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The explosion of cellular phone usage has enabled a society of constant on-the-go people to be connected to each other in a way impossible even ten years ago. As cell phones proliferate the telecommunications market, new services are created in order to harness the power of this phenomenon. One type of service created to use telecommunications, and cellular technology, is voice portals.
Voice portals are free services that allow you to dial a toll-free number and use your voice to access digital content. For instance, you can call a voice portal and get street-to-street driving directions or real-time stock quotes, all without having to touch your telephone’s keypad or fire up a web browser. Two services that offer this voice portal service are Tellme and BeVocal.
Tellme (http://www.tellme.com or 1-800-555-TELL) is one of the best voice portals available. Its combination of services, accuracy in voice recognition, and breadth of available information make it an excellent choice if you’re interested in using a voice portal.
If you want to use the voice portal, the first place you should visit is the Tellme website. There, you can register for an account by specifying your telephone number. This way, you can give Tellme certain information to make your sessions as productive as possible, such as specifying your favorite type of news, or the stocks in your portfolio (if you use another website’s portfolio tracking, you can even import the data). When you call Tellme from your registered phone number, it automatically sets your preferences.
If you’re driving around Boston and find yourself lost, you could use your mobile phone to call Tellme and get driving directions. The process is simple, you specify your starting point and your destination, and the Tellme service gives you step-by-step driving directions. I tried getting directions from my hometown to Bentley, and, while the directions weren’t perfect, they did get me where I was going.
In addition to stock quotes and directions, Tellme offers entertainment information, such as locating movie theaters and finding a film to see. You can also find restaurants, check the traffic or weather, or learn your horoscope. If you’re a sports buff, Tellme gives you access to game scores.
Tellme offers additional fun services, such as a wake-up call; Tellme will call you at a specified time, and will even deliver pertinent news or other information that you’ve set as your preference.
BeVocal (http://www.bevocal.com or 1-800-4BVOCAL), another voice portal, offers many of the features that Tellme has. In addition to the standard offerings of most voice portals, BeVocal has a “Business Finder” feature that allows you to search for local businesses based on the categories that you’ve selected. BeVocal also has “Flight Information,” which will give you updates on whether your flight will be on time.
The services offered by voice portals are best utilized if you personalize the portals by going through an enrollment process after calling or on the web. There are some downsides to the voice portals, however. Some information, such as traffic reports, are only available for major cities. Also, the services occasionally have trouble responding to the voice commands that you say.
Voice portals are useful tools for the mobile person. If you haven’t tried one out before, you should give it a shot. The amount of information available, as well as the price (free!) and convenience, should be enough for anybody to take a quick try of some of these portals.
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