A software download, Mail Client Plug-In allows Outlook users to send, forward and receive e-mails to and from any communications device, wired or not, and either by text or voice-to-text. Usage combinations are many, beginning most simply with an e-mail written on an existing mail client and sent to one or a combination of the following: a landline phone, a mobile phone, a fax, a pager, ICQ (an instant messaging system), a handheld device or desktop e-mail.

Users will be able send electronic messages to people who don't even have e-mail because the TeleMessage software determines, for example, that the receiving device is a landline phone, so the message is converted from typewritten text to an electronic voice message and sent to the traditional telephone. The message can also be initiated by voice, translated through Mail Client Plug-In to text and sent to any device accepting text messages.

To send messages to multiple recipients using varied technology on the receiving end, the program makes the appropriate voice and text technology decisions, as appropriate. Another option is to record a message, send it as an e-mail attachment and when recipients open it, they'll hear the recorded voice message.

TeleMessage vice president of business development Mark Carlin said his company is targeting the business community because that's where most Outlook users are. He says the only complaints he's heard during alpha and beta testing came from users who reported that the voice enabling program has difficulty recognizing names, since it's programmed from the dictionary.

"You can type in an e-mail and send it to John's mobile phone, Beth's pager and Mom's landline phone," Carlin said. "The embedded text-to-speech program is smart enough to know whether to send a voice message or to a text-enabled device."

Carlin said the program is designed for users who want to stay connected and works well in automobiles because a single click enables recipients to hear messages after they're translated from text to voice. There's no need to change or add any new e-mail addresses. The service is available in two plans: one allowing for messaging throughout the United States and the other for around the world.

The program also allows users to, through a single keystroke, have all of their mail forwarded to a single device. A screening option enables users to select specific e-mail addresses they wish to receive mail from, thereby filtering all other mail. This latter option came about during consumer testing of the product, when users expressed aggravation with the amount of mail they were receiving.

"Business people are using it to filter their e-mail," Carlin said. "Then they can press a button and listen to it."

Free 10-message trials are available through the Acton company's Web site (www.telemessage.com). To enroll beyond trial, payment is up front. Like phone cards, TeleMessage requires payment in advance for the purchase of "buckets" of messages, with the cost averaging 7 cents per message.

TeleMessage customers include phone carriers - primarily in the western United States - such as Three Rivers Wireless, Cellular One and Five Star Wireless.

In a month, the company will announce a global deal with Sprint for its new messaging technology, though Carlin declines to talk specifics, other than to say Sprint will rename the product. The company is also in the "final stages" of a deal with a large Canadian phone carrier.

TeleMessage has received one round of funding, $11 million from six different venture capital firms, three from Israel and three from Europe.

"It's taken us quite a while. We're seeing 18-month sales cycles," Carlin said of his company's growth during the three years it has been around. "But there's no one in the 'e-mail to wherever' marketplace. There isn't anything to compete with this. And it's not every day a Massachusetts startup gets into big telco."

Published by Mass High Tech [online] - http://www.masshightech.com - on July 14, 2003

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