Microsoft wants voice operated phones

Microsoft’s acquisition of voice recognition software developer Tellme Networks this week appears to be a bid to replace the humble dial tone.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not revealed but Tellme’s 320 employees will continue to operate from the firm’s Mountain View, California headquarters as part of the Microsoft Business Division.

Microsoft said the companies intend to exploit the potential of speech as a way to enable access to information, locate other people and enhance business processes, any time and from any device.

“Tellme was founded with the idea that anyone should be able to simply say what they want and get it from any device, starting with the phone,” said Mike McCue, co-founder and CEO of Tellme.

It is understood that a user would be able to pick up any phone using the software and instead of a dial tone they would be greeted by a question such as “what do you want to do?” The user could then use voice prompts to call someone or perform a search.

Microsoft is looking at complementing its existing unified communications offerings with voice user interfaces and search services on mobile phones through integration with Live Search for mobile.

“Speech is universal, simple and holds incredible promise as a key interface for computing,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft.