Where, oh where, has Grand Central gone?

Pete Wylie — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:31:07 -0400

Google hasn't mentioned any plans for virtual phone service Grand Central, which it acquired in July 2007 for $50 million. ZDNet's Sam Diaz reports that, after a blog post he wrote calling Grand Central "his favorite telecommuting tool," readers tried to sign up, but were informed that new registrations have been suspended.

Diaz got a response from Google claiming the product had been put into a closed beta test, hence the closure of new registrations. He makes a valid point that Google has had its hands full with all of its recent product announcements and might have let Grand Central fall by the wayside for the time being.

Grand Central has many convenient and useful features, like temporary call forwarding to another number, unified messaging and web-based voicemail. Integrating the voice application with other features could add value to some of Google's other services, like GMail and YouTube, for instance. With its immense research and development budget, you would think Google could take Grand Central's interface and create something innovative. We'll see if the next few months hold any Grand plans for Google in this area.

For more:
- see Diaz's post on ZDnet.com here

Holly Connects Connects With Embarq

Doug Mohney — Sun, 25 May 2008 21:50:38 -0400

Embarq has selected Holly Connects to supply the Holly Voice Platform as the foundation for "forthcoming enhanced subscriber services."

Holly's Voice Platform provides a flexible VoiceXML framework for any voice self-service application and includes a suite of software components and associated tools for the development of speech recognition solutions using standard hardware and software components. The platform seamlessly integrates with existing telephony and web-based infrastructure and supports traditional touch-tone, speech recognition, CTI, and call control.

Over the last few years, Embarq has tended to be a trend leader in adapting newer, more innovative technologies faster than other carriers. The company was one of the first to roll out a Mobile UC bundle and brought out a Casabi-enabled phone in April. It will be interesting to see what services Embarq will roll out incorporating Holly's technology.

For more:
- Embarq calls Holly for voice application development

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EMBARQ 's Casabi-flavored Home Phone--Hot!
Embarq to end wireless partnership with Sprint

Voice Application

Where, oh where, has Grand Central gone?

Holly Connects Connects With Embarq