The feature "encourages practice and gives the opportunity to fine-tune pronunciation skills," they say, adding that the browser-based speech analysis "gives learners an instant evaluation, letting them know how close their pronunciation is to that of a native speaker."

The new feature is included in all Babbel courses, and will take effect automatically, company officials say. No installation is necessary beyond the latest Flash Player.

Many students of foreign languages can learn to read and write the language, but frequently can't do as much as order a bowl of soup in a restaurant should they find themselves actually in a country speaking the language. No, we're not speaking from experience here, we've just... heard of this happening. To somebody else.

So the speech recognition feature "is to give them the confidence to open their mouths. We're encouraging learners to speak and improve their pronunciation with a technical tool before they have to face real-life situations," says Markus Witte, Managing Director of Babbel.

Real-life situations, such as talking to a computer. Hey don't laugh, today that might very well be the actual "real-life" situation.

Read more here.

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D2 Technologies, a vendor of embedded IP communications software platforms, has announced that its mCUE product line "fully supports Skype's SkypeKit SDK."

Company officials say mCUE is designed to give OEMs and ODMs a way to speed Android OS-based devices to market, "that offer a communications client with native Skype interoperability and integrated communication capabilities."

Combining the SkypeKit SDK with mCUE's user interface and media engine "offers customers the added benefit of mCUE's multi-mode, multi-session, multi-protocol engine for interoperability with multiple carrier and enterprise communications systems and other social networking services," company officials say.

Doug Makishima, chief operating officer at D2 Technologies, said "mCUE has been optimized to enable next generation IP communications over the Android operating system on mobile devices and new applications such as digital TV, IPSTB, tablets and MIDs."

D2's patented mCUE is a VoIP and IP communications client that provides users with presence-based and push-to-x control of circuit switched PSTN/cellular and VoIP calls, video chat/call, IM, presence, email, SMS, PBX, and other features.

Read more here.

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Andrea Liguori has taken on a new post -- director for the TNCI Agent Experience, and gave an interview to PhonePlus explaining exactly what that is.

TNCI is a national CLEC and communications reseller serving businesses. They formed the TNCI Agent Experience in May in "an effort to bring a company-wide focus on creating and maintaining the best experience possible for TNCI Agent Partners," according to PhonePlus.

Liguori, a seven-year veteran of TNCI, previously ran the sales operations, which she'll continue doing as well.

So what exactly is her new job?

"When you talk to a lot of independent agents you find that most have not had a relationship with a channel partner that's allowed them the opportunity to provide any type of significant feedback regarding product strategy, market direction or tools -- all things that contribute to their success," she told PhonePlus.

It's an issue that many in the industry are grappling with. Last fall TMC's Kelly McGuire wrote that "When companies in the customer relationship management industry hire sales agents to try and promote and increase their business, a process should be enlisted to determine what type of person you are hiring and - once hired - how the sales agent is performing on an operational and profitable status.

Read more here.

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Super Technologies has announced that wholesale telephony-related companies can join its DIDXchange marketplace and "take advantage of 1000 United Kingdom DIDs at $200 per month," according to company officials.

That price is "less than twenty-five cents per DID VoIP phone number per month wholesale," company officials note.

"Since the United Kingdom's capital, London, is a global financial hub for international business, and its relative poverty rate was 17 percent in 2002, less than 14 percent in 2006 and even lower since, it appears to be an ideal place to at least have a virtual presence for business and social reasons via a local phone number," said Suzanne Bowen, vice president of Super Technologies.

Read more here.