Vlingo launches speech-rec app for BlackBerry

Speech-recognition startup vlingo Corp. launched a free downloadable application that allows BlackBerry users to navigate their phones using voice.
Vlingo for BlackBerry users can speak commands into their handsets to initiate phone calls, send a text or e-mail message, find contacts or search the wireless Web. The application, which can be downloaded here, is available on the BlackBerry Pearl, Curve and 8800 series; the company plans to support other devices and operating systems later this year.
A Boston-area startup, vlingo appeared on the radar earlier this year when Yahoo tapped the company to add speech-recognition capability to its oneSearch application. Vlingo hopes to gain traction among smartphone users with free applications and, ultimately, to partner with network operators.
A video demonstration of the new offering can be seen here.
“We think it’s important to establish a voice user interface in the market,” said vlingo CEO Dave Grannan. “What Apple’s iPhone was to the touch user interface, we want to be for the voice user interface.”
Vlingo’s latest offering is similar to Voice Control, a subscription-based application from longtime player Nuance Communications Inc. Nuance last week filed suit against vlingo, claiming the newcomer’s service infringes a Nuance patent that covers a technique for adapting voice-recognition technology to a specific user’s speech patterns.