An InformationWeek report from the Emerging Communications Conference at Silicon Valley's Computer History Museum focuses on the need to meld commoditized telephone services with the "power and personalization of the interactive Web 2.0 world."

This is best done by mashing voice with applications that can be improved by the addition of voice technology, telecom consultant Thomas McCarthy-Howe said in the article.

The article details several companies whose products bridge this gap. First there's Ifbyphone, which lets users access Web-based apps from any type of phone, including phones with an actual rotary dial. Next is Mobivox, a VoIP service whose goal is to make voice recognition better, and Vringo, which focuses on newer technology with its video ringtones that add social networking features to mobile phone calls.

As the story points out, whether or not folks are ready to watch a video clip when they get a phone call, "it's clear that the gap between voice-only services and the Web is quickly filling with creative and in some cases far-out applications."