Brooktrout Technology, Inc, a leading supplier of media processing and call control products, today announced that, along with Microsoft Corp, it has launched a contest to showcase the design ease and deployment benefits of speech-enabled applications based on Microsoft Speech Server.
The developer who submits the most innovative application wins a Brooktrout TR1000 for Microsoft Speech Server Starter Kit. Submissions will be judged on creativity and usefulness and can be business productivity solutions, games, or other applications.
"Web applications can be quickly and easily speech-enabled using Microsoft Speech Server," said Thom Robbins, MSDN developer from Microsoft Corp. "This contest encourages developers to start using the Microsoft Speech Application Software Development Kit (SDK) combined with Visual Studio to build new speech applications. Developers can use the Microsoft tools with a wide range of business processes and extend their Web applications to a broader range of users."
Brooktrout has seen a powerful range of applications being developed and deployed in production environments using Microsoft Speech Server and our TR1000 telephony platform," said Scott Wieder, Director of Market Development for Brooktrout Technology. "With this challenge, we want to encourage other businesses to experience the ease of developing a speech-enabled application. We will post all of the entries on our Web site so developers will be able to learn from each other and build more sophisticated applications."
All contestants will receive a free long-sleeved "Find Your Voice" T-shirt. Applications are due to makeover@brooktrout.com. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it by midnight on 28 February 2006. For application requirements and contest guidelines, please visit www.brooktrout.com/makeover.
Speech technology has emerged as the user interface of choice for advanced telephony applications. The explosion of mobile communications and vastly improved technology make speech a compelling feature of today`s enhanced services. Speech technologies provide an efficient, secure and cost-effective user interface. Users can instantly access information and conduct transactions from any landline or wireless phone, car or other handheld device. Speech technology is lowering costs, improving customer satisfaction, and driving the development of applications that deliver innovative value-added services to increasingly demanding customers.
Developers that want to take advantage of Microsoft Speech Server to create speech applications can get started with the Brooktrout TR1000 for Microsoft Speech Server, a high-performance, easy-to-deploy telephony platform that works with Microsoft Speech Server to connect to the PSTN. A single, orderable item includes the award-winning TR1000 speech processing board, Telephony Interface Manager (TIM), Windows-certified drivers, configuration tools and a complete suite of management utilities. The TR1000 for Microsoft Speech Server allows speech application developers to focus on application design by presenting an abstraction layer for the underlying telephony protocols that allows the Brooktrout TIM to manage all the telephony resources.
Brooktrout is a leading supplier of media processing, network interface, call control and signal processing products that enable the development of applications, systems and services for both TDM and IP networks. Brooktrout was acquired in October 2005 by EAS Group, the parent corporation of Excel Switching Corporation a leading provider of carrier-class media gateways, media servers, signaling gateways, and enhanced service platforms for original equipment manufacturers, value-added resellers, and service providers.
The combined companies will continue their focus on investing in technologies that enable service providers and enterprise customers to develop new products, introduce new services and cost-effectively transition networks to VOIP. For more information, visit http://www.brooktrout.com and http://www.excelswitching.com/.
Editorial contacts


