Companies team up to deliver superior in-car navigation leveraging the power of GPS-enabled mobile phones

Scotland – December 15th, 2003 - Rhetorical, a leading developer of text-to-speech technology, today announced an agreement with Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) to provide speech synthesis software for use with Motorola’s VIAMOTO products. Motorola’s VIAMOTO products and solutions allow consumers to easily access location-specific information and turn-by-turn directions on wireless devices. Offering a wide range of voices in different languages, regional accents, and speaking styles, Rhetorical’s text-to-speech engine rVoice produces voice guidance instructions that are created and delivered to a GPS-enabled mobile phone with both speakerphone capability and VIAMOTO software. A desirable alternative to standard in-car navigation systems utilizing permanently installed CD-ROM software, customers rely on the VIAMOTO system with rVoice technology for concise, up-to-date voice guidance contributing to easy and confidant navigation both in and out of the vehicle.

VIAMOTO users select their destination in one of three ways; either by calling an operator, using the phone keypad, or through a web interface. The voice directions for a route are then determined by VIAMOTO servers, downloaded and stored in the phone. The directions from the current GPS location to the destination are then automatically read to the user along the route.

“This agreement reflects our growing reputation in the US and showcases Rhetorical as a key player in the text to speech market,” said Marc Moens, CEO of Rhetorical. “We have worked hard to make sure we have the best text-to-speech system and we are delighted that Motorola has chosen to work with Rhetorical.”

The VIAMOTO solution is currently launching nationwide in the United States with AVIS rent a car where users can experience state of the art voice navigation through the “Avis Assist” option when they hire a vehicle. The Avis Assist service is currently available for rent in more than 20 US cities including Dallas, Washington D.C., Boston, and Newark.

About rVoice:
rVoice is advanced text-to-speech technology software that converts any type of text into speech which is indistinguishable from human voice in terms of naturalness, intelligibility and accuracy. As part of a total voice solution, rVoice provides natural-sounding speech combined with rich vocabularies, which allows previously static applications to become dynamic. rVoice converts the text of email messages, news headlines, or product information into a spoken message that can be delivered to customers by phone or over an internet connection. rVoice supports a range of different languages and voices – male, female, young, old and a range of regional accents.

About Rhetorical:
Founded in April 2000, Rhetorical is a leading provider of text-to-speech (TTS) solutions. The company builds high-quality voices, which in many applications are indistinguishable from the real voices on whish they are modelled. Rhetorical is headquartered in Edinburgh, with offices in the U.S. and Europe. Rhetorical was established in Scotland, and Rhetorical inc. was incorporated in Delaware. For more information about Rhetorical, visit www.rhetorical.com

Contact:
Martin Allen
Indigo (PR) Ltd for Rhetorial
Tel: +44 (0)131 554 1230
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