Technology Creates Wireless Assistant

April 26 is Secretaries Day, a time to thank the person who makes your life easier by handling your calls and organizing your life. But there's one personal assistant who won't receive flowers, lunch, gifts or even a word of thanks, even though she makes life easier. It could also be because she lives in box.

Wildfire, a new type of "secretary" offered by Pacific Bell Wireless, is the first virtual personal assistant provided by a telephone carrier in the U.S.

Wildfire uses speech recognition to handle messages and contacts, and also allows the mobile worker to travel and make calls hands free. Users can make calls and check messages without ever touching the keypad, letting them keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

The cost of Network Wildfire varies, but is typically $6-10 dollars a month.

Wildfire answers phone calls, announces callers, maintains a complete contact list, and places return calls from messages. Since human personal assistants do far more than simply answer phone calls, Wildfire frees up time for them to concentrate on other important daily tasks. And Wildfire works 24 hours a day, seven days a week, something even the most devoted human assistant might balk at.

Wildfire is also a safety tool for busy people who keep working even when they are in their cars. You drive, and she does the dialing. And, come April 26, you don't have to buy her flowers or take her to lunch. Just remember to pay your bill.

To contact Wildfire Communications, call 1-800-WILDFIRE or visit their web site at www.wildfire.com.

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