March
29, 2000
CONTACTS:
Lou Saviano
Maita/Saviano Public Relations
510 739-0621
lsaviano@maita-saviano.com
netECHO
Lets You Surf and Hear Any Web site, Check E-mail, Using ANY phone- WITHOUT A
COMPUTER
InternetSpeech.com
to Demo New Audio Internet Access Service at Spring Internet World 2000, Launch
Pad, Booth #5668
SPRING
INTERNET WORLD 2000 - (Mar. 29, 2000) -- A Silicon Valley start-up plans to show
Internet fans that a computer isn't always necessary for accessing the Web --
an ordinary phone will work just fine.
San Jose-based
InternetSpeech.com, an audio Internet Service Provider will demonstrate its netECHO™
service at the Spring Internet World 2000 trade show, April 5-7 at the Los Angeles
Convention Center. The show boasts nearly 50,000 attendees interested in the hottest
Internet applications and technologies.
"We've
figured out a way to let you TALK to the Internet so you can easily gather important
web-based information without a computer. That can come in handy when you are
on the road, waiting for a plane, or even attending a soccer match," said Dr.
Emdad Khan, president and CEO of InternetSpeech.com.
netECHO
will allow users to go "on-line" to any web site with an ordinary telephone, payphone
or cell phone, and use simple voice commands to:
- Surf
(among Web sites)
- Search
(for information)
- Check
e-mail (such Yahoo mail)
- Conduct
e-commerce.
Subscribers
reach netECHO through a toll-free number, and verbally request the information
they want. For example, they can request stock quotes, ask for news updates, check
the current weather report, or review their e-mail.
Breakthrough
technology translates the requested Web page information into text, then reads
it out loud - minus the banners, ads and images normally seen when using a computer
to access the Internet. When users hear an item that interests them, they select
it by voice, and are taken to the newly selected destination.
Dr. Khan
is the technical genius behind netECHO, which integrates intelligent agent, text-to-speech,
speech recognition and telephone interface technologies.
"The
Internet is a vast resource with a major limitation: users have traditionally
needed a computer to go on-line. With netECHO™, anyone can easily access the Internet
from a simple, ubiquitous appliance - an ordinary telephone," Khan said.
When
launched in May, netECHO will cost $29.95 per month. The initial product
will allow users to check their web-based Yahoo e-mail, as well as surf and search
the Internet. Subsequent versions of the product will allow subscribers to conduct
e-commerce transactions by phone, such as purchase a last minute gift, or make
stock trades, and access other web-based e-mail systems, such as Hotmail and AOL
mail.
The product
is expected to appeal to mobile professionals, people without a computer, and
the visually impaired.
InternetSpeech.com
also plans to offer customized audio-based Internet solutions to businesses and
resellers. For example, InternetSpeech.com would work with a company to develop
an application that allows mobile workers to access the company's Intranet remotely,
and verbally retrieve or input new data. The product could be packaged with other
products, such as traditional, computer-based Internet access, or voice-mail offerings.
The company
is also working with telephone and portal companies, Internet Service Providers
and Application Service Providers to rapidly deploy the technology worldwide.
About
InternetSpeech.com:
InternetSpeech.com is a privately held company headquartered in San Jose, California.
It was founded in 1998 to provide audio-based access to the Internet via telephone.
The company believes that today's increasingly mobile and information-driven society
will require alternative ways to go online when away from a computer terminal.
InternetSpeech.com also is interested in bringing the Internet to these large
segments of the population - potential users who don't own or have access to a
computer as well as the visually impaired and disabled community - by using the
most natural interface, their own voice and any phone.
For more
information, visit InternetSpeech.com's Web site at http://www.internetspeech.com.
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