[January 11, 2001]

iVoice.com Intros Text-To-Speech Capabilities For Its Speech-Enabled Unified Messaging System

iVoice.com, Inc. and Fonix Corporation, a provider of human-user interface technology and voice solutions for wireless and mobile devices, and Internet and telephony systems, announced the signing of an OEM agreement wherein Fonix will provide its FAAST Text-To-Speech (TTS) 5.0 system to iVoice to incorporate in the iVoice Unified Messaging System. The TTS system will be one of the engines that supports iVoice's Unified Messaging System.

The iVoice Unified Messaging System links telephone systems to computer networks, and allows users in any location, to access voice mail, retrieve e-mail, and be informed about receiving faxes in a single operation through existing local area networks. iVoice Unified Messaging manages and delivers all messages through a PC accessible via the telephone. Through the Fonix innovative TTS technology, users can listen to e-mail messages or forward them to a PC or fax, from anywhere at anytime. The Fonix TTS engine will support the Unified Messaging System's e-mail reading feature.

"The addition of Fonix FAAST TTS 5.0 to the iVoice Unified Messaging System vastly improves the quality of our product," said Jerome R. Mahoney, President and CEO of iVoice. "We are particularly impressed by the Fonix FAAST TTS 5.0 framework with its unlimited vocabulary, natural-sounding voice, and streamlined integration into our Unified Messaging System."

Fonix FAAST TTS 5.0 is the latest and most comprehensive edition of the Fonix framework that delivers Unlimited Vocabulary TTS and Customized Vocabulary TTS. For delivery to a global market, FAAST 5.0 contains male and female voices and multiple language TTS soundbanks are currently available in beta format for the following languages: UK English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, and Norwegian.

"Fonix TTS, now with Unlimited Vocabulary and Customized Vocabulary TTS engines and both male and female voices, offers a compelling solution for the iVoice Unified Messaging System," said John A. Oberteuffer, Ph.D., vice president of Technology for the Fonix Corporation. "We are pleased iVoice has joined our expanding customer base to implement our TTS solutions."

Fonix FAAST 5.0 offers industry-leading multi-channel TTS process capability for highly scalable, cost-effective server implementations. When utilizing the Fonix FAAST framework, Fonix TTS supports 250 channels on one server platform; Fonix is also currently running tests to support 350 channels on a single platform. Channel capacity is defined as the number of simultaneous users supported by a representative server platform.

Fonix FAAST TTS 5.0 provides both female and male voices, markup language support, prioritized soundbank selection, and the ability to alter pitch, speed, and volume. FAAST TTS 5.0 is currently available on Microsoft Windows 95/98, NT, ME, and Windows 2000 operating systems and will be available in the first quarter of 2001 on several Unix platforms, including Linux and Solaris. Fonix FAAST 5.0 showcases a feature-rich TTS Development API set that allows consumers to integrate text-to-speech with their own applications. The FAAST API set includes C++, Java, and ActiveX, and is SAPI 4.0-compliant.

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