=46ree Software lets Mac users “Skype” by Voice Command
Speakables for Skype lets VOIP users cut the cord.
San Francisco, CA, April 18, 2006 – Speakables, a company offering voice
control solutions tailored to the Digital Home, announced the release of
Speakables for Skype, their first entr=E9e into the high growth VOIP market.
Speakables was developed by speech recognition experts including a key
developer of Apple’s Speech Recognition technology.
Speakables for Skype works with popular VOIP service, Skype (owned by eBay)
enabling Skype for Mac users to use the service remotely, away from their
Macs. Users create a Skype contact list and can initiate calls by just
saying the person’s name. Skype users will be able to initiate and answer
calls, as well as disconnect ongoing calls remotely by simple voice command.
Speakables for Skype is designed to work with Speakable Items, Apple’s
voice recognition application that is already included in the Mac OS X
platform.
“Speakables for Skype lets consumers Skype their friends without being
tethered to their Macs– you don=92t even have to be in the same room,” says
Benjamin Factor, Marketing Manager of Speakables. “The convenience of voice
control combined with the coolness factor, particularly among college
students who are using computer-based VOIP as their de-facto in-home phone
service, is going to be a strong tipping point in driving more wide spread
adoption of VOIP.”
Speakables for Skype follows a recent announcement by the company to begin
offering the Plantronics CS50-USB wireless headset as part of a complete
wireless VOIP solution. Unlike Bluetooth headsets which do not work with
Speakable Items, and therefore will not permit wireless voice control of
the Mac, the CS50-USB works exceptionally well with Speakable Items and
allows consumers to use VOIP (such as Skype and iChat) and voice command
while roaming up to 200ft. away from the Mac.
The company is introducing Speakables for Skype as a free download to
encourage increased adoption of computer-based VOIP, and convergence to the
Mac/PC as the central hub of entertainment media in the digital home.
“Voice command is the killer app for the digital home. We are extending its
use from what was primarily a productivity tool to controlling
entertainment oriented computer applications away from the desktop, in
relaxed areas of the home like the living room or bedroom,” says Factor.
“The intention being that in these relaxed areas, it can be more convenient
and of course more impressive to use voice command than other input
devices.”
Pricing and Availability
Speakables for Skype (for Mac OS X 10.2 or newer) is immediately available
via a free download from the Speakables website at www.speakables.com. The
Plantronics CS50-USB can be purchased via a direct link from
www.speakables.com for $299.99. Consumers who purchase the product via
Speakables will receive Speakables for iTunes for free.
About Speakables
Speakables provides voice recognition software for the Mac and PC. Targeted
to the digital home market, and with an emphasis on entertainment use,
Speakables encourages consumers to converge their home entertainment media
to their computers, by making it more convenient and impressive to control
their computers in relaxed areas of the home, away from the desktop.