Mobile Content Bits: Voice2TXT; Vodafone Spain; AdMob/iPhone
By Dianne See Morrison - Mon 17 Dec 2007 07:50 AM PST
-- US operator Alltel (NYSE: AT) is rolling out a new service that uses voice-recognition software to convert voicemail messages into text messages, reports AP. Alltel, the US’s fifth largest carrier, is charging $4.99 a month for the Voice2TXT service that will let customers read their messages instead of listening to them. Alltel’s SVP of product management said the new service, which uses technology developed by British firm SpinVox, had “broad appeal”—for example, for people who are in meetings regularly and can’t take a phone call. Alltel is the first major US carrier to offer a voice to text service. New York start-up SimulScribe launched a similar service earlier this year. It charges $4.99 for 20 voicemail conversions a month and up to $19.99 monthly for 100 conversions.
-- Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) Spain will soon launch a content adaptation service, using a product from Openwave (NSDQ: OPWV), says Cellular-News. The service sounds like a basic transcoder, which reformats desktop web sites for mobile browsers. Vodafone’s UK unit upset a number of developers earlier in the year when it launched its transcoder, supplied by Novarra, because it prevents sites from being able to detect on their own if users are on a mobile device. They’ll certainly be paying attention to Vodafone Spain’s efforts in this area, as well.
-- Mobile ad company AdMob’s latest stats update is out, and it says that the iPhone is “over-indexing” on the number of ad impressions it generates compared to its market share, according to Mobile Entertainment. In the US, 6.65 million ad impressions were delivered by AdMob to iPhones in November, representing 0.9 percent of its total, which outpaces its market share, the company says. Overall, AdMob delivered 1.72 billion impressions in November, up 4.5 percent from the previous month.
