Why type when you can talk? That is apparently the new technology that IM+ now carries which can surely make mobile communications a whole lot easier. SHAPE has joined forces with Yap Inc., pioneer of the first fully automated voice-to-text platform, to add the first of its kind, thumbs-free message dictation feature to IM+ for BlackBerry smartphones.

IM+ with speech recognition will allow users to dictate their instant messages and send them as text to their contacts in Facebook, AIM/iChat, MSN/Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo!, ICQ, Jabber, Google Talk and MySpaceIM. Recent studies indicate that over 70% of consumers prefer using voice to interact with their mobile devices rather than typing. Speech-enablement increases message creation speed and greatly improves the usability of instant messaging on mobile devices.

The beta version of IM+ with voice recognition will be showcased at this week’s Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES) in Orlando, Florida, and the full release is expected at the end of May 2009.

(Source) Press