Nuance Communications, Inc., a leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for business and consumers around the world, today announced that the Nuance Mobile flagship VSuite application is shipping on the Palm® Centro™ smartphone from AT&T.

Palm has expanded its use of Nuance Mobile speech solutions to deliver hands-free voice control capabilities to its broad portfolio of mobile devices. Nuance will demonstrate the benefits of speech-enabled solutions for Palm devices at the Nuance booth (Booth 5717) at the CTIA 2008 conference, being held next week in Las Vegas, Nev.

Palm selected Nuance VSuite to enable hands-free, one-step access to mobile applications and content. VSuite offers a speech-based user interface for hands-free and eyes-free access to smartphone features. In addition to being included on the Centro from AT&T, VSuite is also provided on the Treo 755p from Verizon Wireless. VSuite is also supported on all Palm OS based Palm Treo smartphones.

From the press release:

“With hands-free legislation limiting the use of mobile phones while driving, mobile users increasingly need hands-free, eyes-free access to features on their handsets,” said Phil McClendon, product line manager, consumer smartphones, for Palm, Inc. “We’re committed to offering hands-free solutions for a safe user experience, especially while driving. By continuing to work with Nuance to equip our devices with the latest speech technology capabilities, we’ve been able to enhance the accessibility and utility of our devices for users on the go.”

Nuance also offers Nuance Voice Control, which is a subscription-based service allowing Palm users to easily connect to the mobile web using only their voice. Nuance Voice Control users can dictate and send email or text messages, create calendar entries, or search the Web for business listings, news, weather, stock quotes, sport scores and more.You can read the full press release here.

I'm glad that companies like Nuance make these types of products that provide hands-free use of our mobile devices. And good for Palm for including them on their smartphones. Goodness knows that we've got enough people yacking away on their phones as they're speeding up and down the freeways. I can't even begin to count the number of careless drivers with cellphones glued to their ears that have been careening down the road in front of me. I've met people in the middle of a curve who were attempting to text on their phones. Or that's what it looked like anyway before I jerked my steering wheel in the other direction to keep from getting hit. One of my friends was sitting at a stop sign and some woman talking on a cell phone was so engrossed in her "important" conversation that she came barelling up behind my friend and smashed into the back of her car.

Let's hope that more people take advantage of hands-free programs like the ones that Nuance provides. I think it's great that the AT&T Centro ships with VSuite. Sweet!