All right, this is for all them BlackBerry users. Dialling from a BlackBerry Pearl phone will be lot easier with the introduction of a speech solution by VoiceSignal, a provider of speech recognition software. According to a posting on VoiceSignal's website, its solution is now included globally in the new BlackBerry Pearl from Research In Motion. The solution requires "no training", VoiceSignal says, and best of all, has hands-free, eyes-free dialing capability. It says VoiceSignal's VSuite dialing application is integrated on the BlackBerry Pearl allowing users to dial numbers or contacts stored on their BlackBerry phone with a single, natural voice command.
BlackBerry users can also launch the VSuite application from a wired or Bluetooth wireless headset, with a push of a button. For example, a user can simply press a button on the headset and say, "Call Chamanlal at work" to initiate the call. There's more: Users can call the corporate desk phone of their co-workers by simply speaking the words "call extension" followed by the extension number.
The BlackBerry Pearl will dial the preset main line, pause momentarily upon connecting to the switchboard, and then automatically dial the extension number. When it comes to the handling of identical names in the address book, the caller is further prompted to name the contact's company. For example, the user can say "call Chamanlal", and be prompted to identify if the Chamanlal they want to call is at "Company ABC" or "Company XYZ". What will they think of next?
3G back in favour?
Meanwhile, after years of eagerly anticipating video would be the "killer application" for 3G, a new survey finds that existing and potential 3G customers are much more interested in high-quality mapping and navigation services. However, 3G carriers that want to capture that market will have to expand the availability of compatible handsets.
"Expanding the number of Global Positioning Satellite or Assisted-GPS handsets from today's levels will be an important step for 3G carriers to provide the applications their customers really want," says the survey by In-Stat, a high-tech market research firm. "Unfortunately, technology choices left over from the 1990s make this difficult but carriers and handset vendors are starting to provide an increasing flow of products that better meet the 3G customers' needs." The In-Stat report, based on a survey of over 1,000 mobile users, found that current 3G users are very enthusiastic about the service, which is in marked contrast with other customers who have expressed dissatisfaction with premium applications.
Using voice to make phone calls
October 18, 2006, 10:00 amThis year, sale of firecrackers not moving at cracking pace
October 18, 2006, 9:58 am
Firecracker merchants are not a happy lot this Diwali. First came the rains that soaked consignments, leading to an increase in prices. Then came the diseases, reducing drastically the time, money and energy customers were willing to spend on anything else. The final blow came when the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) refused to renew licences to shops in the area behind Raipur Darwaja, after last year’s fire that gutted a three-storey building in what has traditionally been one of city’s most vibrant firecracker markets.
If some firecracker retailers are to be believed, prices have gone up by as much as 20 per cent after the rains. Patrons at Kamdar Maidan, currently playing host to shops from Raipur bazaar, say that while they are spending as much as usual, the quantity of their purchases has gone down drastically.
‘‘Last year also, I spent the same Rs 1,000, but I was happy with what I had got then. This time, the amount is negligible,’’ says dental student Aditya Thaker, holding up a small plastic bag.
There are others like the Shahs, who have had to cut their budget by almost half. ‘‘Usually, we spend about Rs 1,000-1,300, but this year, thanks to Chikungunya, our budget has come down to about Rs 700,’’ says Rakesh Shah, adding, ‘‘We can’t cut crackers out of the Diwali budget completely, it’s the best thing about Diwali as far as the children are concerned.’’ His son Shreyansh nods his head vigorously in agreement with his father’s judgement.
In addition to the fall in sales, retailers like Devang Chokshi of Annapoorna Firecrackers are extremely annoyed with the idea of having to shift to Kamdar Maidan this season. His is one of the nearly 50 shops to lose their licences after last year’s fire in the heavily residential Raipur Darwaja area.
‘‘That fire happened because of a short-circuit, not because of the crackers. What is so safe about these tin boxes they (the AMC) have put us in?’’ he asks referring to the stalls made of tin. ‘‘The temperature is so high that we are more afraid here than in our own shops,’’ he adds.
Bharat Patel, an employee at Ambika Fireworks Trading, one of the city’s largest firecracker shops, agrees with Chokshi. ‘‘If a fire happens inside a shop, it can easily be contained. We just have to pull down shutters, and wait for the fireworks to die down. Flower pots and Cinderella wheels account for most of our stock, so any fire can be easily put off. In an open space, the fire is likely to spread more,’’ he says.
Source: Expressindia.com
If some firecracker retailers are to be believed, prices have gone up by as much as 20 per cent after the rains. Patrons at Kamdar Maidan, currently playing host to shops from Raipur bazaar, say that while they are spending as much as usual, the quantity of their purchases has gone down drastically.
‘‘Last year also, I spent the same Rs 1,000, but I was happy with what I had got then. This time, the amount is negligible,’’ says dental student Aditya Thaker, holding up a small plastic bag.
There are others like the Shahs, who have had to cut their budget by almost half. ‘‘Usually, we spend about Rs 1,000-1,300, but this year, thanks to Chikungunya, our budget has come down to about Rs 700,’’ says Rakesh Shah, adding, ‘‘We can’t cut crackers out of the Diwali budget completely, it’s the best thing about Diwali as far as the children are concerned.’’ His son Shreyansh nods his head vigorously in agreement with his father’s judgement.
In addition to the fall in sales, retailers like Devang Chokshi of Annapoorna Firecrackers are extremely annoyed with the idea of having to shift to Kamdar Maidan this season. His is one of the nearly 50 shops to lose their licences after last year’s fire in the heavily residential Raipur Darwaja area.
‘‘That fire happened because of a short-circuit, not because of the crackers. What is so safe about these tin boxes they (the AMC) have put us in?’’ he asks referring to the stalls made of tin. ‘‘The temperature is so high that we are more afraid here than in our own shops,’’ he adds.
Bharat Patel, an employee at Ambika Fireworks Trading, one of the city’s largest firecracker shops, agrees with Chokshi. ‘‘If a fire happens inside a shop, it can easily be contained. We just have to pull down shutters, and wait for the fireworks to die down. Flower pots and Cinderella wheels account for most of our stock, so any fire can be easily put off. In an open space, the fire is likely to spread more,’’ he says.
Source: Expressindia.com
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