SAY WHERE VOICE-ENABLES IPHONE

Say Where from Dial Directions (officially Excuse Me Services, Inc.) is the first application we've seen that integrates voice commands with Apple iPhone applications. Using Say Where, users can get directions in the US from Google Maps, search for businesses on Google Maps and Yellow Pages, get reviews from Yelp, and traffic information from Traffic.com. Released on September 28 in the Apple iPhone App Store, it had, as of this writing, eighteen App Store reviews and had earned 3.5 stars out of five. Reviewers seem to feel strongly about it one way or the other. We think it is a great concept and a great first release but would like to see a few enhancements.

While the primary benefit to this application is that users can initiate queries without having to use the keyboard--useful while driving and convenient otherwise--this application would be much more convenient if it had audio prompts and responses. Because there are no audio prompts and responses, users have to keep looking at the phone in order to operate the application, which reduces the application's utility (especially if the user is driving). We also found navigating the site a bit problematic--for instance, after we specified one business category to search, we didn't see how to specify a different category.

Dial Directions' initial offering, introduced in 2007, is a voice-activated directions service reached by dialing +1 DIR-ECT-IONS. Users can also access the service via partners including Evite, Jingle Networks, and now on the Apple iPhone. Other partners include Virgin Mobile USA, Volt Delta, and Dash Navigation. -Stuart Whitaker