HYDERABAD: Buoyed by the text to speech technology, Bodhtree Consulting, an IT services and solutions company, is developing a framework that will enable mobile users to book classified advertisements by sending an SMS to the respective publication. The framework in the final stages of development will be launched next month.

Bodhtree Consulting CEO Sanjiv Gupta said, "A speech interface is embedded on to this framework that will provide users with the needful information like the number of words the classified ad can have, the amount that will be charged for the respective number of words, etc. The mobile operator would pay the publication and users are charged accordingly on their mobile bill."

The company has not yet started promoting this product but is optimistic that it would be widely accepted. Gupta said, "We think of the convenience we are offering users, since there is no other option rather than going physically and booking the classified. And this will prove to be a good revenue generator for mobile operators besides being a value-added service."

"Though this framework can be marketed across the world, we foresee India as a primary market. There are numerous classified ads involving matrimonial, real estate, automobiles, etc., besides, seasonal days like Valentine's day, Mother's day, etc., which contribute largely to the classified ad space," said Gupta.

Talking about other services to be offered based on text-to-speech technology, he said that the company is also working on a framework that will read updates of news on mobiles as per the subscriber's request. "If a subscriber of a publication is closely following any particular news item, the immediate updates would be transmitted and read on the mobile," he explained.

"This service is in the development stages and we expect to launch this in the next three to four months. But here we intend to directly charge the subscriber and the revenue sharing model between the mobile operators and publication houses has to be mutually negotiated with," Gupta added.