The power of speech on the move

The power of speech on the move

From next week, mobile telephone users in Singapore will quite literally be able to call people they want to talk to. SingTel Mobile, the monopoly supplier of mobile services, is offering subscribers voice recognition software which will let them record their own voices saying up to 30 names, with the corresponding phone numbers. When the system hears the owner saying the name, it will automatically dial the number. SingTel Mobile said the service would be useful for dialling numbers while driving, and would also be a boon for the blind.

The initiative is part of a wider effort by the Singapore government to make the country as technologically advanced as possible, in which it is introducing competition in the telecom industry and expanding computer provision across government and business - while keeping its strict censorship and behaviour laws intact. Charles Arthur