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Microsoft Recite killed off, but why?
Recite is one of the more innovative things to come out of Microsoft's Windows Mobile team in the past few years, a voice-based note-taking tool that gave users a quick way to say whatever was on their mind, archive it, and retrieve it later by speaking any keywords from the recording. The company offered it free of charge to owners of WinMo 6 and 6.1 devices earlier this year -- but Microsoft taketh away just as quickly as it giveth, apparently, because it's already pulling the plug on the tool at the end of December, which never actually made it out of "Technology Preview" status. Unfortunately, the client / server nature of Recite means that even existing users won't have a chance to keep using it, though Microsoft is offering tips on how to transfer voice notes up to a PC for archival. The app was genuinely cool, so we're hoping it's just being pulled in preparation for integration with a future version of WinMo -- they do say that the "ability to capture notes and reminders is an area we are still focused on and we will continue to consider your feedback to build out these rich experiences in upcoming products," after all -- but for the time being, the bell's tolling. [Via Ars Technica, thanks Sima]
Microsoft Recite brings voice search to your voice notes
Windows Mobile 6.5's presumably going to be the big news out of Redmond here at MWC this week, but Microsoft's also using the show as an opportunity to launch the "technology preview" of its Recite software, an ultra-simple voice note app for WinMo 6.0 and above. The concept is one of those "I can't believe I didn't think of that" moments, actually: one button records your quick notes, and the magic happens with a second button that you use to search your previously recorded notes by voice. For example, you can record "Sean Cooper's birthday is May 22" and later search on "Sean," "Sean Cooper," "birthday," or any combination of words you've mentioned in the note to recall it. Doesn't get much more straightforward than that -- and happily, you'll pay a big, fat goose egg for the privilege of grabbing it. It's a beta product, but that's not necessarily a bad thing: Microsoft's trying to gather feedback on how awesome (or not awesome) it is before deciding how to use it going forward, so give it hell and let 'em know what you think.
