iPod Speech
...so there is no display in the new flash-based iPods...
Who wants to look at something, when you just want to hear it?
Apple has had speech technology for quite some time, and I'm assuming its a relative minor hoop-jump to get this into an IC small enough. _Is it too much to consider that the logic-board for "Speech" within the new flash iPod would be just as large as a display?
* Change the voice (Agnes is so hot btw) by loading it using iTunes
* Eye-free, In-pocket navigation
* Minimized firmware feature-set
* Later firmware option for other regular iPods, just thought of something else... >3G emit the sound from the earphones. _This is an audio-overlay feature that could allow these devices to support speech-assisted navigation.
Who wants to look at something, when you just want to hear it?
Apple has had speech technology for quite some time, and I'm assuming its a relative minor hoop-jump to get this into an IC small enough. _Is it too much to consider that the logic-board for "Speech" within the new flash iPod would be just as large as a display?
* Change the voice (Agnes is so hot btw) by loading it using iTunes
* Eye-free, In-pocket navigation
* Minimized firmware feature-set
* Later firmware option for other regular iPods, just thought of something else... >3G emit the sound from the earphones. _This is an audio-overlay feature that could allow these devices to support speech-assisted navigation.
Comments
Originally posted by Semireg
...so there is no display in the new flash-based iPods...
Who wants to look at something, when you just want to hear it?
Apple has had speech technology for quite some time, and I'm assuming its a relative minor hoop-jump to get this into an IC small enough. _Is it too much to consider that the logic-board for "Speech" within the new flash iPod would be just as large as a display?
* Change the voice (Agnes is so hot btw) by loading it using iTunes
* Eye-free, In-pocket navigation
* Minimized firmware feature-set
* Later firmware option for other regular iPods, just thought of something else... >3G emit the sound from the earphones. _This is an audio-overlay feature that could allow these devices to support speech-assisted navigation.
i can see some uses for speech-recog, but imagine all the people who own ipods walking down the street talking to themsleves about their music. it would get mighty frustrating!
Originally posted by ipodandimac
i can see some uses for speech-recog, but imagine all the people who own ipods walking down the street talking to themsleves about their music. it would get mighty frustrating!
You may have misunderstood me, I'm speaking about the unit speaking to you. Giving you audible feedback on your finger movements, IE: what song is playing. This is the pinnacle of accessibility. How does a blind person use a current iPod?
I would hate to have to wait for the thing to speak in it's monotone drawl:
"Elderly Woman behind a Counter in a Small Town"
by "Pearl Jam"
on album "Vs"
before I even got to listen to the song!
Originally posted by benjamin_r
I would hate to have to wait for the thing to speak in it's monotone drawl:
If ever implemented, I'd think this would be fully configurable within iTunes.
A session with such a device would sound something like:
* Some audible noise indicating player is on.
* Top-level would be letters as you scroll: A,B,C,D,E,F,G..., Song numbers as you play #1,2,3,4,5.
* The speaking of ID3 tags would be optional, especially considering the small size where you could only "load" a couple albums into the device (possibly through a yet-to-be-seen iTunes interface).
A spoken-word audible-feedback UI would take much developer and psychological finesse, but I can see some really intuitive aspects that may not be out of reach by Apple.
Originally posted by Semireg
You may have misunderstood me, I'm speaking about the unit speaking to you. Giving you audible feedback on your finger movements, IE: what song is playing. This is the pinnacle of accessibility. How does a blind person use a current iPod?
oh my bad....
i was actually thinking about this just the other day. a DJ feature in itunes would be really cool--just a simple VO to announce the next song as it begins. i suppose the same thing on an ipod wouldnt be too hard to add, but having the ipod playing two mp3s (or whatever) at the same time might pose some problems.
Have you ever tried the Dell player or iRiver? Their screens look like they are powered by a couple of candles. I couldn't see anything.
A smaller screen with less information could be a solution. You don't need to show the time in the iPod; its not a watch. You can use that to make the letters a little big bigger. And you can show the artist + album in one line. Something like:
Echoes
Pink Floyd - Meddle
and nothing else apart from the track length.
Just an opinion.
Originally posted by Semireg
...so there is no display in the new flash-based iPods...
Who wants to look at something, when you just want to hear it?
This all sounds a bit tedious, as it reads out lots of info in a really annoying voice. A screenless MP3 player reminds me of the B&O player, which has no screen, but makes different sounds depending on which button you press etc I think, so you can use it in your pocket.
I guess I missed the item that said there was no screen in the iPod flash. Has this been 'confirmed?'