Press Releases

TELLME Surpasses 100 Million Voice Searches Per Month

With Faster Access to Information, Mobile Voice Searches Lead Mobile Data Searches 6 to 1

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., August 21, 2006 — Tellme Networks, Inc.® today announced that 35 million unique monthly users of Tellme services are now driving more than 100 million voice searches from their phones each month, searching for information such as business listings, driving directions, movie show times, package tracking, account status, news, sports scores, weather and more. The majority of these searches are for business listings to 411 business searches on Tellme. With an estimated 2.1 billion business searches per year to 411 from mobile phones, it is the most popular mobile search service today. These voice-driven business searches are the preferred way to find information when using a mobile device by a factor of 6 to 1.¹

(See related release: "The 411 on 411" issued today by Tellme).

The convenience of using voice as a search interface will be an important factor in the success of mobile data search services. On August 7, 2006 the Mobile Marketing Association reported in its mobile search study that that the ability to search by voice is the top-rated feature to driving greater consumer adoption of mobile search.

"Voice is easy and fast, which solves two of the biggest challenges with mobile search today. The requirements for mobile search are very different than those of Web search. In a mobile environment people demand speed and accuracy with as little typing or scrolling as possible. They are looking for specific kinds of information, usually location-based, such as a restaurant or driving directions. And they want to be able to act on the information instantly by either calling or using the data to make a decision, like which road to take or which movie to see," said Sanjeev Agrawal, Vice President of Product Marketing at Tellme. "Having served billions of answers to millions of callers, we believe now is the time for Tellme to take its expertise in voice search to the world of mobile data search."

Beyond business search, what do consumers want when they are mobile?
Based on a June 2006 Harris Interactive(r) study conducted for Tellme², the top three services "on the go" cell phone users are interested in are 1. Maps for driving directions (52%); 2. Voice automated dialing (48%); and 3. Information such as movie listings, stock quotes and weather (33%). Tellme provides these types of services to millions of people every month, enabling callers to simply say what they want, creating a more compelling mobile experience where they do not have to rely solely on small screens and keypads.

Anyone can try Tellme voice search services today. Information and entertainment searches are available on 1-800-555-TELL, *8 from Cingular Wireless phones, or by saying "call web" for Sprint Voice Command users. To reach a business call 1-800-555-1212, and for listings plus enhanced services like driving directions and movie ticketing, Tellme powers much of Cingular's 411 services.

1 Data is based on Tellme analysis of M:Metrics, Inc. and the Pierz Group reports. M:Metrics reports 751,782 mobile users access business directories almost every day, 1.826M at least once each week, and 3.528M one to three times per month, on average for a 3 month period ending June 2006. The Pierz Group cites there were 2.1B calls to 411 in the U.S. in 2005.

2 Harris Interactive Survey Methodology
The online study was conducted by Harris Interactive for Tellme Networks, Inc. between March 31 and June 7, 2006, among 1,425 U.S. adults age 18-60 who use a phone at home or at work (935 of the respondents were cell phone users). The questions in the survey cover the telephone and directory assistance usage patterns of Americans, and also take a look at generational and gender differences in phone usage and attitudes. Data were weighted to be representative of the total population of U.S. adults with phone access, on the basis of education, age/gender, ethnicity/race, region and propensity to be online.

About Tellme
Tellme improves how people and businesses use the phone by providing the fastest and easiest way to search on the phone. Powered by Internet data with a voice interface, Tellme services allow people to simply say what they want and get it. Today Tellme powers hundreds of phone services used by more than 35 million people every month. Some of the services running on Tellme's network include directory assistance for Cingular and Verizon, customer service for Merrill Lynch, E*TRADE Financial and American Airlines, and e-commerce services for Amazon.com and Fandango. Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., Tellme is pioneering a new era in Internet communications by simplifying how people use the phone to find people, businesses and information.

Contact:

Marci Pedrazzi, marci@tellme.com 650-930-9060 , 408-921-6993 (m)

Megan Dyer megan@tellme.com 650-930-9247, 650-868-7043 (m)

Tellme is a registered trademark and service mark of Tellme Networks, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks are the trademarks and service marks of their respective owners.