Voice portal services began in 1999 with a handful of vendors,
including General Magic and Wildfire, forging the way. Since
then, several dozen vendors have appeared. Most of these services
were initially offered free of charge. Wireless devices are
increasingly using speech technology as an alternative user
interface to access applications.
Excite, Yahoo!, Tellme, and many other Web sites allow people
to communicate using both voice and text. Users can check
email; receive voice messages; and access news, weather, stock
quotes, and sports results from their phones. Additionally,
many handheld devices are incorporating voice interaction
technologies to aid in navigation and operation of the device.
Voice is the simplest human-to-machine interface, and as such
can become a standard way to navigate and enter data on wireless
devices, whereas a visual display will probably remain the
preferred way to receive and view it. Acceptance of speech as a
user interface will vary by region because of cultural and social
factors. (The safety issue of operating a handheld device while
driving a vehicle should cast a favorable light on use of speech
recognition technologies.) Personalization will be key for customer
adoption of voice processing technology. Just as users
personalize their information on the Web, customizing their
voice portal will reduce lengthy set-up menu processes and permit
users to quickly move to the desired content. Better delivery
and performance and more dynamic content will contribute
to greater acceptance. According to Giga, voice recognition
services will grow at 70 percent annually, and revenue from
voice portal applications will grow to $45 billion by 2005.