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The iOS 5 has loads of cool features ripped-off from its competitors and here’s another one. It’s voice-to-text. As you can see in the screen cap, iOS 5 will allow users to say what they want to type and perhaps even control more advanced functions from their iOS device.

iOS 5 is still in beta and you should expect changes when the final version does come out with this feature. Also, it seems only iPhone and iPod touch will support the feature.

Voice-to-text is a cool feature but it is by no means new. The technology has been around for as long as we can remember and while early iterations of the technology have been laggy, impractical and basically useless, Google with Android have been key in bringing voice recognition to a point where it is now useful.

App developers like Vlingo, with its extensive support in Android, has also pushed the accuracy of voice recognition technology making a feature that was once reserved for geeks and those with patience, appeal to a wider mass audience.

But despite this, voice recognition hasn’t gained much traction. Apple has been known to bring the sexy back into old tech (For example: FaceTime = Video Call). So could voice-to-text come to age with Apple’s support? We certainly hope so. A mass adoption of this matured yet underused feature will push voice-to-text into the limelight and hopefully spur even more innovation for the benefit of us all.

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	Android, iPad, iPhone, iPhone OS, Mobile Devices, Mobile OS
	apple, iOS, iOS 5, iPhone, ipod touch, Nuance, Vlingo, voice-to-text

U Mobile has reduced its BlackBerry rates further for both prepaid and postpaid subscription. In the last revision few weeks back, U Mobile was offering:
Daily – RM1.50/day
Weekly – RM9/week
Monthly – RM40/month

Now they have made significant reductions and below is their latest BlackBerry Rates:
Daily – RM1.50/day
Weekly – RM8/week (Prepaid) / RM9/week (Postpaid)
Monthly – RM25/month

All three plans come with “Free Unlimited Data” with Fair Usage caps at 30MB/day, 300MB/week and 1GB/month.

With heavy competition from the likes of TuneTalk’s RM28/month BlackBerry BIS Prepaid plans, most telcos are forced to relook into their existing offering to stay competitive. A few weeks back, DiGi had introduced a monthly unlimited BlackBerry prepaid plan at RM25/month which comes with 500MB/day Fair Use Quota.

In the header, it is highlighted that the BlackBerry plans come with free calls but it wasn’t made clear in the BlackBerry section. From the looks of it, it should be based on top up for Prepaid customers.

For more information, head to U Mobile’s BlackBerry Plan page.

	BlackBerry, Players on the Field, U Mobile
	BIS, blackberry, blackberry bold, Prepaid Blackberry, U Mobile, U Mobile BIS, U Mobile BlackBerry, U Mobile Prepaid, U Mobile Prepaid BlackBerry

DiGi has hinted on their Facebook page that they will be offering the Samsung Galaxy S II with full details coming out tomorrow. This comes about a month after the Samsung Galaxy S II availability with Maxis. Usually devices are only exclusive to an operator for a limited time and this happens to be the case for the Galaxy S II.

It is expected that the Galaxy S II will be bundled with their DG Smart Plan with 12 and 24 months options with subsidised pricing to be similar or slightly cheaper than their current HTC Sensation offering.

Will DiGi offer a firesale for the first hundred units? All shall be revealed tomorrow.

Thanks to Jax for tipping us by email.

[ SOURCE ]

Android, DiGi, Mobile Devices, Players on the Field, Samsung

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