Trends to Watch in 2012

#1 – Mobile Voice Goes (Really) Mainstream

What?  You say this happened last year with Siri?  Sure, it is certainly true that Siri caused an inflection point in the industry.  However, the real mainstream moment will hit when Google releases its Siri-rival (with some reports suggesting that launch is only weeks away), and Microsoft improves its own native voice technology.  More and more device makers will also look to differentiate their own products by closely integrating voice.  No question Apple fired a shot across the bow in 2011, and 2012 will be the year the major players in mobile let Apple know they are prepared to fire back.

#2 – To the Cloud!

Historically, a lot of the voice-enabled features on smartphones have lived on the phone.  That’s to say that a good portion of the “thinking” has been done right on the device.   Certain simple functionality will continue to remain on your handset, but more and more of the heavy lifting will be done in the cloud.  What does this mean for everyone?  It means more breadth and depth in terms of content.  It means faster processing.  It means improved accuracy.  It means better, more natural dialog between the Assistant and you.

But perhaps most importantly it will…

#3 – Enable Cross-Device and Cross-Platform

With more of the work being done in the cloud, it means it will be easier to synch and send information across devices and platforms.  Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could ask your tablet a question and have the answer show up on your TV?  Or if you could send directions you found on your phone directly to an in-vehicle navigation system?  The possibilities are nearly endless, and the day when this type of functionality appears on all sorts of connected devices is rapidly approaching.

As you can see, there is plenty to look forward to in 2012.  What do you think of Vlingo’s vision?  Did we miss any key trends?

Feature phones and smartphones fill the pockets and purses of men & women everywhere looking to connect with friends, family members or co-workers while on the go.  Would you like an easy way to quickly make a phone call without having to filter through hundreds of names and numbers in your address book? How about a virtual personal assistant?

Using voice recognition to call your contacts has never been easier (or safer!) when using Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant. Whether you are using an Android, BlackBerry, iPhone or Nokia device you can simply say “Call mom”, call Tommy mobile” or “call pizza” to instantly place a call to anyone in your address book or Vlingo’s infinite cloud-based address book.

Take a minute to download Vlingo and have your virtual assistant start calling!

BlackBerry OS 7.0 promises to advance your mobile app experience and with Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant you will be able to do more stuff, faster and easier than before!

Click to download via Vlingo.com here Or via AppWorld here!

The Vlingo Virtual Assistant makes mobile search on your BlackBerry faster and easier than ever.  Give your thumbs a break and use your voice to conduct mobile searches.  Check out a couple of examples of how you can find specific businesses or entire categories using Vlingo on your BlackBerry.

Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant makes sending text messages easier and safer.  Instead of typing, try voice texting on your BlackBerry.  When you’re on the go, using simple voice commands makes texting on your BlackBerry better.  Check out our demo video that shows how you can send and receive voice texts using Vlingo.

After several months of fine tuning its local mobile search results on Android, today Vlingo released an updated version of its SuperDialer and Local Search features for iPhone and BlackBerry users.

The enhanced feature includes more comprehensive listings, user reviews, improved navigation functionality, and a handsome UI update (if I do say so myself).

iPhone and BlackBerry users can now also book restaurant reservations via OpenTable through Vlingo’s local search integration.

Through natural, simple voice commands, Vlingo customers can now conduct quick and easy mobile searches for local businesses and services like:

• Find Italian restaurants in Boston
• Find the Russell House Tavern
• Find a tow truck
• Where is the New England Aquarium? (iPhone only)
• Directions to Copley Square (iPhone only)

Later this year you will be able to access Vlingo’s infinite address book in the cloud with the “call” command, as well as other features previously released in beta form on Android.  Please stay tuned to our blog, Facebook and Twitter for updates.  2011 will be a exciting year across all Vlingo platforms.

Let us know what you’re most excited about seeing in the comments below.

So the question is how can we expect to stay ahead of the giants that are on our tail?  Well, we need to continue to out innovate them.  To put it bluntly, we’re working on a lot of crazy s*** for 2011!  Excuse my French. Of course unless you prefer it. In that case, check out our French-language beta on BlackBerry. http://blog.vlingo.com/vlingo-language-beta/

To show everyone what to expect in 2011, we’ve put together this video showcasing a bunch of stuff we have in the pipeline.  Some of this Vlingo already does, some is coming really soon, while some will take a little longer, but it’s all coming.

We’d love to know what functionality from this video you’d most like to see next.   Or maybe you have some even better ideas.  Either way, please tell us in the comments below.

Cheers,

Hadley

Calling on International Beta Testers!

We know that many of you have been asking for new languages – well the time has come!  We are making a new beta on Vlingo for BlackBerry for French, German, Italian and Spanish. Very exciting, but we need your help to make sure we launch the best possible product.

What We Need?

• People who are native French, German, Italian and Spanish speakers
• It’s okay if you were born somewhere else, or if you live somewhere else now as long as you’re fluent

How You Can Help?

• Visit the AppWorld link below from your mobile device to download the beta

Download the Beta at AppWorld

• After that, just use Vlingo…
  • By using text, email, web search, social updates and more you help Vlingo create more accurate voice-to-text applications
  • By using SafeReader, you help us read messages naturally in your native language

What’s In It For You?

• FREE usage of our paid features for the duration of the beta
• Eternal appreciation from your buddies at Vlingo
• Tell your friends and earn their thanks for helping bring Vlingo to your language

Please Read!

• SafeReader plays new messages and calendar event reminders as they arrive.
• To stop playing the current message, press the red END key.
• To stop playing all messages say, “Stop SafeReader.”
• To view more options go to Menu->Options

For the BETA: SafeReader will temporarily collect message and event reminders to help us tune our system.   If you do not want this data collected please turn off the feature and do not use it.

Thanks in advance for any help you can spare.  We look forward to bringing awesome new languages to our BlackBerry application!

Cheers,
The Vlingo Team

As of September 2010, 30 states and the District of Columbia have banned text messaging for all drivers—including Massachusetts where a ban on TWD goes into effect today—and an additional eight states prohibit text messaging by novice drivers. However, even with laws in place, drivers are still texting while driving (TWD).  Take a look at some findings from our report.

The study found that while more state laws exist today to ban texting while driving, 35% of mobile phone users continue to text behind the wheel. The study also found that young adults aged 20 to 29 years old had the highest percentage (62%) of offenders admitting to texting while driving.  They ranked higher than teenagers aged 16-19 years old (53%), while 50-59 year olds ranked only 17%.  The worst offenders came from Idaho (45% admitting to texting while driving), Kentucky (44%), and Missouri (43%), while New Mexico and Alabama had the next best records with only 22% and 23%, respectively.

The study found that drivers know about safety issues surrounding distracted driving, are interested in curving those habits and are open to technologies that could help them drive safely.  Highlights of the data include:

• 91% of drivers feel that they are more likely to get into an accident while reading or typing a text message.
• 90% feel that reading or typing a text message is just as unsafe as not wearing a seatbelt.
• 44% have been passengers in a vehicle where the driver was reading or typing a text message and 76% of those passengers felt unsafe.
• 80% are trying to limit the frequency in which they read or type text messages while driving.
• When asked if drivers would feel safer if they had the ability to speak text messages into their phones without taking their eyes off the road, 67% said yes, 22% said maybe, while 11% said no.

We asked Vlingo’s president & CEO to comment on the findings:

“We’ve conducted this survey three years in a row and each year despite the growing awareness of distracted driving, people continue to endanger themselves and their passengers by typing and reading messages behind the wheel.” said Dave Grannan, president and CEO of Vlingo. “It is clear from our survey and a recent report published  by the Highway Loss Data Institute; Texting Laws and Collision Claim Frequencies, that banning texting while driving does not automatically make roads safer; we’re also going to need a technology solution, which is where Vlingo is focused.”

“It’s clear that consumers are still tempted to reach for their cell phone when text messages come through while they are driving,” continued Grannan.  “The good news is today’s technology has advanced to the point where those incoming messages can be automatically read out loud when they arrive and drivers can simply speak to respond to urgent messages while keeping their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road—and Vlingo will be making this technology available in the next few weeks for free for certain mobile phones. “

Click to download via Vlingo.com here

Or via AppWorld here

Hope you enjoy.  And welcome Torch users to the Wonderful World of Vlingo!