Vlingo Announces its Virtual Assistant for Smarter TV

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Electronics Show (CES) --  Vlingo Corporation today announced its Virtual Assistant solution for TV manufacturers, set-top box makers and service providers.  Adding Virtual Assistant capabilities to the television will allow consumers to easily locate the right show, movie or program among thousands of choices on TV at any given time, eliminating frustration and improving the entertainment experience. With advanced technology and services covering speech, intent engines, natural language processing, dialogue management, monetization and user experience design, Vlingo ignites differentiation, stickiness, and user satisfaction.

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"Households worldwide have access to thousands of TV channels and dozens of service provider choices.  Vlingo aims to simplify TV chaos by providing a simple, intuitive method for discovering the right content from among all those choices, making the experience enjoyable for users and avoiding the frustration of limited, hard to use remote controls," said Chris Barnett, EVP Markets at Vlingo.  "The Vlingo Virtual Assistant for TV is designed to modernize that thing your grandfather once called a 'remote control'. Everyone deserves their own assistant and Vlingo's new TV product offering will make this a reality on TVs this year."

Vlingo's Virtual Assistant for Smarter TV will allow users to perform the following tasks with their voice:

• Browse and find: Users can search and discover content by actor, genre or director using Vlingo's newly developed dialogue manager which engages users with interactive browsing
• Watch shows: "Watch the Price is Right" or "Find western movies starring Clint Eastwood"
• Record programs: "Record Modern Family tonight at 8pm" or "Record the game on ESPN next Monday night at 9pm"
• Rent and buy movies: "Rent The Fighter on Netflix" or "Play Rocky Four on-demand"
• Basic controls: "Switch to on-demand", "Put on ESPN", "Go to Netflix" or "Turn up the volume"
• Social media communication: "Facebook update: Joe is watching Lost on Hulu"

For TV manufacturers, set-top box makers, and service providers interested in a preview and partnering with Vlingo, please visit http://vlingo.com/partners.

Watch Vlingo for Smarter TV's in action

On December 20, 2011, Vlingo announced the signing of an agreement for Nuance to acquire Vlingo. While the acquisition is expected to close during calendar 2012, no specific closing date has been determined. Vlingo will continue to deliver its products and services as an independent company until the deal closes.

About Vlingo

Vlingo creates voice-powered products and solutions that simplify how individuals connect to the people, places and information that matter most. Through a seamless integration of speech recognition, natural language processing, and its proprietary Intent Engine, Vlingo technology powers its own line of smartphone applications, as well as custom solutions for partners in the mobile, automotive and smart TV industries. Founded in 2006, Vlingo is backed by Charles River Ventures, Sigma Partners, Yahoo! and AT&T and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, go to www.vlingo.com.

SOURCE Vlingo Corporation