Mr. Lilienthal (Photo: flickr.com/philwolff)

We first introduced you to OneTok back in March, when we reported that it'd raised a $1.5 million seed round from investors including RRE Ventures. Back then, the NYC-based startup was operating solely in beta, working to bring its voice recognition platform--which allows developers to easily embed voice recognition technology into any app on Android, Blackberry 10 or iOS--to the masses.

Beta be gone--launch day has finally arrived: OneTok CEO and cofounder Ben Lilienthal gave Betabeat the heads up this morning that the SaaS platform officially debuts today. It seeks to give developers the ability to voice-enable mobile apps in an "easy and cost-efficient way."

According to the press release:

OneTok is a cloud-based platform that lets developers configure any word or phrase to invoke any activity in their app, all with just a few clicks. Instead of jabbing at buttons while driving or typing their destination, smartphone and tablet users now can simply use their voice for tasks such as controlling and navigating apps, entering their login or conducting a search.

With the rise of tools like Siri and Google Now (even Martin Scorsese is in on the game), voice recognition is arguably one of the more desirable mobile app features. So bootstrapping app builders, rejoice: The OneTok team is offering the top 10 voice commands library free through the end of the year. Mr. Lilienthal and team plan to implement "success-based tiered pricing" in 2013.

“Too many developers give their customers the finger by forcing them to peck out words on a tiny keyboard and poke at virtual buttons,” Mr. Lilienthal said in a press release. “Today’s voice-enablement tools are overly complex and designed to make their vendors money. OneTok puts developers first, freeing them to focus on providing a great user experience."

We humbly suggest that the Reddit is Fun Android app integrate OneTok's technology so that we can upvote with our voice.

Mr. Lilienthal (flickr.com/philwolff)

If you're fed up with iPhone's Siri, might we suggest another option besides getting litigious? OneTok, the newest venture from serial entrepreneur Ben Lilienthal, wants to voice enable the rest of the mobile web.

"If you think about Siri," Mr. Lilienthal told us via phone, "that's cool on an iPhone, but it only works for a small number of apps. Our vision is that people are going to control their smartphones by talking to them. We're gonna be the platform that makes it easy for developers to embed voice technology into their apps."

If it sounds like a lofty idea, that's because it is--but OneTok is well-positioned to make good on their vision. The company just raised $1.5 million in Series A funding from "friends and family," as well as one prominent New York venture capital firm. And Mr. Lilienthal has a swath of successful startups under his belt, including Vapps Inc., which he sold to Citrix in 2008 for $26.6 million.

Right now OneTok is operating in closed beta, and the team is looking for willing devs to help test the fledgling platform. "The idea is to open the platform up to the general community in the third quarter or maybe halfway through the second quarter," Mr. Lilienthal said.

Considering the harsh reviews and lawsuits lobbed at Siri recently, we're not surprised that a startup that aims to make voice recognition better and more accessible is gaining traction. If only GrubHub would build OneTok into its mobile app, making it possible for us to order a milkshake just by saying so. Now that would be well worth a $1.5 million investment.