Method of providing voicemails to a wireless information device
Voicemail is received at a voicemail server and converted to an audio file format; it is then sent or streamed over a wide area network to a voice to text transcription system comprising a network of computers. One of the networked computers plays back the voice message to an operator and the operator intelligently transcribes the actual message from the original voice message by entering the corresponding text message (actually a succinct version of the original voice message, not a verbose word-for-word conversion) into the computer to generate a transcribed text message. The transcribed text message is then sent to the wireless information device from the computer. Because human operators are used instead of machine transcription, voicemails are converted accurately, intelligently, appropriately and succinctly into text messages (SMS/MMS).
1 . A method of providing voicemail to a mobile telephone, in which a caller initiates a voice call to the mobile telephone, but that call is diverted to a voicemail server, with the caller then leaving a voice message on the voicemail server; the method comprising the steps of:
(a) converting the voice message to an audio file format;
(b) sending or streaming the audio file over a wide area network to a voice to text transcription system comprising a network of computers;
(c) one of the networked computers playing back the voice message to an operator;
(d) the operator intelligently transcribing the original voice message into the computer to generate a transcribed SMS or MMS text message;
(e) the operator causing the transcribed SMS or MMS text message to be sent to the mobile telephone;
(f) sending the SMS or MMS text message to the mobile telephone.
2 . The method of claim 1 in which the transcribed text message includes a unique identification that links the text message to the voice message held at the voicemail server to allow that voice message to be played back to the wireless information device by an end-user selecting an option displayed on the device that relates to the transcribed text message.
3 . The method of claim 1 in which the transcribed text message has added to it the time and date that the voice message was originally received at the voice mail server.
4 . The method of claim 1 in which the voice message is originated at a mobile telephone or at a landline telephone.
5 . The method of claim 1 in which the transcribed text message has added to it caller identification data, such as a telephone number or caller name.
6 . The method of claim 5 in which the transcribed text message is displayed on the device as though it was sent directly from an originator of the voice message.
7 . The method of claim 3 in which the computer does not display to the operator the telephone number associated with the wireless information device.
8 . The method of claim 1 in which the computer displays to the operator an option to re-route the audio file to a different computer with an operator that is more suited to transcribing the voice message because of linguistic, dialect, or cultural reasons.
9 . The method of claim 1 in which the computer provides the operator with a searchable list of specialised terms that are relevant to cultural sayings, regular events, sporting events, media events, other kinds of newsworthy events to assist the operator in accurately transcribing those specialised terms.
10 . The method of claim 1 in which the operator represents the mood of the caller leaving the voice message in the transcribed text message using either a written description or an emoticon.
11 . The method of claim 1 in which the operator succinctly summarises the voice message.
12 . The method of claim 10 in which the operator summarises the voice message to fit the 160 character SMS limit or concatenated text messages.
13 . The method of claim 1 in which the operator omits from the transcribed text message any hesitations, artefacts, or repetitions present in the voice message.
14 . The method of claim 1 in which the text message is sent to the wireless information device in a format previously specified as appropriate by the user of the device.
15 . The method of claim 1 in which the text message is sent as an SMS, MMS, e-mail or fax.
16 . The method of claim 1 comprising the further step of parsing the transcribed text message and using the parsed data in an application running on the wireless information device.
17 . The method of claim 16 in which parsing and using the parsed data involves one or more of the following:
(a) extracting the phone number spoken allowing it to be used (to make a call), saved, edited or added to a phone book;
(b) extracting an email address and allowing it to be used, saved, edited or added to an address book;
(c) extracting a physical address and allowing it to be used, saved, edited or added to an address book;
(d) extracting a web address (hyperlink) and allow it to be used, edited, saved or added to an address book or browser favourites;
(e) extracting a time for a meeting and allow it to be used, saved, edited and added to an agenda as an entry;
(f) extracting a number and saving it to one of the device applications;
(g) extracting a real noun and providing options to search for it or, look it up on the web (WAP or full browser).
18 . The method of claim 1 in which if the recording time of a voice message is less than a user set maximum time, then the message is transcribed, otherwise, it is not transcribed but instead a standard notification is sent to the user that they have a new voicemail to listen to.
19 . The method of claim 18 in which a human transcriber listens to the voice message and writes up a very short indication of the subject of the call which is sent to the message recipient.
20 . The method of claim 18 in which, for devices that support less than a certain amount of text, there is an initial Look up of the text limitations in a database and then an automatic suggestion of appropriate maximum recording time.
21 . A text message which has been transcribed from a voicemail and is provided to a wireless information device using the method of claim 1.