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PDA, Talk to Me!
Posted Tuesday, January 15, 2002 by PDA Center

Fonix Corporation (www.fonix.com) has two new PDA software products.

1.) Fonix Commander is a brand new speech recognition application that allows users of handheld devices, such as the Compaq iPAQ, to launch applications or tasks using voice commands. Fonix Commander recognizes simple, natural voice commands, such as "Pocket Word," or "Calendar," which take the user directly to the desired application or task without having to click through several menus with the stylus.

Virtually anyone can benefit from using Fonix Commander! Business professionals, salespersons, gadget goers – almost anyone who loves the advantages of the Pocket PC but doesn’t like having to click through several menus or buttons to get to the desired application or task. Simply tell your Pocket PC what task or application you’d like to see and Fonix Commander does the rest. It’s that easy!


2.) TimeTalk Alert (TTA) is a new type of scheduling assistant that provides practical capabilities to mobile users that have never been offered before. It organizes and reads aloud the most relevant upcoming appointments using exceptionally high quality Fonix Text-To-Speech (TTS) computer synthesized voices. It is primarily targeted at the busy executive or sales person on the go, specifically for the MS Pocket PC (PPC) PDA devices.

Unlike the built-in PIM applications, TTA presents only the upcoming Calendar and Task appointments and data in the most relevant manner possible. The next four upcoming Calendar and Task appointments (events) are displayed using full graphical screens and spoken aloud as users click on the corresponding icons. As individual event time approaches, an Alert is automatically popped up and the details spoken aloud so that users can be doing other activities (such as driving) while keeping informed and on track. If users are actively using the device for another application when an event occurs, a pop-up window comes to the forefront and speaks aloud the event. After responding to the event, users can immediately return to what they were doing with minimal interruption. There is also a digital clock feature that reads aloud the current time in quarter, half, or full hour increments.

After installing the TTA application on the PPC, it automatically loads and only becomes visible when users invoke it from the dropdown Startup menu. Therefore, even before the Graphical User Interface (GUI) is present, it is working hard to send Alerts or speak the time as specified by the user.

TimeTalk Alert and Fonix Commander are bundled together for $29.95, but will also be sold separately.