ad info




CNN.com
 MAIN PAGE
 WORLD
 ASIANOW
 U.S.
 LOCAL
 POLITICS
 WEATHER
 BUSINESS
 SPORTS
 TECHNOLOGY
   computing
   personal technology
   space
 NATURE
 ENTERTAINMENT
 BOOKS
 TRAVEL
 FOOD
 HEALTH
 STYLE
 IN-DEPTH

 custom news
 Headline News brief
 daily almanac
 CNN networks
 CNN programs
 on-air transcripts
 news quiz

  CNN WEB SITES:
CNN Websites
 TIME INC. SITES:
 MORE SERVICES:
 video on demand
 video archive
 audio on demand
 news email services
 free email accounts
 desktop headlines
 pointcast
 pagenet

 DISCUSSION:
 message boards
 chat
 feedback

 SITE GUIDES:
 help
 contents
 search

 FASTER ACCESS:
 europe
 japan

 WEB SERVICES:
COMPUTING

Dick Tracy meets Star Trek

November 16, 1999
Web posted at: 4:02 p.m. EST (2102 GMT)

by Ephraim Schwartz

From...
InfoWorld

LAS VEGAS (IDG) -- Trekkies from around the universe may want to be on hand here at Comdex when Samsung unveils its watch-size cellular phone that carries out voice-commanded dialing.

Crew members Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Scotty (James Doohan), Chekov (Walter Koenig), and many more cast members from the TV series will be on hand on Thursday at the Las Vegas Hilton to demonstrate the phone, which comes with an embedded speech processor for voice access to a contact database.

 VIDEO
VideoCNN's Anne McDermott reports on the gee whiz items available at this year's Comdex.
QuickTime Play
Real 28K 80K
Windows Media 28K 80K
 
  ALSO
• 3dfx announces Voodoo 4 and 5

• Corel launches desktop Linux

• Converge on (and at) the 20th Comdex

• Dick Tracy meets Star Trek

• Digital cameras for slim wallets

• HP's Fiorina: Net just isn't friendly enough yet

• George Lucas, Playstation 2 highlight Sony keynote at Comdex

• Windows 2000 reliable, says Microsoft

•  Internet audio on autopilot

• Users await the networked home

• Sony debuts MusicClip MP3 player

• Linux creator speaks about secret new project


More COMDEX 1999 stories
 
  MESSAGE BOARD
Comdex

Smart cell phones
 

The Samsung phone, which measures 2.7 inches by 2.3 inches by 0.8 inches and weighs 1.7 ounces, will accept user input, about fifty names and numbers, via a touchscreen or voice command. The phone is worn on the wrist and includes earphones for more private conversations.

The speech technology behind the Samsung phone is from Redmond, Wash.-based Conversational Computing, also known as Conversa. And, according to Ron Risdon, executive director for business development at Conversa, the next generation Samsung phone will have two-way voice capability.

"If a user asks for a number to be dialed, the phone will prompt for more explicit instructions by asking, 'home phone, mobile phone, or business phone,' " Risdon said.

Although the crew of the Enterprise never used such a device, the technological point Conversa is trying to make is that the age of two-way conversations with computer devices is at hand.

Conversational Computing will also demonstrate technology called Ensemble, which is designed for ISPs and Internet content providers to create voice-driven applications for accessing the Internet via the phone.

Voice-interactive Web sites will free users from keyboards and will eliminate the need for displays to check weather conditions, flight schedules, and stock prices, according to Risdon.

Pricing for the Samsung phone is not yet determined, but the product will ship in the first quarter.

Ephraim Schwartz is an InfoWorld editor at large based in San Francisco.



RELATED STORIES:
Wireless Web gets a boost
November 11, 1999
Telecom 99: Phones morph into computers
October 18, 1999
AOL, Motorola develop wireless chat
October 15, 1999
Nokia, Palm join forces on handhelds
October 15, 1999
Father of cell phone eyes revolution
October 14, 1999
Motorola products show wireless focus
October 13, 1999
Palm Pilot users to become even more boring
October 7, 1999
What's the next great gadget?
October 4, 1999

RELATED IDG.net STORIES:
Price of a phone call drops to nil on the Net
(PC World Online)
NTT Labs brings Dick Tracy to the enterprise
(InfoWorld Electric)
Swatch makes Dick Tracy real
(InfoWorld Electric)
Gadgets to star at Comdex
(PC World Online)
Comdex: Acer debuts Net appliances
(PC World Online)
Wireless phones go hands-free
(PC World Online)
The hype around PDAs
(Network World Fusion)
What's the next great gadget?
(Network World Fusion)
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

RELATED SITES:
Conversational Computing Inc.
Samsung Telecommunications Inc.
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
 LATEST HEADLINES:
SEARCH CNN.com
Enter keyword(s)   go    help

Back to the top   © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.