News 2001
Voice your choice with Virgin Mobile
28/11/2001
Dial 4321 and just say the word!
Virgin Mobile, the UK's fifth network, today becomes the first British operator to launch a voice portal.
The voice-activated news and entertainment service makes a mobile more than a phone! Just dial 4321 then say the word and your Virgin Mobile becomes a newscaster, a sports commentator, a music junkie, a TV soap guru, a shopaholic and much more! The clever speech-recognition technology lets people 'skip' to whichever area they are most interested in - with no need to wait for any 'download'. What customers say goes: all they need to do to 'barge' to their preferred choice is say a keyword, or simply the name of the subject category they desire. Simply say the word `news' for news, for sport say 'sport', and for sex…(only joking!) - it really is that easy!
Dial 4321 and say the word
The broad range of audio-on-demand services include:
Sports - if you love sport then you're going to love this! All the latest sports news including results as they happen, top sporting stories, team news and top star interviews. Sport channels cover: football, cricket, rugby, horseracing, F1, golf, tennis, boxing and snooker.
Entertainment - this Entertainment zone will send your head spinning! Get the low-down on all that's happening in music, TV & film, including:
- Music charts, news, reviews & interviews with pop, film and TV stars
- TV soap updates as soon as the soap is finished
- Film Reviews & Interviews
- Buy concert tickets from Way Ahead Ticketline
- Buy music, DVDs, videos and games from Virgin Megastores with 15% discount.
Fun - this could be your lucky day love-wise, work-wise and money-wise! Get some fun on your phone!
- Lottery results updated straight after the draw
- Horoscopes updated every day - find out what's in-store for you
- Trivia - put your mind to it and win some cash every week
- Competitions - weekly competitions with some great prizes.
News - All the news, as it happens. All UK, Sport, Entertainment & Business news updated on the hour, every hour.
- News and Weather is supplied by PA News
- Sports news is supplied by Sportsmedia
- Traffic updates are supplied by TravelNews.
Shopping - Enjoy all the highs of high street without any of the headaches!
- Get 15% discount off all CD's DVD's & Video's and Console Games
- Range of electrical goods at discounted prices
- Wines and gifts - also at discounts
- Tickets for Sporting & Music events.
Favourites - You can put all your favourite services right in one place so whenever you call up you can get your favourite information straight away. Set your own voice character to take you around 4321 - choose between the delectable Chantelle, a frilly French maid, or Ronald the geezer gangster.
What's New - updates from Virgin Mobile on additions to the VirginXtras 4321 services.
Virgin Mobile's new voice portal service costs 20p a minute and it offers another access point to VirginXtras, which to date have been available by the web, text and WAP.
Reactions to 4321
Approximately 2 million people in the UK have serious sight problems so an information service that is controlled purely by speech recognition is ideally suited to these people.
Charlotte Goodman, Head of Marketing at Action for Blind People, welcomed Virgin Mobile's new service. She said, "Communications services which can be accessed without needing to use your eyesight can be a lifeline for those who are blind or partially sighted. Virgin Mobile's 4321… service is easy to use with voice commands only, providing access to essential services such as news, weather and financial information to everyone, including those who don't have the luxury of going to the shops and buying a daily newspaper."
And, if you're worried that you'll feel strange about having one-word conversations with your mobile phone, fear not. We've talked to the experts about people's habits when they're on the phone and they reassure us that it's completely normal.
Kate Fox, social psychologist and director of the Social Issues Research Centre, said Virgin Mobile customers shouldn't be afraid to use the voice-activated service in public: "There is an irrational sort of 'ostrich syndrome', that seems to affect many mobile phone users, who seem to believe that they are inaudible - that those around them cannot hear their noisy conversations about their private lives or business deals. Women generally tend to be somewhat more quiet and discreet than men in this context, although there are exceptions."
Tom Alexander, chief executive of Virgin Mobile, said: "Virgin Mobile has always been 100% focused on making a mobile more than a phone, and the launch of our voice portal service does exactly this. Whether you need to check your journey home, catch-up on the news-headlines or discover the latest gossip in Albert Square, VirginXtras can now provide all this and more."
Virgin Mobile customers can log on to www.virgin.com/mobile to see a demonstration of the service and all the VirginXtras content, including games such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire, picture messaging, celebrity voicemail and ringtone downloads.
For further information on Virgin Mobile:
Press Office line: 0845 600 6272 or email: press.office@virginmobile.com
Steven Day, 07931 777777
Joanne Baker, 07941 233300
Consolidated Communications
Joanna Cotton, 07941 696303
Julia Clark, 07941 230500
Action for Blind People
James Lawrence, 020 7635 4898
Notes to the editor:
VirginXtras call charges
- Calls to Virgin Mobile's voice portal service cost 20p a minute
- Personalised SMS news alerts from Your VirginXtras are free
- To browse Your VirginXtras service using a WAP handset costs the same price as making a voice call - 15p a minute for the first five minutes of use each day and 5p a minute after that
- Customers pay 20p per SMS to play Virgin Mobile's interactive games on VirginXtras
About Virgin Mobile:
Virgin Mobile is now established as the most successful virtual network operator in the world, and is the UK's fifth network. Since its launch in November 1999 it has attracted well over one million customers, making it one of the fastest growing mobile phone companies in history.
Virgin Mobile is a 50:50 joint venture company between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Deutsche Telekom's One 2 One, and is the UK's first mobile virtual operator.
It has scored a number of firsts, including being the first operator to scrap peak rate calls, introduce a daily discounting tariff and was the first company in the world to introduce an integrated MP3 mobile phone.
In the UK, Virgin Mobile phones are available direct on 0845 6000 600; on the web at www.virgin.com/mobile; or on the High Street at over 5,000 outlets including Virgin Megastore, Our Price, V.SHOP, Sainsbury, Tesco, WH Smith, Co-op, Asda, Somerfield, John Lewis, Littlewoods, Morrisons, The Link, Phone People and Carphone Warehouse.
