TMCnews Featured Article

Schmooze Communications and speech recognition provider LumenVox has announced the general release of a plug-in for Asterisk (News - Alert) called Magic Button. The new release uses the FreePBX interface to allows users to press a programmable button on a phone and issue speech commands to control the phone.

 

The companies explain that the flexible and future-proof LumenVox Speech Engine and the Asterisk PBX (News - Alert) bring the total cost of ownership for a Magic Button system well below that of Microsoft’s Response Point system, yet offering more functionality.

 

Magic Button enables users to use their voice to perform a number of functions such as calling friends, setting an away status and also allows for voice controls inside a call. If the users decide they can simply press the button in the middle of a call and say, “Transfer to accounts payable,” and the call will be transferred to another person.

 

The application offers other benefits as well as including speech-enabled dial-by-name  and the use of speech recognition to control voicemail.

 

Comparing the Magic Button with the proprietary, closed systems offered by Microsoft (News - Alert) and other vendors, LumenVox President Edward Miller said that this new software allows customers to use their existing hardware and software and add speech recognition for almost no cost.

 

Users can implement the Magic Button it into their existing Asterisk at a low monthly rate and according to Tony Lewis, Schmooze’s (News - Alert) director of business development the cost for the Magic Button application on a system with 10 extensions is only $12/month.

 

“Add to this the free, open source Asterisk PBX, a PC, and phones, and you have a complete phone system with features that are currently only available in an enterprise-level PBX,” he said.

 

Magic Button is on display now at the ITEXPO East show going on now in Miami.