ACCESS NetFront Unveils Browser with Voice Recognition

[Pat Logsdon]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www-306.ibm.com/software/pervasive/multimodal/' target='_blank'>http://www-306.ibm.com/software/per...ive/multimodal/</a><br /><br /></div>ACCESS has released a new "multimodal" version of their NetFront browser that has a VoiceXML (or X + V) plugin:<br /><br />"Adding voice recognition to the mobile Internet can create a powerful and versatile end-user experience. For example, with X+V you can request Internet search information from a travel site, enter the parameters for your flight, book your flight and hotel, and even rental car simply by speaking--which can be a far easier solution than manually typing your information, especially on handheld computers or mobile phones."<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20040314_multimodal.jpg" /> <br /><br />The software was developed in conjunction with IBM's Pervasive Computing division, which contributed its voice recognition expertise. The installation is a whopping 8mb (it CAN be installed on a storage card), but it certainly works. It's also not an entirely handsfree experience, as a button press is required to tell the software to "listen". The available commands include: back, forward, home, refresh, page up, page down, zoom in, zoom out, normal size, show bookmarks, show help, and show voice commands. You can download the software on <a href="http://www-306.ibm.com/software/pervasive/multimodal/">this page</a>.

[jb]

And it only took about 10 clicks to download the 4.5mb file. Leave it to IBM to make the eassy extra hard.

[Tom W.M.]

Darn. It's only available for iPaqs. I wish Opera would release a version of their mobile browser for PPCs and H/PCs. :roll:

[Pat Logsdon]

I wish Opera would release a version of their mobile browser for PPCs and H/PCs. :roll:
I think you'll see this first:

http://www.mybunny.org/images/pig-flying.gif

From what I've read, Opera isn't particulary fond of Microsoft.

[Zack Mahdavi]

No, Opera will pretty soon. I'm sure you've read articles about their new "Medium screen technology" that will basically eliminate horizontal scrolling from web pages. It's supposed to be introduced later this year for Palms and Pocket PCs.

http://www.opera.com/pressreleases/en/2004/01/20/index.dml

[Pat Logsdon]

No, Opera will pretty soon. I'm sure you've read articles about their new "Medium screen technology" that will basically eliminate horizontal scrolling from web pages. It's supposed to be introduced later this year for Palms and Pocket PCs.

http://www.opera.com/pressreleases/en/2004/01/20/index.dml
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see it happen - it's just one of those things that I'll have to see to believe. :wink:

[Jacob]

When/where did they announce that they will support Pocket PCs??

Every time I've seen someone ask about that in their forums someone from Opera replies that "they have no plan to support that platform".

I'm really taking the "I"ll believe it when I see it" attitude too.. especially considering what I've heard from them.

[Zack Mahdavi]

When/where did they announce that they will support Pocket PCs??

Hmm... now, that I think about it, they always say, "coming soon for PDAs." I guess I assumed that included PocketPCs as well as Palms. However, I'm hoping that they do introduce their new browser for PocketPCs as the technology looks amazing!

[Tom W.M.]

That Opera stuff looks very nice, but I doubt that I'll ever see a version for my MobilePro H/PC. :( I probably have more of chance of seeing a Gecko-based browser. Opera's probably not going to waste resources supporting near-obsolete CE 2.11 MIPS devices.

Is there any more information available on MSR tech.? I'm wondering if it loads a mobile or a screen style sheet.

If this ever happens for PPC, I hope that they don't try to charge $40 for it! That's just too much for a web browser on a device as limited as a PDA.

[rock]

Any bug fixes in the new version of NF?

[ctitanic]

Any bug fixes in the new version of NF?

There is not a new version of NF, it's just a new addin.