Dave Horvath
10 Jul 2004 6:54
Tired of having a one-way conversation with your iPod? Done with all the strange looks when you have a fight with your iPod because it never seems to listen to you? Well, the folks over at Apple have come up with a solution. The iPod buddy! While not the official name, Apple has developed a proprietary software for their iPod enabling it to convert text of bands, tracks, albums and menu items into speech.
The benefits of this would be so iPod users can either hear the next track coming up without looking at the screen, or increase safety by letting drivers navigate the menu without looking at the screen. Bicyclists could also benefit from this by not having to read the screen in areas where the lighting is not optimal. Although Apple has not commented on this development, the patent registered with the US Patent Office clearly shows that this feature could be available for the sixth generation iPod.
In the aftermath of recent stories released about some third-party iPod manufacturers as well as recent technical issues with the most recent version of the hardware, Apple hopes this will give them another edge in the growing portable music player market.
Source:
Scotsman