Besides the significant hardware upgrades, the other selling point of the Apple iPhone 4S is Siri, the speech-enabled assistant that can help you schedule appointments, set reminders, read and compose SMS, and many other tasks. The technology is essentially a massive (considering how many iPhone 4S users are there in the U.S.) cloud-based speech recognition service reportedly provided by Nuance software.

Unfortunately Apple decided to make Siri only available on the iPhone 4S even though various resourceful hackers have proven that it can be run on the older 3GS and 4 models. Even the iPad 2 didn’t get Siri although its hardware is similar with the 4S.

Well, the folks at Applidium have cracked Siri’s protocol and published very informative technical details. Among them:

• Siri uses TCP port 443, over HTTPS (Secure HTTP)
• The request is a custom “ACE” method (as opposed to commonly used “GET”)
• Raw audio data is sent but compressed using Speex codec
• An iPhone 4S identifier is required with Siri

First, RIP Steve Jobs. The world will miss you dearly. It was only the day before his death that relatively new Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the iPhone 4S.

So while many speculated and hoped for an iPhone 5 to be announced, it was only an iPhone 4S being the grand finale in the “Let’s Talk iPhone” event. Yet it was fitting that Apple chose that name for the event because the real star of the show was Siri, the new voice-capable assistant available exclusively on the iPhone 4S (thanks to its powerful dual-core A5 CPU).

The live Siri demo went without a hitch — Apple indeed risked a lot to publicly demonstrate its features right in front of journalists and bloggers. Although Siri’s still slapped with a “beta” sticker, it seemed solid enough during the demo.

The question on a lot of speech geeks’ minds is, of couse, does Siri use Nuance technology, considering all the rumors of an Apple/Nuance partnership? Even MG Siegler from TechCrunch wonders the same thing and based on the timing of an oddly worded Nuance press release, he seems to think so:

Hmm. Nuance seemed to be going out of their way to not say that they were powering the awesome new Siri feature of the iPhone 4S. In fact, it almost reads like a company that just got its hat handed to it by Apple, and wanted to give the “it’s great to see a massive company validate the space” statement.

So I decided to ask the representative directly: is Nuance powering the new Siri feature? The only thing said in response: “Apple licenses Nuance’s voice technology for use in some of its products.” Followed by, ”The company is not authorized to comment on specific capabilities or devices.”

Heh.

In other words, yes, Nuance is powering Siri. But Apple clearly struck a deal with Nuance which precludes them from talking about it. This is Apple technology, this is not about Nuance, is how I imagine Apple may put it. Apparently, Nuance is happy enough with Apple’s undoubtedly large check for this licensing agreement that they are willing to keep quiet.

(Side note: What’s also interesting from Siegler’s article is that Siri tried Vlingo first before settling on Nuance.)

In the past Apple hasn’t been shy to invite partners and developers on stage to toot horns, so why not Nuance in this case?

People love to hate, or hate to love, IVRs.

Thank you for calling blah-blah-blah, for sales blah-blah-blah, for billing blah-blah-blah, blah blah blah blah blah.

By this time you’ve probably already pressed the zero key on the dial pad in an attempt to speak with a live body. After all, the shortest distance between a customer and customer service is zero.

A few other companies have already exploited our love/hate relationship with the IVR: LucyPhone and Fonolo. Now there’s another app for that: FastCustomer.

With FastCustomer, you can use the website or install the iPhone (sorry, no Android or BlackBerry yet) app to reach a customer service representative without having to “stay on the line.” Come on, who wants to stay on the line anymore unless it’s in a life or death emergency. That’s so old school, especially when monthly minutes are limited. FastCustomer will let you pick the company, dial the number (bonus: it displays whether the company’s service department is open or closed), and call you back at a number of your choosing when an agent is on the other end of the line.

I tested the iPhone app and found that it performed as advertised. I picked a couple of companies to call, and in each instance got connected to a call when the agent was available. After picking the company to call I was able to exit the app and do whatever I needed to on my iPhone. The voice quality was good — just like any normal phone call on my iPhone.

Although FastCustomer keeps track of customer service business hours, it merely displays a “Closed” tag if it’s outside of business hours. Ideally the app could also display the actual business hours so the user can know when to make the next call.

I also found some quirks when canceling a call. Cancel works well if you’re still at the post-select screen with the big “Cancel this call” button. However, once you leave that screen and try to cancel a call at the “Recents” list, it was hit and miss for me. And if you happen to have cleared the recent list of calls, then there appears to be no way of canceling a call.

The app costs $0.99 and as of this writing there are 11 ratings (4.5 stars out of 5) in the iTunes App Store. The latest version 1.0.1 came out just March 14. Comparatively, LucyPhone came out in September 2010 and is free with about 150 reviews, and Fonolo came out in November 2010 and also free to download with over 200 reviews. In order for FastCustomer to gain fast traction it may need to rethink its pricing/marketing strategy in the face of two more popular competitors.

I am disappointed and somewhat ashamed.

In America, land of the iPhone and Android. The cradle of Facebook and Twitter. Home of prestigious institutions like the Harvard Business School and MIT. Here in the U.S. where countless SMEs and technologists on customer service share ideas and strategize using blogs, tweets, and newsletters…

Yet no company in the U.S. had created what Groupama — one of the biggest insurance companies in Europe — did to leverage all existing technologies to focus squarely on the customer self-service experience.

Have you heard of the Groupama interactive VISUAL Callback Response? Or better yet, have you seen it in action?

According to iTunes, version 1.0.5 of the app was just posted on November 29, 2010 so not many people have seen it yet. In fact, as of this posting date there has been no reviews of it in the App Store, and no indication of how many times the app has been downloaded. Granted, this app is very specific in terms of users (French customers of certain regions covered by Groupama), but the demo will blow your mind no matter where you are and what language you speak. As long as you’ve ever dealt with a customer service department through an IVR or directly to a live agent, you will completely understand the value provided by this iPhone app.

Visual menus? Done. No need to navigate via the telephone to find the right menu option. No more mis-navigation (well, except for those fat-finger moments).

Wait times for all available services? Done. On the app right next to each service selection there is an estimated wait time displayed right next to it so the user knows what to expect.

Forget waiting — call me back? Sure! The agent already knows your phone number and location because it’s an iPhone app. Ideal for insurance claims, especially right after an automobile accident. And all you had to do was use your smartphone.

Live alerts? No problem. App users can follow iGroupama on Twitter to receive alerts on inclement weather or other conditions which may impact the contact center service level.

Content to engage users? Certainly. The app also includes the company magazine in digital form just to provide some casual reading. Perhaps a bonus feature to keep you entertained while you’re waiting for that callback…

Clearly Groupama did not just settle with any contact center implementation. Today there are numerous well-oiled contact centers using the latest tech, but Groupama decided to go beyond the implementation. It decided to raise the bar with the application of an implementation.

I have seen the various so-called self-service iPhone apps in the App Store. I even use a few of them. But most of these are just reincarnations of the company’s website, except more dumbed-down and restricted. Why else would you need a link in an iPhone app that says “Go to the Full Site” of the company?

Genesys, SIP, Asterisk, Java, and even the iPhone… Those are the technologies which enabled Groupama to come up with the iVCbR app. These are common tech seen in enterprises today, but how many show the determination and inspiration to dramatically improve the customer self-service experience through all the integrated tech?

This guest post is by John Stepp, President of Free Tech Consultants. It’s typed entirely on his Nexus One. Just kidding (but he could’ve).

I know that many are saying that the phone is dead, at least the desktop and landline phone.  If that is the case then why is the mobile world so utterly controlled by the phone?  First people were going crazy to get their hands on the iPhone 4, now many are incensed to find that it has a flaw.  Nobody seems to care much about the revelation that every single iPhone ever shipped has been exaggerating the signal strength of the carrier, AT&T.  No, it is all about the phone.  It is all about the user interface and the user experience.  I understand.  I feel the same way.

When my Nexus One was not perfect and needed to be repaired because of a hardware issue, I had the option of returning it.  Although having calls dropped and having slow data speed was frustrating, I finally decided to just get it fixed.  Just like the Apple iPhone users, I was too enamored with the phone to give it up.  Now that it has the Android 2.2 software on it, the phone is better.  Sure, there is still a dropped call from time to time, but the user interface is great and the data speeds are fast.  Even as the Nexus One is discontinued, CNET tests show that the Nexus One on T-Mobile has data speeds equal or superior to the newer phones.  Whoopi Goldberg was so disgusted with her iPhone 4, she ran over it with her car, but then she went and bought an Apple 3G instead of going to a competitor. The similarity between the Android and Apple infatuation is the great application suites that come with these phones.  From the stunning displays, to the audio/optical communications tools to the immediate access to information, there is much to like.

Gartner recently said that smartphone sales were up almost 50% year over year. And the latest information from ChangeWave Research shows that the next ninety days will have the most explosive growth in smart phones ever with Apple and HTC (Android) leading the way.  However, Research in Motion, the BlackBerry maker favored by most businesses will see its’ market share erode further.  Why are phones that businesses favor in a funk while consumer phones are in such demand that there are now four week backlogs for all the favorites?  The user interface, the phone itself is driving demand and driving change.  E-mail delivery and simple conversations are not enough anymore.  We want pictures, video, social media and immediate access to information.

Businesses will be adapting to this changing landscape on mobility and on the desktop.  Productivity in the workplace will accelerate when the devices employees use in business match that of the devices used in people’s personal lives.  The business telephone and video manufacturers are providing easy to use high value applications for their user interfaces be they computers, netbooks, display phones or video portals.  The future is bright for the companies that decide that the phone (user interface) is everything.  The businesses involved in bringing these “smart” business communications devices to market will grow quickly and sooner than many predict.  And the improved productivity will help businesses grow faster as well, just like the digital revolution did in the nineties.  The phone may morph into many different types of devices, but the future of the phone is as bright as the new displays on the smartphones.

Smartphone developers continue to come up with creative apps to make our lives easier, especially when dealing with IVRs and contact centers in general.

Once you get past the IVR menus and finally get transferred to an agent… well, usually you sit in a queue first listening to calming music. If the music isn’t to your liking, then be thankful that LucyPhone will sit in queue for you and ring you when an agent is available. You can use LucyPhone on its website or download the iPhone app for free.

This type of contact center application isn’t new — companies like Virtual Hold Technology have “virtual queuing” and “callback” solutions for some time now. What’s different is that LucyPhone gives the consumer this capability irregardless of whether virtual queuing is offered by the contact center itself. And better yet, available at the tip of your finger (literally).

LucyPhone from Decogram Corporation on Vimeo.

As simple as this sounds, implementing a virtual queue or callback feature creates a very effective pro-customer message: We value your time very much. However, many contact centers continue to neglect this type of technology and focus on managing queue times and what type of on-hold messages/music to play. That’s still fairly important, but today’s smart and tech-savvy customers expect a lot more, and they are ready to abandon ship for a competitor if their customer service experience is less than favorable.

I can see contact centers wanting to partner with LucyPhone as a way to help their frustrated customers without having to go through the product and implementation pains of virtual queuing. LucyPhone is accepting business inquiries, although not prominently featured on the website (see the Contact page). This is definitely one company I’d like to follow up with…

One of the new features of the recently-launched iPhone 4 is its front-facing camera and the ability to conduct a video call. Yes, Apple (and in a small part, AT&T) finally gives U.S. consumers a taste of video calling on a mobile phone, something that Asian and European mobile users would probably go “Meh. Been there. Done that.”

But before you get too excited, Apple’s implementation of video calling — dubbed FaceTime — doesn’t quite work over a cellular network. FaceTime requires both parties to use the iPhone 4 and only over WiFi.

Now that I’ve dampened your interest in this, please continue to read on… Because Apple has set up a toll-free line to help iPhone 4 customers test FaceTime.

Thanks to overwhelming demand (again), the iPhone 4 has sold out everywhere on launch day. That means your fanboy buddies and family members probably don’t have one yet. So how could you test the nifty FaceTime feature?

Just call 1-888-FACETIME and an Apple representative will gladly accept your video call! He or she will also happily walk through some tips on using FaceTime, or just shoot the breeze for a while. But just don’t take up too much of his or her time because after all, Apple has to run a tight ship in its contact centers.

I got to try it (yes, my buddies are iPhone 4-less) and must say that it was an amazing (magical!) experience. Not so much for the cool factor, but just how easy and high-quality the whole ordeal was: call a number, tap “FaceTime,” and GO!

My guess is that Apple will keep incorporate this beyond the FaceTime test offering. With the success of the iPhone 4, I’m sure many users will appreciate the ability to video call an agent whenever they call Apple support.

And with Steve Jobs already publicly offering FaceTime to anyone who wants to adopt it, it will just be a matter of time before mobile video calls becomes popular. If history is any indication, Apple is the company which has the chops to make new tech adoption happen and happen fast. (Apple led the way in: GUI, color graphics, built-in LAN, built-in sound, floppy drive, built-in CD-ROM, all USB, etc…)

Zero — a caller’s best friend when encountering an IVR. Savvy customers in search of customer service over the phone now know to ignore the greetings and menus and hit that magic zero button. These customers have also learned, upon encountering a speech-enabled system, to say “agent” or “representative,” the vocal equivalent of pressing zero.

What could possibly further improve these customers’ ingenuity? Well, there’s an app for that (on the iPhone): Dial Zero.

The app has a list of customer service numbers of major companies, and tips on how to reach an agent after connecting the call.

And the screenshot the author includes in publicizing this app? You guessed it: United Airlines. Known for its guitar-breaking customer no-service…

With mobile devices becoming more powerful every day, they are destined to get some serious speech applications. Just do a search for iPhone speech applications. Turin, Italy based Loquendo couldn’t have released its mobile TTS and ASR platform at a better time.

And the company means business in the mobile market, too. Support for iPhone? Check. Support for Android? Check. Support for Maemo (open sourced from Nokia)? Whatever that is, check. Support for Moblin (Intel backed mobile OS)? Yep, check. Support for Android (Google open source, as we all know)? Check! With the exception of the iPhone, the rest are all open source Linux-based operating systems so understandably Loquendo could easily come out with its product to support all of them. (The iPhone OS is based on Mac OS X, and although not open source it still has some Unix lineage.)

I look forward to the day when my mobile phone can serve as an IVR…

Official press release:

Loquendo, leading speech technology provider worldwide, announces that Loquendo Embedded Technologies – ASR and TTS – are now available for OEMs and developers of multimedia applications on the Android, Maemo and Moblin software platforms.

Android is the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. Maemo is a software platform mostly based on open source code. Moblin is an open source operating system optimized for the next generation of mobile devices.

Android is available under a developer-friendly open-source license, which gives mobile operators and device manufacturers the freedom and flexibility to design innovative and exciting products. Recent arrivals to the market include Motorola’s Droid, HTC’s Nexus One, and the soon to be released Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

According to IDC, shipments of handsets with the Android OS will reach 68m units by 2013, second only to Symbian. Gartner also forecasts that Android, by 2012, will rank second behind the Symbian OS.

Loquendo TTS and ASR seamlessly integrate with the Android platform, offering Java-level interfaces to developers.

Moreover, Loquendo TTS has been integrated into the Text-To-Speech Extended framework: this interface, once installed, makes Loquendo synthetic speech available to any Android app, allowing Android phone users to immediately upgrade to high quality TTS.

On Android, the TTS interface is very simple at the API level, and all functionalities are controlled through Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML) tags. By offering a fully-fledged SSML implementation, Loquendo gives application developers full control over its TTS features.

The Maemo platform is built on large parts of open source components, and was developed by Nokia in collaboration with many open source projects such as the Linux kernel, Debian, GNOME, and many more. The Maemo SDK provides an open development environment for applications on top of the Maemo platform. Maemo is based on the Linux operating system kernel – able to support a wide range of different kinds of devices from wrist watches to large server systems, making it ideally placed for the MID (Mobile Internet Devices) and netbook as well as smartphone markets.

With the availability of Loquendo technologies, Maemo developers will be able to unleash the potential of speech in developing voice-enabled apps.

The Moblin platform, short for ‘mobile Linux’, is built around the Intel Atom processor and is an open source operating system for MIDs, netbooks, nettops and embedded devices. The concept behind the Moblin project is to create an operating system specifically designed for netbooks and MID devices by minimizing both boot times and power consumption. The central piece of the Moblin architecture is a hardware and usage-model independent layer providing a single, uniform way of developing such devices. Moblin is based on the Linux kernel.

Early this month, Intel and Nokia announced the merging of Moblin and Maemo into the MeeGo mobile software platform, for which Loquendo will also offer full support.

Loquendo Embedded TTS and ASR are the ideal choice for speech-enabling mobile apps and services, including voice-enabled phones, navigation applications, MIDs, ebook readers, assistive devices, etc.

Loquendo TTS is natural, fluent and highly expressive synthetic speech, while Loquendo ASR is fast, accurate speech recognition even on large-vocabulary, natural-language speech. Both are high-performing, high quality technologies, however compact the device.

Whether on device side or server side, Loquendo offers the same extensive choice of languages and voices, regardless of the architectural solution, enabling service providers to guarantee a seamless service even in mixed environments – where voice content generation is shared across device and network.

Loquendo Embedded Technologies leverage Loquendo TTS mixed language capability, support the TeleAtlas® and Navteq™ SAMPA phonetic alphabets, and are available for all major embedded operating systems: Android, Maemo, Moblin, Linux, iPhone, Symbian OS™ S60, Windows Mobile 5 & 6 (all editions), CE 5 & 6, Windows XP Embedded and Tablet PC ed., VxWorks and QNX.

For more information, or for help and support with your application ideas, please contact Loquendo at: embedded@loquendo.com.

About Loquendo – Vocal Technology and Services
Awarded Speech Industry ‘Market Leader’ for the past three consecutive years, Loquendo provides a complete range of speech technologies for server, embedded and desktop solutions – in 28 languages with 68 voices, and constantly growing – helping businesses deliver a next-generation client experience while saving them millions each year.

Loquendo Embedded Technologies are innovative, easy-to-integrate solutions deployed in more than 10 million mobile and on-board navigation systems globally, as well as powering PDAs, assistive devices, virtual Web-assistants and other embedded solutions around the world.

Loquendo TTS, Loquendo ASR, and Loquendo Speaker Identification and Verification are high-quality, high-performance technologies, also available on the Loquendo MRCP Server and VoiceXML and CCXML platform.

Loquendo is a Telecom Italia company headquartered in Turin, Italy, with offices in the US, Spain, Germany and France, and a global network of partners.

For more info, and to hear Loquendo TTS for yourself, go to www.loquendo.com.

Does your organization have an IVR, running a self-service application that maybe you’re very proud of? Well, it’s time for you to rethink your IVR strategy because IVR hatred has really gone mainstream with the release of Fonolo for iPhone. The app is free. And it has won awards.

According to Fonolo, here’s how the app can help you:

Tired of pressing 1 for this and 2 for that? We’ve mapped out the phone menus for hundreds of companies. Find the spot you need to call, then tap, and we’ll automatically connect you. Fonolo also organizes your history with each company, allowing you to save notes and listen to call recordings.

Do you call the same company and navigate to the same point over and over again? Bookmark that spot with Fonolo and next time you can easily repeat that call with a single tap. Your call history, notes and bookmarks can also be accessed via our website at fonolo.com.

Pretty neat application, especially the web integration. It’s almost like del.icio.us for IVRs.