IVR

Vonage is reportedly using Nuance’s (News - Alert) industry leading speech engine to power its new voicemail-to-text service.

Subscribers to the new Vonage World plan will get a voicemail-to-text feature that lets then have their voicemails transcribed into text form and sent to their mobile devices as SMS (text messages) or email.

This voicemail-to-text feature is part of the visual voicemail offering that is part of the service. Visual voicemail lets mobile users view their voicemails in list form by way of a special user interface. This allows them to prioritize messages and, optionally, listen only to those messages which the user deems as important. This saves time compared to having to dial into a voicemail box and listen to all the messages in chronological order.

The voicemail-to-text feature takes this one step farther by transcribing the audio into text format – so the user can then read the voicemail on his or her mobile device’s screen. This is a key capability for business travelers, as it lets them read voicemails on their screens, as opposed to having to play the audio in places that might be noisy, such as on an airplane just before takeoff, in a busy subway station or in a nightclub where there is music blaring. In addition, having the voicemails in text form lets the user “skim” through the message more quickly and take note of only those parts which are important.

Vonage (News - Alert) customers can still dial in and listen to their voice messages the traditional way if they so choose. In addition they can save voice messages as audio files which can be attached to emails.

“Vonage and Nuance have worked jointly over the past year-and-a-half to create an unsurpassed customer experience,” said Vonage CEO Marc Lefar, in a release. “Vonage Visual Voicemail allows us to meet the needs of our busy customers who prefer to read their voicemail messages via email or text message. Our customers can stay connected to friends, family and colleagues while on the go and will never miss an important message.”

About 2.5 million people subscribe to Vonage’s VoIP service. The company’s VoIP technology enables anyone to make and receive phone calls with a touch tone telephone almost anywhere a broadband Internet connection is available. The company’s Vonage World and Small Business Unlimited calling plans offer consumers unlimited local and long distance calling, and popular features like call waiting, call forwarding and voicemail for a flat monthly rate.

Vonage's service is sold on the Web and through national retailers including Best Buy and Wal-Mart. It is available to customers in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.

Nuance’s speech recognition technology is used everywhere – from mobile devices to in-car systems to ATMs to IVRs.