Vlingo

CNET TV’s: Vlingo for Smarter TV

Erin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:43:15 +0000

This has been an incredibly exciting week for Vlingo. Just a few days ago at CES 2012, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow, we announced that Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant is now available for Smart TV’s. Expanding Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant beyond mobile to television is a natural extension. Adding Virtual Assistant capabilities to the television will allow consumers to easily locate the right show, movie or program among thousands of choices on TV at any given time, eliminating frustration and improving the entertainment experience. For those of you who haven’t seen how Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant for Smarter TV, take a look at CNET TV’s coverage:

Vlingo Announces its Virtual Assistant for Smarter TV

TJ — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:49:11 +0000

Vlingo Corporation today announced its Virtual Assistant solution for TV manufacturers, set-top box makers and service providers. Adding Virtual Assistant capabilities to the television will allow consumers to easily locate the right show, movie or program among thousands of choices on TV at any given time, eliminating frustration and improving the entertainment experience. With advanced technology and services covering speech, intent engines, natural language processing, dialogue management, monetization and user experience design, Vlingo ignites differentiation, stickiness, and user satisfaction.

“Households worldwide have access to thousands of TV channels and dozens of service provider choices. Vlingo aims to simplify TV chaos by providing a simple, intuitive method for discovering the right content from among all those choices, making the experience enjoyable for users and avoiding the frustration of limited, hard to use remote controls,” said Chris Barnett, EVP Markets at Vlingo. “The Vlingo Virtual Assistant for TV is designed to modernize that thing your grandfather once called a ‘remote control’. Everyone deserves their own assistant and Vlingo’s new TV product offering will make this a reality on TVs this year.”

Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant for Smarter TV will allow users to perform the following tasks with their voice:

Browse and find: Users can search and discover content by actor, genre or director using Vlingo’s newly developed dialogue manager which engages users with interactive browsing
Watch shows: “Watch the Price is Right” or “Find western movies starring Clint Eastwood”
Record programs: “Record Modern Family tonight at 8pm” or “Record the game on ESPN next Monday night at 9pm”
Rent and buy movies: “Rent The Fighter on Netflix” or “Play Rocky Four on-demand”
Basic controls: “Switch to on-demand”, “Put on ESPN”, “Go to Netflix” or “Turn up the volume”
Social media communication: “Facebook update: Joe is watching Lost on Hulu”

For TV manufacturers, set-top box makers, and service providers interested in a preview and partnering with Vlingo, please visit http://vlingo.com/partners.

On December 20, 2011, Vlingo announced the signing of an agreement for Nuance to acquire Vlingo. While the acquisition is expected to close during calendar 2012, no specific closing date has been determined. Vlingo will continue to deliver its products and services as an independent company until the deal closes.

About Vlingo

Vlingo creates voice-powered products and solutions that simplify how individuals connect to the people, places and information that matter most. Through a seamless integration of speech recognition, natural language processing, and its proprietary Intent Engine, Vlingo technology powers its own line of smartphone applications, as well as custom solutions for partners in the mobile, automotive and smart TV industries. Founded in 2006, Vlingo is backed by Charles River Ventures, Sigma Partners, Yahoo! and AT&T and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, go to www.vlingo.com.

Vlingo in 2012: What’s Next for the Virtual Assistant

TJ — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:47:07 +0000

Like most people in the New Year, we here at Vlingo have been thinking about all the promise that 2012 holds. We wanted to share a video that offers a sneak peek into some of what’s to come, as well as offer our thoughts on trends we think will emerge for voice-activated assistants. One things for sure – it is going to be an another exciting year at Vlingo.

Trends to Watch in 2012

#1 – Mobile Voice Goes (Really) Mainstream

What? You say this happened last year with Siri? Sure, it is certainly true that Siri caused an inflection point in the industry. However, the real mainstream moment will hit when Google releases its Siri-rival (with some reports suggesting that launch is only weeks away), and Microsoft improves its own native voice technology. More and more device makers will also look to differentiate their own products by closely integrating voice. No question Apple fired a shot across the bow in 2011, and 2012 will be the year the major players in mobile let Apple know they are prepared to fire back.

#2 – To the Cloud!

Historically, a lot of the voice-enabled features on smartphones have lived on the phone. That’s to say that a good portion of the “thinking” has been done right on the device. Certain simple functionality will continue to remain on your handset, but more and more of the heavy lifting will be done in the cloud. What does this mean for everyone? It means more breadth and depth in terms of content. It means faster processing. It means improved accuracy. It means better, more natural dialog between the Assistant and you.

But perhaps most importantly it will…

#3 – Enable Cross-Device and Cross-Platform

With more of the work being done in the cloud, it means it will be easier to synch and send information across devices and platforms. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could ask your tablet a question and have the answer show up on your TV? Or if you could send directions you found on your phone directly to an in-vehicle navigation system? The possibilities are nearly endless, and the day when this type of functionality appears on all sorts of connected devices is rapidly approaching.

As you can see, there is plenty to look forward to in 2012. What do you think of Vlingo’s vision? Did we miss any key trends?

Vlingo Adds Support for the HTC Rezound

Erin — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:47:36 +0000

Hope you and your families are enjoying the wonderful holiday season! 2011 has been a great year and we thank you all for your support! Just a quick note to let everyone know that Vlingo has added support for the HTC Rezound from Verizon Wireless.

Click here to download Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant!

Hope you enjoy!

Vlingo signs agreement to be acquired by Nuance

TJ — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:20:27 +0000

As many of you read Tuesday, Vlingo has entered an agreement to be acquired by Nuance.

First of all, we would like to thank all of you – our long time customers – for the support you have shown us over the years. From our first product launch all the way to the recent Mashable Award, you have stood by us and passionately spread the word about Vlingo’s products. We’re eternally grateful and we plan to continue to earn your loyalty. We say it quite often, and we mean it every time, but we really could not have gotten here without you.

Thank you.

We’re incredibly excited about what Vlingo and Nuance will be able to do as a combined force. Both companies share a vision for how voice can transform the way we interact with our phones, tvs, cars, and just about any other connected device. Going forward we will be far better suited to serve you, our customers, by working together with Nuance to continue making industry leading products.

So now the question that many of you have been asking – what does this mean for you? The short answer is absolutely nothing right now. We will continue to operate as an independent company as the acquisition goes through the standard approval processes. We will continue to push out updates to our current suite of products. After the transaction is completed, , as is the case with all mergers and acquisitions, Vlingo and Nuance will sit down together and evaluate the best way to synch the two product sets. We can’t tell you how that will shake out (because we don’t know), but we can tell you we will hold our customers interests and loyalty close to us when we go through that process.

We know that probably isn’t the level of detail some of you hoped for, but the reality is we just don’t have all of the answers yet. We will keep you up to date when key decisions are made, and we’ll do our best to answer questions you might have in the interim.

We certainly hope that you continue to use and enjoy our products. Everyone here at Vlingo looks forward to serving all of you for many, many years to come as a part of Nuance. Thanks again.

Best,
Team Vlingo

With social, 3rd party app controls Vlingo goes beyond simply “Siri for Android”

TJ — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:16:44 +0000

Thus far we’ve looked at how Vlingo and Siri are largely comparable across many core functions. Today we’ll start to take a look at some ways where the two Assistants handle your requests differently.

The Vlingo Virtual Assistant on Android can help you open popular third party services like Spotify, Pandora and YouTube. Siri, unfortunately, cannot. This illustrates one of the key differences between Vlingo and Siri – Vlingo wants to remain open, allowing you to choose what content is important, while Siri prefers a much more tightly controlled experience. You see this again when we look at social networking. Vlingo allows you to update Facebook or Twitter, and check in with foursquare. No such luck on Siri. Check out the video below. We think after watching you’re realize that Vlingo is much more than just Siri for Android. It’s a more open, social Assistant.

What do you think? Any other questions for us about how Vlingo and Siri differ?

Thanks,

Vlingo Delivers Better Handsfree Controls Than Siri For Your Android Phone

TJ — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:19:10 +0000

Hello everyone and welcome back to our video series where we’ll be showing side-by-side comparisons between Vlingo and Siri. In this video we take a closer look at how helpful your Assistant is when you can’t touch or look at your phone. What we found may surprise some folks – Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant for Android phones actually offers superior handsfree controls. While Siri and your iPhone 4S need regular management, when Vlingo is in InCar mode your Assistant springs to life with a simple wake up word and you never need to touch your phone to send texts, get directions or make a call.

Don’t take our word for it, though. Check out the video and let us know what you think.

Be sure to check back again next week for another video where we compare how Vlingo and Siri work with 3rd party apps and social networks. In the meantime please let us know in the comments if there are any other comparisons you like to see.

Thanks,

The Best Alternative to Siri on Android

TJ — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:26:09 +0000

Siri, the new voice activated assistant on the iPhone 4S, has taken the world by storm the last two months. What many people don’t know is that the Vlingo Virtual Assistant has been around for many years, and offers much of the same assistant-like functionality. This is the first video in a series in which we’ll take a look at Vlingo and Siri in a side-by-side comparison. I think what the video will show you is that Vlingo is the original, and still the best alternative to Siri.

Here we compare how the Vlingo Virtual Assistant on Android handles some tasks that Apple has featured prominently in its advertising. Please check back in with our blog or on our YouTube channel for the next installment – coming very soon.

Let us know what you think about this video, and if you have any other ideas for comparisons. We’re all ears!

Vlingo is a finalist for Most Innovative Mobile App at the 2011 Mashable Awards (we need your votes!)

TJ — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:23:14 +0000

First of all, a BIG thank you to everyone who helped nominate us. We feel quite loved. Thank you!

Now that we have been selected as a finalist we need your help one more time to get us over the hump. The competition is stiff, and we really would appreciate (and need) your votes.

The Mashable Awards are some of the biggest in technology, and winners are announced at the annual Mash Bash during the Consumer Electronics Show in January. So if Vlingo has ever helped you out in a pinch, or made your life a little bit easier, please vote for us as the Most Innovative Mobile App.

How to Vote for Vlingo:

Visit this page http://mashable.com/follow/contests/mashable-awards-2011/

Select “Most Innovative Mobile App” from the first drop down

Select “Vlingo” from the second

That’s it! Thank you very much.

We very seriously appreciate everyone coming out to help nominated us. We’ll all celebrate together in January if we end up winning it all – that’s a promise.

Thanks in advance for the support. In the meantime, we’ll keep working as fast as we can to make our Virtual Assistant even more helpful.

Thank You,

Vlingo: Android’s Answer to the Siri Assistant

TJ — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:30:21 +0000

There has been a lot of buzz about the iPhone 4S and its Siri Assistant. But what many don’t realize is that the Android platform has had a Siri-like Assistant for a year and a half . In the wake of the 4S launch, there have been many “me-too” apps that have tried to mimic some of what Siri does, but we think the original Virtual Assistant for Android – Vlingo – still separates itself from the pack. And we also believe it compares favorably to much of the functionality recently launched by Apple.

You can download Vlingo on Android Market here.

Much like Siri, Vlingo can do all of the following tasks with a simple, natural voice command:

Send messages (SMS or Email)
Voice dial
Find information on restaurants and other local businesses
Search the web
Get directions
Listen to incoming messages
Look for answers to your questions

But Vlingo doesn’t stop there. It can help you do many things that Siri currently cannot:

Send a message, make a call or get directions without ever having to touch your phone using a “Wake Up word”
Update your Facebook or Twitter status
Check in with foursquare
Book a reservation through OpenTable
Buy movie tickets with Fandango
Search and book travel on KAYAK

Vlingo has a rating of 4.3 Stars on Android Market, and has earned the prestigious designation of Top Developer. If you’re interested in a Siri alternative for your Android device, you should give Vlingo a try. We have more information and a demo video on our Android Market page.