Bridging Digital & Language Divides:
Driving Development Through
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
SAN JOSE / KUALA LUMPUR – May 18, 2008 – MIMOS, the technology arm of Malaysian Government (the key driver for “Innovation for Life”) and InternetSpeech, a California based start-up have announced tody, that both parties have launched a special effort to “truly” bridge the Digital and Language Divides using Voice Internet technology (netECHO®) that allows anyone to access the Internet using any phone and user’s voice, without the need of a computer. The core “rendering” feature of Voice Internet technology provides content from any website in a short, precise, easily navigable and meaningful audio in real time.
The core “rendering” technology can also be effectively used to render web contents into a display device like a Tablet PC or mobile phone screen, thus allowing many technology illiterate people to easily enjoy the benefits of the Internet.
“We see strong potential of using Voice Internet technology to easily and quickly bridge the Digital and Language Divides in a very cost effective way – it really fits with our key vision of “Innovation for Life” for exciting future”, said Dato’ Abdul Wahab Abdullah, President and CEO of MIMOS.
“Our goal is not just to Bridge the Digital and Language Divides but also help economic and social development through Innovation and Entrepreneurship; and providing Internet is the key to help this process”, said Dr. Emdad Khan, founder, president and CEO of InternetSpeech. “Thanks to MIMOS to select our Voice Internet technology”.
Developed and deployed in the U.S. in 2002, Voice Internet, netECHO empowers users by enabling them to navigate the Internet and listen to information from any web site, using simple voice commands and any telephone. netECHO’s patented technology provides content from any Web site in real-time, going beyond traditional voice portal features like news, weather, stock quotes and horoscopes. Customers can also search any word(s) using favorite search engines like Google®, Yahoo, Altavista® and MSN®. The streaming audio feature allows to listen to music, Internet radio stations, and many other live audio programs using a simple phone.
Other key features include Directory Assistance, On-Line Book Reading, and Shopping on selected websites. Future versions of netECHO will support shopping on all major websites, more complex transactions including stock trading, banking and general e-commerce.
InternetSpeech’s voice Internet service is ideal for a variety of market segments, including:
- People who don’t own a computer, or who don’t have one readily available; and
- WAP or other small screen-based phone users who want to hear real Internet content versus reading limited, pre-packaged online information on a tiny screen
- Mobile business professionals who need access to data while out of the office;
- Senior citizens who have difficulty in using computers or viewing small screens or using a phone key pad;
- Those with disabilities, particularly the visually-impaired and blind;
About MIMOS:
MIMOS pursues exploratory and industry-driven applied research through multi-stakeholder smart partnerships with universities, research institutes, Government and industries with a focus on frontier technologies. MIMOS’ applied research areas, based on real-world trends are cyberspace security, encryption systems, grid computing, communication technologies, Microsystems & MEMS, advanced informatics, knowledge technology and micro energy. MIMOS is the recipient of Frost & Sullivan’s Growth Excellence Award 2007 for Industry Innovation & Advancement (Precision Agriculture) for its application and development of Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) in the field of precision agriculture. For more information about MIMOS, visit www.mimos.my
About InternetSpeech:
InternetSpeech is the leader in voice Internet technology. Its voice/audio browser, netECHO®, provides consumers, businesses and Governments complete anytime, anywhere voice-based telephone access to the Internet. The company’s patented technology can be bundled with other products such as traditional computer-based Internet access, location-based services, or visual micro browsers. InternetSpeech also offers business software that automates the process of voice-enabling a company’s Web site and applications in any language, furthering the development of a globally-connected voice Internet. InternetSpeech, a privately held company headquartered in San Jose, Calif., launched netECHO in November 2000. For more information about InternetSpeech, visit www.internetspeech.com, or call 408-532-8460.
netECHO® is a registered trademark of InternetSpeech.
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