OnStar Honored For Best Speech Deployment
Troy, Mich. -Speech Technology Magazine announced today that OnStar and its technology providers - General Magic , Intel Corporation, Nuance and Fonix (OTC BB: FONX) received one of its Peak Performance Awards for Best Speech Deployment. The Peak Performance Awards program is designed to recognize the products, services or innovations of speech technology companies whose efforts have propelled the industry to the forefront of technological innovations in communications.
Voted a Readers' Choice winner, OnStar received recognition in the Best Speech Deployment category for its successful development of OnStar Virtual Advisor, a new service that combines wireless communications, voice recognition, and text-to-speech technology to provide personalized Web-based information in a completely voice-activated, audio manner. Virtual Advisor is built on General Magic's magicTalk(tm) voice platform, by integrating Intel's Dialogic(r) brand voice and speech processing products, Nuance's speech recognition, Fonix Corp.'s text-to-speech (TTS) and other content sources.
"This honor is of great significance because it was voted on by the people who read Speech Technology Magazine," said OnStar President Chet Huber. "Virtual Advisor was designed to provide a wealth of information to people as they travel in their cars, where they spend more than 500 million hours a week. Our subscribers said they wanted this kind of voice-activated, in vehicle, web-based information source and this award is a vote of confidence that we are answering the call."
Two awards were presented in each of 12 categories -- an Editors' Choice Award, representing the votes of the magazine's editorial staff, columnists, contributing writers and industry experts, and a Readers' Choice Award voted by the worldwide readership of Speech Technology Magazine. Almost 300 nominations were received and voted upon via the magazine's Web site at www.speechtechmag.com.
Reflecting the explosive growth in land based and wireless speech communications - from mobile phones to speech-enabled computers and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) - The Kelsey Group, a New York-based financial analyst organization, projects that worldwide spending and revenues from speech applications and the Voice Web will reach $41 billion by 2005.
"Winners of our Peak Performance Awards represent the 'best of the best' in their categories and are primarily responsible for the great strides that speech technology is making in the global marketplace," said John Kelly, Speech Technology Magazine's publisher and editor-in-chief.
Editor Gary Moyers agreed, "We are proud to be able to recognize both large and small companies whose work is revolutionizing the way the world communicates."
Winners in all categories, as well as nomination and voting guidelines, may be viewed online at www.speechtechmag.com/st.mag/current/ppawinners.shtml.
About OnStar:
OnStar, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Corp., is the leading provider of in-vehicle safety, security and information services using the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network and wireless technology. OnStar services include automatic notification of air bag deployment, stolen vehicle tracking, remote door unlock, remote diagnostics, route support, OnStar concierge and convenience services. OnStar Personal Calling allows drivers to make and receive hands-free, voice-activated phone calls through a nationwide network in cooperation with Verizon Wireless. Virtual Advisor, developed with General Magic Inc., gives subscribers access to personalized Web-based information in a hands-free voice-activated manner with no screens or displays. Additional information is available at www.onstar.com
About Speech Technology Magazine:
Speech Technology Magazine and SpeechTEK Exposition and Educational Conference are recognized worldwide as the leading sources of information on the products and technologies affecting the speech technology industry. The bi-monthly trade publication and the annual trade show deliver essential news to developers of the technology, value added resellers, integrators, end-users, investors and other professionals interested in this ever-expanding technology and its applications. Subscription or exhibit information is available online: http://www.speechtechmag.com or http://www.speechtek.com or call toll-free 877-993-9767.