[Promotion-technology] Article: Alive and clicking: the latest iPod will talk...

[David Andrews]

>Whether or not this makes for an accessible device is yet to be determined ... but it is an interesting development nonetheless.


Dave



>This article is taken from 
>http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=999772006&format=print.  -Steve.
>
>Scotland on Sunday
>Sun 9 Jul 2006
>Alive and clicking: the latest iPod will talk...
>
>Alive and clicking: the latest iPod will talk the listener through 
>the songs and
>bands on the menu.
>
>Apple pips its rivals with the iPod that talks
>RICHARD GRAY SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT (
>rgray at scotlandonsunday.com)
>
>FROM Walkman to Talkman. Not content with changing the world's 
>music-listening habits,
>Apple has come up with another innovation: the talking iPod.
>
>A new generation of machines will use sophisticated software to 
>convert the names
>of bands, albums and individual tracks into recognisable speech.
>
>The new iPod will tell you what it is about to play, removing the 
>need for users
>to look at the screen while selecting music, and making the device 
>safer and easier
>to use while driving, cycling or in badly-lit locations.
>
>Crucially, the talking machines could give the iPod a badly-needed 
>new competitive
>edge in the hotly-contested digital music player market.
>
>The iconic machines were last week reported to have lost some of 
>their sheen, with
>consumers following a series of technical problems and controversy 
>surrounding the
>working conditions of those who make them. To make matters worse, 
>software giant
>Microsoft is said to be working on its own iPod-bashing digital music player.
>
>Apple has flatly refused to comment on the design, but a patent 
>lodged by the company
>in the United States makes clear the sixth generation of iPods will 
>be able to convert
>those famous text menus into speech.
>
>The ingenious system will rely on home PC processing power and clever 
>software. The
>computer being used to download tracks will analyse each album title, 
>song name and
>artist and convert them into sound files. These will be loaded into 
>the iPod, along
>with the song files.
>
>Users of the music players will still operate the Clickwheel as 
>normal, but hear
>the names of songs and bands through their headphones.
>
>The patent reveals the idea is driven largely by safety considerations.
>It states: "A user will have difficulty navigating the interface in 
>'eyes-busy' situations.
>"Such activities include, for example, driving an automobile, 
>exercising and crossing
>the street."
>
>The patent also makes clear that text-to-speech technology is likely 
>to spread to
>other hand-held electronic devices such as mobile phones and palm-top 
>computers.
>
>The move is expected to spark a new digital player war as competing 
>manufacturers
>attempt to cram more and more features into their digital music 
>players in a bid
>to keep up.
>
>iPods have recently begun losing favour with consumers, amid claims 
>of poor working
>conditions at a Chinese factory where the devices are made.
>
>Microsoft is reported to be planning a digital music player with 
>wireless internet
>capabilities, removing the need for a PC to download music.
>
>The firm is believed to be keen to break Apple's stranglehold on the 
>download market
>with its iTunes software.
>
>The iPod and iTunes enjoy market share of about 80% in the US and the 
>UK, as well
>as more than half the online music market in Europe as a whole.
>
>Sony is also believed to be working on a wireless product that can 
>download music
>and video broadcasts in venues such as concert halls and even shops. 
>The firm filed
>a patent in 2004 which states that compressed files could be sent to 
>concert-goers
>with footage from the concert they had just seen.
>
>Converting text into speech has been a major goal of the computer 
>industry for decades,
>but early versions of the technology struggled with difficult words and names.
>It also requires formidable computer processing power to carry out 
>the difficult
>conversion.
>
>But Apple says its system will break down words in a new way that 
>makes it possible
>to pronounce perfectly even the most obscure song titles and artist names.
>It also proposes using "voice talent" - such as famous actors - to 
>make the speech
>more human and add in the celebrity factor.
>
>The patent also proposes using different voice "characteristics", 
>such as gender,
>for different sections of the iPod menus.
>
>Professor Steve Renals, a speech technology expert at Edinburgh 
>University, said:
>"It is possible to create very high quality text-to-voices these days.
>"We have seen some already used in mobile phones, but it has 
>struggled in the past
>with difficult words and names. The technology is much better now and 
>can cope with
>most things."
>
>Safety experts have raised concerns over cyclists, pedestrians and 
>motorists being
>involved in accidents when they are distracted by their digital music devices.
>
>Last month, a teenager from Preston was killed while listening to his 
>iPod on his
>bike when he collided with a tractor. Another teenager, Kathryn 
>Thomas, caused a
>fatal road accident last year when she took her eyes off the road to 
>show a friend
>how to use her iPod. Roger Vincent, spokesman for the Royal Society 
>for the Prevention
>of Accidents, said: "If people don't need to take their eyes off the 
>road and hands
>off the wheel then there are clear benefits to that.
>
>"Provided there is a sensible approach and the technology is used in 
>a way that it
>is intended, it could make using such devices far safer.
>
>"There are concerns, though, about the isolation from surroundings 
>that wearing earphones
>creates, and this can cause serious accidents, particularly among cyclists."