Surf Yourself Hoarse With NetEcho

InternetSpeech introduces service that lets you listen to the Web by phone.

Paul Heltzel, special to PCWorld.com

If surfing with a microbrowser on your mobile phone makes you squint, a new service offers a different way to surf by phone: listening to Web pages rather than viewing them.

InternetSpeech this week introduced its NetEcho service, which uses voice recognition technology so you can navigate the Web by speaking into your phone. The service costs $19.95 for 6 hours of use each month.

Web pages are read over the phone in a human-like, but stilted, computer voice. You can say the name of a Web address to open it. When hyperlinked text is read, you can tell NetEcho to open the link by saying, "That one." NetEcho responds by saying, "I am going there." You can check out a demo online.

To quickly jump to areas you commonly surf on the Web, you can issue voice commands such as "go to weather," "get directions," "horoscope," or "read my e-mail."

Also, NetEcho has assigned common Web surfing commands to the keypad, so you can press a key instead of speaking. Those include "Stock Quote," "My E-mail," and "Today's News."

Voice Portal for Many Users

So, who needs the Web read to them? "Anybody who is highly mobile; people with no computers, like seniors; and the visually impaired," says Emdad Khan, InternetSpeech president.

"We can access any Web site," Khan says. "With our approach there's no need to rework the content." He adds that the company is working with Internet service providers, phone companies, and other businesses to license InternetSpeech technology. For instance, a travel agency's services might be enhanced by letting you make arrangements by phone, Khan says.

A recent Yankee Group report says e-mail outnumbers voice mail by 7 to 1 in the United States, and it predicts more growth for accessing mail by phone. NetEcho's service lets you check e-mail from Web-based mail sites such as Yahoo, Hotmail, and America Online. Customers can respond by recording an audio file, which is attached to the message.

NetEcho isn't the only so-called "voice portal" on the market. AOL recently introduced an 800 number that lets you access mail by phone. Other services have broader offerings, including Talk2.com, another voice-activated browser, and Tellme, which offers access to a specific set of services, available free by phone. (See "BeVocal Voice Portal Directs You," "AOL Finds a New Voice," and "MyIVAN: A Web Helper in Training.")