DOCOMO to launch Shabette Concier voice-agent application

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NTT DOCOMO, Japan’s leading mobile operator and provider of integrated services centered on mobility, said Tuesday it will launch a voice-agent application called Shabette Concier, that enables customers to obtain a wide range of information and perform diverse tasks simply by speaking into their DOCOMO smartphones.

The application, which launches Thursday, is for select DOCOMO smartphones running on Android 2.2 or higher, and will be available for free (packet communication charges may apply when downloading or using the app).

Shabette Concier is an advanced voice-activated user interface that enables customers to intuitively and directly operate services and smartphone features with voice commands (Japanese only). In response to a verbal question, for example, the app analyzes the inquiry and then provides an answer using information mined from leading content providers, such as Wikipedia, in addition to official content on DOCOMO’s dmenu portal site for smartphones. Smartphone tasks, such as creating an email or setting an alarm, also can be carried out by voice commands without having to look at menus.

Voice processing is handled not in the smartphone itself but rather in the cloud via a mobile network, assuring speed and accuracy regardless of the smartphone’s specs. As such, the app provides users with the added value of high-level information and communication processing via mobile-network cloud computing.

The launch of Shabette Concier follows Translator Phone, an auto-interpretation trial cloud service that DOCOMO introduced in November 2011. DOCOMO expects to upgrade Shabette Concier with increasingly natural language interfaces for enhanced functionality, as well as link it to a variety of services, such as DOCOMO’s i-concier mobile personal-assistant service, within the year.

As part of strengthening its presence as an integrated-services company centered on mobility, DOCOMO will continue to improve the capability of its mobile devices to function as user-friendly “personal concierges” that users speak to directly.