No one would call the average teen too quiet, but when it comes to mobile, that may be the case for the new voice services hitting the market. Yahoo! just introduced voice search into its mobile oneSearch product, similar to ChaCha. An article in today’s New York Times also talks about several services out there: GotVoice and CallWave help you manage voicemails. Jott transcribes voice notes. The writer says that the “pesky little keypad” can be “annoying”…
What if we used the function the cellphone was designed for? You can call a service called Dial Directions (www.dialdirections.com). You dial the word directions, which works out to 347-328-4667. You will have to pay for the long-distance call if your wireless plan does not cover it, but the service itself is free. Once you are connected, you will be prompted for information to an address, an intersection, certain businesses or an event. During the prompts, Dial Directions will speak back what it heard you say so that you can make corrections.
This is a very 30+ point of view. As MobHappy points out, young digital natives use their phones very differently than adults. “They don’t think it’s remotely difficult. In fact, using voice probably means that they have to take their iPod out of their ear, which is really a pain in the butt.” Indeed, teens today have grown up texting on mobile phones. They don’t mind, even prefer, that “pesky little keypad”. Texting is also more heavily embraced in Asia for cultural reasons: In Japan, it’s rude to talk on public transportation, so people switch to “manners mode.” SMS messages are also much cheaper than airtime all over the world, so we can’t see voice technology really catching on abroad.
So who WILL use these services? Certainly, many adults don’t love typing on a phone (even if it is a QWERTY). There definitely is an audience, but is there a future?
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