me2me AG launch promises converged, voice-enabled Web service to millions of subscribers worldwide
Talking to yourself just got cool!
Zurich, Switzerland, 5th February, 2009 – me2me AG, a wholly owned Swisscom venture, launched today with a mission to bring converged, voice-enabled personal messaging and Web services to the wide consumer market. Its flagship service, branded “me2me,” is designed to help users organise their lives by intelligently storing daily life information in a new way that links it to Web services, and makes it easy to find and act on.
me2me is currently in beta testing and operator trials in Europe and the US, will be launched in Autumn 2009. Offered as a subscription-based service to users, me2me is a simple solution that will generate new income for mobile and fixed line operators and improve subscriber loyalty.
me2me allows subscribers to:
• Use a single number to verbally store daily life information - those bits of important information that are always needed but often forgotten - and tag it with personal terms to make it searchable later
• Retrieve and organise information over the phone or with a free Web account
• Have information delivered by text message instantly
• Take complete control over their voice messages: edit, tag and organise their in- and outbox
Using me2me, subscribers can, for example, store lists of items they need to remember at the grocery store, ask me2me where the nearest store is for their items, and be reminded of certain items based on the time, their location, or a number of customisable ‘tags’ which can be set by the user.
Provided as a managed service to operators, me2me can be rapidly deployed at a minimum cost to enrich the subscriber messaging service experience. In addition, operators can select a choice of third-party services to offer to users, enabling them to retrieve information via the Web, which they may not have previously had real-time access to. For example, users can find out train schedules so they know when the next train home is leaving, or check the catalogues of large retailers to help compile their shopping lists.
Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, me2me AG started as an internal project at Swisscom, to research issues regarding the management of information complexity. In 2008, me2me AG branched out from Swisscom to form a separate mobile communications company, which is fully funded by Swisscom Ventures. Over the past 2 years me2me has received investment in excess of €4.6million. Leading the charge of me2me AG’s innovative management team, who have over 45 years experience in the development, design and implementation of speech recognition technology, is CEO Peter Hauser, who spent eight years in senior executive positions with Nuance Communications.
“me2me is at the forefront of true convergence of voice and the Web. That market is currently limited to high-end smartphone devices, but today, me2me AG is about 18 months ahead of any competition in offering an intuitive service allows users to interact with the Web from any phone, regardless of make or model. There is no need to download software or upgrade your handset, all you need to do is call a number,” said Hauser.
me2me AG is growing its global operations and has announced appointments in both the US and UK.
William Wen, who joins me2me AG as VP Business Development, US, said: “me2me is an exciting proposition, which will revolutionise the way consumers use their mobiles to interact with the Web. I’m excited to join a company which is set for success and look forward to helping the team build a prosperous business,” said Wen previously spent eight years at Nuance Communications, responsible for leading 18 acquisitions within the Corporate Development and Finance department.
Steve Ratcliffe, appointed as Director Business Development UK, Ireland and South Africa added, “me2me’s technology provides a new way of improving users’ lifestyles via the mobile and web. me2me AG aims to deliver a profitable and successful solution”. Steve joined me2me from Equant and has built up over 20 years telecoms experience and specialty in understanding and exploiting the commercial advantage of emerging technologies.
