Mobile directory startup V-Enable raising $2.2M
V-Enable, the San Diego startup that offers an information directory service for mobile phones called FreeMobile411, has raised half of a new $2.2 million funding round, VentureBeat has learned.
FreeMobile411’s offering comes in two forms — there’s a downloadable voice search application, through which you request address and contact information for a business or residence, as well as a mobile site, where you can make the same requests as a normal text search. V-Enable is going… Continue Reading
V-Enable ’s mobile voice search — goes old school, with live operators
Voice mobile search is hot. Yahoo, for example, just partnered with a startup called Vlingo, which claims to offer the most advanced mobile search technology. V-Enable, on the other hand, is offering a very different new feature: Live operators.
Other free voice search companies, such as the new 411 services — like Jingle Networks’ and Google’s — are completely automated. Now, however, if you’ve got a hard-to-understand accent or just hate dealing with automated systems, you… Continue Reading
Promptu raises $5.6 more to hold its own in voice-enabled mobile search
Promptu, the Menlo Park company that uses speech recognition to let you search on a mobile phone, has raised $5.6 million in additional financing.
Voice-powered search is an increasingly competitive field, especially in the hot area of mobile. Google last year filed a patent for voice search, and other players include V-Enable and Tellme. Tellme just launched a free mobile search feature.
This is second part of Promptu’s third round of financing. Founded in 2002, it… Continue Reading