Web Access Over Your Touch-Tone Phone
Computers and Internet appliances are getting smaller and smaller, but now you don’t even need one to surf the Web. A service announced last week by a Westlake Village company will allow customers to check their e-mail, obtain stock prices, shop online and perform other Web tasks with a touch-tone phone.
TelSurf Networks’ voice-activated 888-TelSurf service is now available in some parts of Los Angeles, and a full North American roll-out is planned for April.
Customers must share some personal information--including name, age and ZIP code--to create a TelSurf account. Then they can use the service for free if they’re willing to listen to 10-second ads (“This e-mail is sponsored by McDonald’s, who reminds you that the day just doesn’t start without breakfast. Did somebody say McDonald’s?”). An ad-free version of the service costs 6 cents a minute.
Navigating TelSurf is a little like checking on a flight’s arrival time or a credit card balance using a phone. E-mails recorded as voice messages sound like voicemail, but typewritten e-mails are read by a computer. And so is much of the data read from Web sites, such as sports scores, weather reports and horoscopes. About 1,000 people signed up for the service in its first week on the market, the company says.
