhone, March 4, 2010

• Depending on your need for a streamlined messaging experience, Vlingo does offer great value to the iPhone user when it comes to voice assisted applications. And at a cost of nothing, it’s worthy of a look and spot in that valuable iPhone home screen space. – AppAdvice, Vlingo 2.0 – Power Of Your Voice, March 4, 2010

• new version of the app, which not only polishes both the interface and older features, but introduces e-mail and SMS paste into Vlingo’s repertoire. Voice commands are simple; you simply say the name of the service you wish to use, followed by your message. In addition, there's no navigating through submenus to find the service you want—Vlingo allows you to start speaking commands for any of its services when you first open the program. – iPhone Central-MacWorld, E-Mail, SMS Paste come to Vlingo, March 4, 2010

• It is one of my highest rated apps that you should download and try out today. It is a great time saver, is safe to use in the car and on the go when you cannot type on your phone, and it is an up and coming technology. – KD Media Now, Vlingo App Review: The Power of Search, March 3, 2010

If you haven’t got Vlingo for your iPhone yet, click here to download now!

Vlingo for iPhone 2.0 adds Email and SMS! Download today!

Since day 1 of launching the 1st Vlingo for iPhone application, our users have pleaded with us to add the ability to send an email and text message by just speaking! Well we are pleased to announce that Vlingo for iPhone 2.0 gives users the ability to send an email or SMS by just speaking into your voice. Don’t believe us? Check out the video below!

To get this functionality, download the free version of Vlingo on the App store . You can then purchase the messaging functionality. Each function is $6.99 or you can buy both for $9.99

Don’t know about Vlingo? Well with Vlingo for iPhone you can use your voice to:

• Send an email: send an email by speaking a contact, subject and message body. For example, “Email Chris, Subject Tonight, Message Running a bit late!”

• Send an SMS Paste: send a text message by speaking a contact and message. Simply say, “Text Mike, Message How are you?

• Do a web search: Search the web using Google, Yahoo! Or Bing. Just say, “Bing sushi restaurants in San Francisco,” and view results.
  

• Update Facebook and Twitter status updates without typing.

• Use Google Maps. Look up and map local listings. For example, by saying, “Find Italian restaurants in San Francisco,” Vlingo will show choices and can populate Google Maps with the touch of a button.
  

• Call to anyone in your address book

We’ve also made several enhancements to the original application. In addition to a complete redesign of the application we have added 2 items that should make the Vlingo even easier to use!

• Auto-Listen: voice recognition can be set to start automatically when the iPhone is turned on. Simply open Vlingo and speak in one easy step.
• Contact Selection: when composing a text message, say your contact and the message in one fell swoop, "Text Erin How are you?"
  

Get Vlingo for your iPhone!

Erin Keleher, Senior Marketing Communications Manager

Fox Business Dot Com Live: Featuring Vlingo

There is a new series on Fox Business Dot Com Live featuring Internet trailblazers. Fox Business Live is a live TV show that moved to the web that is working to promote other web pioneers. The show covers what Vlingo does, the challenges and rewards of being a web-based business but also the future of Vlingo. On Tuesday, Fox Business Dot Com interviewed Hadley Harris, VP, Consumer Buisness. You can check out the interview below.

Vlingo nominated for About.com Reader's Choice Award

Today we found out that Vlingo has been nominated for About.com's Reader's Choice Award in the best BlackBerry apps category. Vlingo is one of of 5 finalists.

At the end of that slideshow, you'll see a poll where you can cast your vote. The polls will be open through February 24, so vote and spread the word! Click here to vote.

Erin Keleher, Senior Marketing Communications Manager, Vlingo

Crave giveaway of the week: BlackBerry Bold 9700 with Vlingo‎

Dave Carnoy announced a contest this morning on Crave, the gadget blog from CNET. Readers have a chance to win a BlackBerry Bold 9700/Vlingo giveaway today. See below for the full details.

We have an exciting giveaway this week that involves a Blackberry Bold smartphone and a useful mobile voice app called Vlingo, which perhaps you've heard about already.

To help get the word out about its new 4.0 Plus app for the BlackBerry, Vlingo is offering Crave readers the chance to win a BlackBerry Bold 9700 and a voucher code for the Vlingo Plus app, a $19.99 value. One important note: the BlackBerry is from AT&T but it doesn't come with service (you'll have to activate it to install Vlingo).

What does Vlingo do exactly? Well, according to the company, it enables you to launch applications by voice and speak your commands and text entry. It also reads spoken text back to ensure accuracy. The big deal about Vlingo 4.0 Plus is it allows you to speak text into any field where your BlackBerry smartphone already allows you to enter text.

Normally, the Blackberry 9700 with Vlingo would cost around $499, but you have the chance to get it gratis. (Read CNET's full review of the Blackberry Bold 9700)..

So, how do you try to win the Blackberry Bold + Vlingo? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test.

• Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again.
• Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated.
• Leave only one comment. You may enter this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.
• The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive (1) AT&T Blackberry Bold 9700 (with no service) and a voucher for Vlingo Plus 4.0. Approximate retail value is $499.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
  

Entries can be submitted until Monday, February 8 at 11:59:59 a.m. ET.
How To Do Things Faster With Your Mobile Phone Using Vlingo on Howcast

BBC interviews Dave Grannan, President & CEO of Vlingo

Rory Cellan-Jones a technology journalist at the BBC News interviewed Dave Grannan, CEO of Vlingo this morning. Here's a clip of the interview!





Erin Keleher, Senior Marketing Communications Manager, Vlingo

A Safer Way to Text on the Road

The Wall Street Journal posted a story today called "A Safer Way to Text on the Road". The reporter , Courtney Banks, reviews Vlingo. Check out the video too!



We all know that text messaging while driving is dangerous, but I've had enough crosswalk fumbles and parking meter collisions to realize that even texting while walking can be risky business.

An obvious solution is to talk instead of type, but this no longer means foregoing the convenience of text messaging in favor of an old-fashioned phone call. I tested a program called Vlingo, a "voice user interface" that allows you to operate many functions on your phone simply by speaking.

Worth It: Vlingo Turns Speech Into Text

Vlingo promises to make texting while in motion safer. For $19.99, you can speak and have your words turned into text without you ever touching the keys. WSJ reporter Courtney Banks finds it still won't totally replace typing.

Vlingo first came out in June 2008, and recently launched its newest version, Vlingo 4.0, which costs $19.99 and works on most BlackBerries. (There's also a free, more limited version of the software, which supports a few other smartphones including the iPhone.)

Vlingo essentially allows you to speak anywhere that you can type on your BlackBerry. Once installed, you operate the program by pressing and holding the convenience button on the side of the BlackBerry. This launches the recorder, and you can speak commands or series of commands to open applications, dictate messages, make notes, create calendar entries, update your Facebook status, and any other number of functions. Once you release the button, Vlingo will do whatever you've told it to do.

Vlingo was largely flawless when obeying commands such as opening programs or executing simple web searches. This was especially useful when I wanted to place a call without taking my gloves off, or quickly Google an address while rushing to my destination.

But it struggled a bit with messages and e-mails. For example, "Email mom subject flight schedule message hi mom my flight lands at five forty tomorrow evening" opened an e-mail message to my mother, and filled in the subject line and message box accordingly. Vlingo then read its transcription back to me, I said "Send," and off it went.

Or, at least, in theory. In practice, even when speaking slowly and deliberately, Vlingo flubbed a fair share of my utterances. The above-mentioned dictation yielded a rather ominous message to my mother:

To: Mom

Subject: Fight

Message: Might be coming by around 540 tomorrow evening

Mistakes ranged from the innocuous and understandable to the downright unprintable --which were all the more shocking when recited back to me by Vlingo's lady-robot voice. Suffice it to say, I was happy that I could preview and edit my text messages before sending them. Based on its own testing, the company reports an average 12% error rate, which it says is on par with the number of manual typos typically made on a mobile device.

When the cursor hovers over the transcription, Vlingo offers a list of alternate suggestions for each word, which makes corrections easier. But having to manually edit Vlingo's mistakes meant that my eyes, hands, and attention were repeatedly diverted to my phone.

Still, it's worth remembering that automated voice-to-text technology is difficult, and Vlingo does outperform Google Voice, whose voicemail transcriptions tend to be more funny than functional. When I tested Google Voice last spring, the transcriptions made only a modicum of sense, rendering the automated service one of the least useful features of the expansive communications platform.

Vlingo actually increases its intelligence quotient over time. The more you speak, the better Vlingo recognizes your voice patterns and common utterances, and it notes your manual corrections to increase future accuracy. The more I chatted, the better Vlingo performed. It usually only mistook a contact name once, getting it right thereafter, and handled numbers flawlessly. Its accuracy transcribing longer messages slowly but surely inched upward the more I utilized it.

Some amount of voice-to-text accuracy depends on the program's ability to tune out distraction. Vlingo features some built-in noise reduction (the phone or Bluetooth headset you use also plays a big role), and it picked up my voice well in relatively noisy environments--out on the street, or inside with the vacuum cleaner running. Vlingo struggled more when others were talking nearby. Typically, I was able to hold the phone about eighteen inches away from my face and speak at a conversational volume; using Vlingo with a Bluetooth worked even better.

Is Vlingo worth it? Nineteen states have outright bans against texting behind the wheel (three times the number that ban cellphones), so clearly there is a need for universal voice-to-text options for phones. Though it's far from perfect, Vlingo does go a long way toward offering a safe solution for smartphone use while in motion. At less than twenty dollars, it's a relatively inexpensive way to add a new degree of functionality to your phone -- and to avoid meeting your maker mid-text message.

Erin Keleher, Senior Marketing Communications Manager, Vlingo