Multi-Modal Search Partners Call Genie & Vlingo

By Editor Wireless and Mobile News on May 22, 2008 12:14 PM

Call Genie Inc, a provider of mobile local search and advertising solutions that connect 'ready to transact' consumers with local businesses, and Vlingo Corp., a leading provider of speech recognition solutions, announced they have partnered to deliver a comprehensive multi-modal mobile search platform that enables 'on the go' consumers to access information anytime, anywhere.

Together with Call Genie, vlingo lets mobile phone users say what they want, when they want, without limitations or scripted grammars. Consumers interfacing with Call Genie's CG Product Suite will be able to simply speak using natural language. For example, instead of the traditional "city, state" structure for 411, now a consumer can say, "I am looking for a coffee shop in Seattle near the University of Washington."

The combined solution will provide Call Genie's customers with increased automation rates for directory assistance and local search inquiries. This is expected to provide a broader and better consumer experience as well as allow Call Genie's customers to reduce operational costs by decreasing reliance on operator call handling. The end result of this solution is a more comprehensive and high quality consumer experience as well as complete multi-modal (voice and data) access to information through Call Genie's CG Product Suite.

Call Genie will continue to support Nuance and other voice platforms through its open voice XML interface capabilities.

"Our partnership with vlingo combines the industry's most innovative speech recognition service with Call Genie's mobile directory assistance and advertising solutions," said Michael Durance, CEO of Call Genie. "The combination adds enhanced speech recognition capabilities to the CG Product Suite and gives our customers a local mobile search and advertising solution that now includes natural language request support."

The combined Call Genie - vlingo solution is available through Call Genie.

About Call Genie Mobile Local Search Product Suite

The CG Mobile Local Search Product Suite includes three product lines: CG Interact, CG Open and CG ADvantage. These product lines provide directory assistance providers, Yellow Pages publishers, wireless carriers and search engine companies, the applications and technology platforms required to deliver innovative mobile local search services that lead trends rather than respond late in today's shorter consumer adoption cycles.

The CG Interact products deliver automated or operator-assisted voice enabled solutions, mobile data search and seamless delivery of information to phones from web sites. CG Open products have been designed with the underlying philosophy that a great user experience must be the foundation for any service that will be monetized through ad sponsorship. CG Open products deliver key benefits to reduce costs and enhance the user experience. All of the CG Open platforms leverage industry standards to maximize their ability to integrate into and interoperate with our customer's existing systems, data sources and with mobile content providers. CG ADvantage products enable our customers to capitalize on the emerging Mobile Local Search advertising opportunity and deliver inventory, taxonomy and campaign management specifically optimized for this unique ad inventory.

About Call Genie Inc.

Call Genie is a leading provider of local mobile search and advertising solutions to Yellow Pages publishers, directory assistance providers, and wireless carriers. These solutions enable companies to offer an exceptional experience for both advertisers and consumers. Call Genie won the Yellow Page Association Industry Excellence Award for Marketing Innovation in North America, the Whitaker Innovation Award in Europe, and the 118 Tracker Award for Technology Innovation in the UK. Call Genie has over 30 customers in 11 countries. For more information, visit www.callgenie.com.

About vlingo

Vlingo is a voice-powered user interface that unlocks access to mobile phone wireless data services. Vlingo allows users to speak or type into any vlingo-enabled text box and get accurate, easy and consistent access to all the information, entertainment and communication made possible through today's mobile applications. By giving consumers control of the mobile Internet with the power of their voices, vlingo provides a quantum leap in usability for mobile data services that are currently restricted by limited user interfaces. IDC has named vlingo one of the "Ten Emerging Mobile Players to Watch in 2008." The company secured its venture capital financing from Charles River Ventures, Sigma Partners and Yahoo! Inc. Founded in 2006, vlingo is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Why tap when you can talk? www.vlingo.com.