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It was good news to hear that Google is making available Open-Source software for cell phones and bringing together the Open Handset Alliance. For those who believe that speech technology will be a powerful driver of the Mobile Web, it is also good to hear that Nuance will be part of this Alliance. They publicly stated that they feel that this will set the stage for Robust Speech-Enabled Mobile Applications.

Some question whether sound really brings advantages. Perhaps with tongue in cheek, Sarah Houghton-Jan, known online as the Librarian In Black, questioned whether sound technologies produce less polished works, as compared with the slightly slower pace that is enforced by writing. However it seems quite clear that the immediacy possible with sound and the reduced effort required make speech-enabled applications winners.

Perhaps an almost trivial application illustrates the advantages. The Grocery List Organizer uses voice recognition software and a list of 2,500 grocery items that are pre-programmed. Just reel off your unsorted grocery items into this voice-recognition device and it sorts them by category and prints out your grocery list on thermal paper (No need for ink).

More and more applications are available to convert your spoken words into text. The quality of this process is improving all the time. For example, the SimulScribe Voicemail-to-Text Solution got an ‘A’ from InformationWeek for Transcription Quality and Audio Playback.

Given the speed at which improvements in speech technology are being made, it could well be that when Google Open Source phones become available in 2008, your voice will direct where you travel on the Mobile Web.

Related: Sound Will Drive Mobile Web Growth

Technorati Tags: mobile Web, Open Handset Alliance, speech technology