PC Magazine: Tellme (beta)

Though still in its preview stage when we tested it (the service is to go public this summer), Tellme is the most compelling of the voice portals. Though the service covers all of the basics—stock quotes, news, sports, weather—this voice portal also offers some novel features designed specifically for telephone access.

One example is Tellme's restaurant section. The service defaults to your home location (entered when you signed up), but suppose you want a different city and state. If you know the name of the restaurant, say it; Tellme will give you not only the address but read a Zagat's review if one is available. The winning touch, however, is the way Tellme integrates with your phone. If you want to make a reservation, Tellme will connect you with the restaurant and then return you to the service when you're done.

Tellme doesn't offer much in the way of personalization. But we liked the way Tellme integrated news with quotes. If a company makes the news during the day, Tellme gives you the option of hearing the story.

Not every feature here is a winner. You can play blackjack, but is that something you really need to do over the phone? Traffic reports were unavailable on several occasions. And the "phone booth" feature is gimmicky. Tellme connects you to a U.S. phone number for a free call, but you're disconnected without warning after 2 minutes.

Still, with its generally smart design and easy navigation—not to mention most human-sounding voice here—this is the voice portal to beat.