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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
Metro One Wins Additional Directions Patent; ''Pick Up Where You Left Off''
PORTLAND, Ore.--Oct. 7, 2004--Metro One Telecommunications, Inc. (Nasdaq:INFO), the leading provider of Enhanced Directory Assistance(R) and other enhanced telecom services, today announced that it has been awarded U.S. Patent No. 6,801,763 for an easy-to-use method of offering complex driving directions over the phone. Metro One offers such services through its Enhanced Directory Assistance systems and Infone(R), its premium personal assistant service, at 888-411-1111.
The patent describes a method whereby a caller can receive directions in one or more calls, allowing a "pick up where you left off" functionality. After a first call in which the caller has obtained a first set of directions, the caller is then given a second set of directions on a second call, based on their then current location, and so forth, for multiple routes or route segments. The caller's current location may be determined from GPS information provided by their phone or by other means. Further, the user can issue phone key press signals or voice commands to navigate ("jump forward," "backward," etc.) through a set of directions, which may be read and processed by an interactive voice response unit.
All of this functionality may be accessed within the same phone call using Metro One's patented StarBack(R) functionality. For example, a caller may receive and begin navigating through a series of directional steps and, using StarBack, perform another function, such as making a restaurant reservation and then, using StarBack again, return to a point within the set of directions -- all while the trip is in progress.
"This innovation offers our customers the broadest range of options for location-based driving directions. It applies both to automated interactive voice response systems or to our experienced operators as personal assistants," said Timothy Timmins, president and chief executive officer of Metro One Telecommunications. "We are excited to create new and better technologies that allow us to provide ever more useful services over the phone."
Metro One Telecommunications, Inc. is the leading developer and provider of Enhanced Directory Assistance and other enhanced telecom services. The Company operates a network of call centers located strategically throughout the U.S. Metro One handled approximately 434 million requests for information in 2003. In May 2003, the Company launched Infone, a premium personal assistant telephone service, for which consumers can sign up by visiting www.infone.com or by calling 888-411-1111. Infone(R) is a registered trademark of Metro One Telecommunications, Inc. For more information, visit the Metro One Telecommunications website at www.metro1.com
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