Talk to your mobile via MS software

SEATTLE: Microsoft has begun selling new voice recognition and control software to allow mobile phones and handheld computer users to control most functions of their phones without fiddling with tiny controls.

Microsoft Voice Command will be sold as a $40 add-on for the Windows Mobile Pocket PC software for personal digital assistants and the Pocket PC version for mobile phones, the world's largest software maker said.

Microsoft, trying to move its software beyond the desktop and into living rooms and mobile devices, said the new voice control software will make it easier for users to access information and functions without navigating though menus.

"One of the more useful places to have voice command is in a mobile environment where distraction is dangerous and where keyboards are impossible," said Dick Brass, corporate vice president of automotive technologies.

Voice command, put out by the group that develops software for automobile electronics, allows users to call up a contact on a device by simply asking for a person's name. It will also launch applications, control phone functions and look up and read back calendar appointments.

Microsoft has long promoted voice recognition technology, which is a standard feature in the latest Windows operating system but has to be activated.

"The problem up until now is that the software has not worked well on smaller devices," Brass said.