Vlingo Highlights New Data From Driving While Texting Study as Regulators Consider Legal Action At Distracted Driving Summit

This week, senior transportation officials, elected officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives and academics will meet in Washington, DC at the Distracted Driving Summit to address the dangers of text-messaging and other distractions behind the wheel.

For the past 2 years, Vlingo has conducted a Consumer Mobile Messaging Habits survey. The survey reveals the need and desire for for safer hands-free alternatives. The 2009 report highlights that almost 70% of respondents would use voice recognition technology while driving instead of typing if they could speak text or email messages and have incoming messages read to them. While state and national action is key, we need to recognize that laws are not enough. The end goal is to make the roads safer.

See the full press release below.

Vlingo Highlights New Data From Driving While Texting Study as Regulators Consider Legal Action At Distracted Driving Summit

Data reveals strong consumer desire for safer hands-free alternatives

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (September 29, 2009) – Vlingo Corporation, maker of the world’s most popular mobile voice application, highlighted new data today from its second annual Vlingo Consumer Mobile Messaging Habits Report as regulators prepare for The Distracted Driving Summit (Sept. 30-Oct. 1). The Summit, organized by The U.S. Department of Transportation, will address the dangers of text-messaging and other distractions behind the wheel.

While Driving While Texting (DWT) has become a hot button for state legislatures, recent survey data indicates that there is little-to-no impact of DWT bans on driver behavior. Data from Vlingo’s Consumer Mobile Messaging Habits Report shows that two of the top five worst offending states (TN, NJ, AL, ID, OK) have some form of DWT/mobile phone ban in place or pending (one of which is focused solely on young drivers). Of the five states with the best records (AZ, VT, RI, OH, MI), only Rhode Island has a ban on DWT and it only applies to those under the age of 18. 36% of respondents did not know if they live in a state that currently has a ban on DWT.

“Legislative action is an important step but laws are hard to enforce,” said Dave Grannan, CEO of Vlingo. “As texting usage continues to increase, realistic hands-free solutions are needed to make the roads safer. Survey data shows that texting is gaining on sending/receiving calls as the primary use of mobile phones, with 35% of all respondents using their phones for texting more than for phone calls.”

Vlingo’s Consumer Mobile Messaging Habits Report also reveals a strong consumer desire for safer hands-free alternatives. Almost 70% of respondents would use voice recognition technology while driving instead of typing if they could speak text or email messages and have incoming messages read to them. Of teenage drivers (the more prolific texting group overall), 90% would use voice recognition while driving. “Insurance companies are taking note,” says Grannan. “We’ve been approached about offering safe driver discounts to their customers.”

One in four of all mobile phone users admit to DWT, yet there is general consensus that DWT should be legally banned. Slightly more than 83% of respondents think DWT should be illegal. However, with more safety precautions such as hands-free solutions that enable consumers to text without typing, 40% of respondents favor making DWT legal.

Methodology
The Vlingo Consumer Mobile Messaging Habits Report was fielded by independent panel research firm Toluna and responses were generated from a survey among 4,816 online opinion panel members (age 13 or older) living in the continental United States. The sample was matched to U.S. Census proportions on gender, age and ethnicity and included approximately 100 respondents from each of the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Respondents were also screened for mobile phone ownership and usage. The survey bears a statistical accuracy of +/- 1.41% for the total sample at the 95% confidence level.

The full report can be requested at http://vlingo.com/habits.

Erin Keleher, Senior Marketing Communications Manager, Vlingo

AT&T AND VLINGO TO BRING INNOVATIVE SPEECH RECOGNITION TO MOBILE DEVICES WORLDWIDE

Read the latest news from Vlingo!

AT&T AND VLINGO TO BRING INNOVATIVE SPEECH RECOGNITION TO MOBILE DEVICES WORLDWIDE
AT&T’s Watson Speech Recognition Technology to Help Provide Users Control of Mobile Applications Via Power of Their Voice

FLORHAM PARK, N.J., September 16, 2009 — In an effort to provide mobile device users an easier and more natural way to control their applications, AT&T* and Vlingo today announced a licensing agreement and strategic alliance to incorporate AT&T’s Watson technology into Vlingo’s speech-enabled applications. The alliance will drive innovation in user interfaces by allowing people to use the power of their voice to create and send a text message or email, search the Web, access social networking tools and more, making data services more accessible and convenient to use. As part of the alliance, AT&T will take a minority equity stake in Vlingo.

“AT&T’s Watson technology provides a world-class speech recognition engine in both performance and features," said Charles Kalmanek, vice president of networking and services research, AT&T Labs. "By allowing users to speak naturally, Watson opens the door to a wide range of innovative new services that are easy and natural to use.”

Added Dave Grannan, president and CEO, Vlingo: “This agreement represents a unique opportunity to work with AT&T to deliver a revolutionary speech recognition solution to the market. Natural and unconstrained voice recognition user interfaces represent the next major breakthrough for the mobile industry as well as many other industries. Based on our evaluation, we have seen significant accuracy and performance gains with Watson compared to other core speech technologies that will allow us to create a dramatically improved user experience. We look forward to deploying our joint solutions throughout the industry.”

A leader in speech technology for decades, AT&T is a pioneer in voice-enabled services and has developed hundreds of voice applications deployed throughout our advanced telecommunications network. AT&T’s Watson speech recognition technology includes the latest advances and innovations in the field of speech and language processing with a rich set of tools for custom development and adaptation of acoustic and language models. In addition to Watson, AT&T’s suite of speech technologies also includes AT&T Natural Voices, an award-winning text-to-speech product that converts text into voice for a wide variety of applications.

Vlingo is a Cambridge, MA-based startup focused on unlocking access to mobile data applications with speech recognition technology that lets people control their mobile applications with the power of their voice. Vlingo’s current iPhone, Blackberry and Nokia applications enable customers to simply speak to their phone to create and send a text or email message, search the web, update their Facebook status and more, making data services more accessible and easy to use. Millions of iPhone, Blackberry and Nokia customers have downloaded Vlingo’s current application suite.

Erin Keleher, Senior Marketing Communications Manager, Vlingo

Mobile Entertainment: Nokia preload deal heralds Vlingo’s Euro expansion

Check out Stuart Dredge's article on Vlingo that came out this afternoon!

Nokia preload deal heralds Vlingo’s Euro expansion

Mobile voice recognition technology firm Vlingo says it’s setting its sights on Europe, having signed a deal with Nokia to preload its application on the N97 and E72 handsets.

The deal was announced at Nokia World earlier this month, and with English, German, Spanish and Italian languages supported from launch, it represents the US firm’s initial foray into Europe.

ME met up with founder John Nguyen and product manager Chris Micali at the conference for a hands-on demo, and we were certainly impressed.

No SpinVox-style call centres here: Vlingo’s app connects to a server to turn your voice instructions into actions, including web searches, text messaging and email, and dialling numbers. Social networking is also part of it, with the ability for N97 users to update their Facebook status by voice.

The app is free for basic features, but will require users to pay £3.49 a month for the ability to send unlimited texts and emails using the technology – or a one-off payment of £12.99.
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The preload deal strikes us as fairly important to get Vlingo into the hands of users, rather than relying on them to pay for and/or download it from somewhere like Nokia’s Ovi Store.

Nguyen explained that Vlingo has been successful in the US by getting people to try the service before committing to pay for it.

He also said that Vlingo’s technology goes beyond that seen in some handsets – for example the iPhone – because it can adapt to a user’s accent and vocabulary over time.

Vlingo does already have an iPhone app available, alongside BlackBerry and Windows Mobile, so Nokia is an addition to its offering rather than the sole focus.

There’s a natural cynicism around any new technology promising to turn voice into text without a hitch, following the recent SpinVox controversy. But judging by ME’s hands-on demo, Vlingo could well find a healthy base of users on this side of the Atlantic.

Nokia users - download Vlingo today!

Last week we announced that Nokia users in Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and North America will be able to join millions of BlackBerry and iPhone users in experiencing the fastest way to get things done on their phones. We are so excited to bring this offering to more users around the world. If you haven’t had a chance to download Vlingo for Nokia, go to www.vlingo.com/ovi from your laptop or desktop computer to get direct access to Vlingo.

Note, E71x users in North America will need to download Vlingo at www.vlingo.com from your laptop or desktop computer and not the Ovi Store by Nokia.

What do Nokia users think so far? Check out some of the reviews!

• this is a cool app. Really like it: I'm already hooked! I've used Vlingo to send a few texts and generally it's recognizing my voice well. Saves a lot of time even if I go in and fix a word here and there, and it's already learned/improved understanding my voice in a few uses (repeated phrases). Works great on my E71.

• really useful: works quite well also with Italian
  

• Best App Ever!!!!: This app clearly uses some form of magic to turn what I say into words! The future in here -- today!!!

• muy bien en español: cojonudo programa
  

If you are browsing the Ovi Store by Nokia, Vlingo is highlighted in the utilities section of free applications.

Erin Keleher, Senior Marketing Communications Manager, Vlingo

MSNBC: Is speech-to-text the new touch for cell phones?

Vlingo was mentioned in today's article posted by Suzanne Choney of MSNBC.

Is speech-to-text the new touch for cell phones?
Voice-based search, e-mail and text messaging programs are increasing


"DWD" — driving while distracted — by text messages, e-mails and phone calls is epidemic. And while no one has yet to come up with a technology that would automatically jolt a phone user from touching the device while behind the wheel, speech recognition software may play a role in reducing — but not solving — the problem.

"The trend on banning texting while driving can only help the cause for speech and voice application providers," said William Ho, research director of wireless services at Current Analysis.

Some think that speech recognition could be the new touch for mobile devices, which have been dominated by touch-screen phones since Apple released its first iPhone more than two years ago.

Apple itself is working on a speech-to-text program for the iPhone, according to documents filed with the United States Patent & Trademark Office.

"There's certainly been some refinement and more sophisticated speech-recognition technology" for phones, said John Walls, vice president of public affairs for CTIA, the trade group that represents the wireless industry.

He's quick to add that texting while driving, even with the help of speech recognition, "is irresponsible."

'Next evolutionary step'

And while speech recognition has come a long way, it still has a ways to go. It's a natural, "next evolutionary step" to keyboards, keypads and touch screens, said Kevin Burden, ABI Research's practice director, mobile devices. But it's not there yet.

Voice — while "the most natural communication strategy for people" — is "one of the most difficult pieces of the technology interaction puzzle to set in place," Burden wrote in a recent report.

Even desktop computer speech recognition software, which has advanced significantly, has yet "to achieve the necessary accuracy, reliability or 'natural' experience that users demand," he wrote.

Yet with more limited uses — "Call Joe," or short text messages such as "See you at eight!" — voice recognition software may have a better chance on mobiles than on machines.

There's a growing number of speech recognition programs for phones. Some, such as Google Voice Search and Tellme, a subsidiary of Microsoft, are free and provide Web search by voice. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

Other programs involve one-time purchases, such as Vlingo Plus ($17.99 for BlackBerry, for example), or are subscription based, such as Voice on the Go ($5.99 monthly), and offer more expansive features such as speech-based text-messaging and e-mails.

"This app is great for those of us whod (sic) rather not txt and drive at the same time ... guilty as charged," wrote one user about Vlingo Plus on the BlackBerry App World site.

"The only downside is that you have to dedicate a side convenience key & hold it while you speak, which I found takes practice," said another in a review of the program. "That doesn't make it practical for texting while driving (which NO ONE should EVER do anyway)."

15-second audio text messages
Voice on the Go is one of the more full-featured speech-recognition programs, letting users get, listen to and send e-mail and 15-second text messages by voice. Your Facebook status can also be updated that way, and you can even send tweets to Twitter using your voice.

The program works on all cell phones, the company said. Using it requires first dialing a local number, then saying or entering a PIN to activate Voice on the Go.

Tellme, whose voice search programs work on a number of different phones, will have a speech-to-text message application as part of Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system for phones, due out in October.

Users will also be able to speak the name of a contact in their address book and place a call that way.

"We certainly believe that voice is the new touch," said Marcello Typrin, Tellme's director of product management. Microsoft acquired the company, founded in 1999, two years ago.

Tellme's voice-based Web search is on Samsung's Instinct phone, for example, and "what we're seeing is about 75 percent of all the search queries on the Instinct are done using voice, not text, which we think is testament to the power of a voice interface.

"If you think about a search box that you need to fill in, say, using your phone to find a restaurant, you know what that's like to have to tap that information in," he said. "It could take 10, 15, 20 keystrokes, and that's a hassle, even if you're just sitting at your desk and focused on your phone. Instead of doing 20 taps on your keyboard, you can just say the name of the restaurant and you're off and running. It's easier, faster, more efficient."

Multitasking help (not driving)

Not surprisingly, the majority of smartphone users "spend more than half of their time in multitasking situations, where they're focusing not only on their phone, but on other activity away from their phone, and where speech makes a lot of sense," Typrin said.

Among them: "You're walking down a street or walking from your driveway into the front door of your house," and using speech-to-text to take your eyes off the phone and onto the pavement in front of you, he said.

Driving? Not so much. The company is looking at a voice program that would read e-mails to the user, but knows that for both texting and e-mail, speech recognition is not a solution for drivers.

Ten states and the District of Columbia now ban texting and driving, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Nine more states are slated to impose similar prohibitions in the months ahead.

"We know that the driving use case is an important one, and it's also one that you have to get really right to have it work" when it comes to speech recognition, Typrin said.

"We have to look at does it help the driver or is it potentially distracting as well?"

Vlingo invades Europe with N97 & E72 preloads and availability on Ovi Store

Today is a huge day of firsts for Vlingo! A little over a year removed from launching our first product, we are thrilled to announce Vlingo for Nokia. Now Nokia users in Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and North America will be able to join millions of BlackBerry and iPhone users in experiencing the fastest way to get things done on their phones.


Additionally, we are delighted that Nokia has chosen to preload Vlingo on two premium devices -- the Nokia N97 and the Nokia E72, which will be available with Vlingo out of the box later this month. This is the first time a full voice user interface has been preloaded on a major device. We are thrilled that the world’s largest handset maker has chosen Vlingo to be that pioneer. We can’t wait to see how European users enjoy Vlingo!


Vlingo is available immediately on the Ovi Store by Nokia for select devices. Download it now on the Ovi Store or at vlingo.com

Check out the press release here!

Follow Vlingo at twitter.com/vlingo and facebook.com/vlingo

Hadley Harris
Head of Business & Market Strategy
Vlingo