iLane, the small black box introduced by Waterloo, Ontario-based Intelligent Mechatronic Systems Inc., is designed for people who can’t live without their e-mails and spend most of their lives in all kinds of transition.
Gadgets reading text aloud is not something new, but it sure has been attracting a lot of attention recently. We have the Amazon Kindle 2, which reads your books, and the latest iPod shuffle, which speaks your song’s titles aloud. Now iLane, working only with Blackberry at the moment, gives you an idea of what’s going on in your inbox through a wireless Bluetooth earphone.
The good thing about iLane is it will not convert your spoken message into garbled text after you tell it to reply; instead, your voice will be sent just as you’ve recorded it via an MP3 attachment.
Talking Inboxes
iLane Helps E-Mail-Obsessed Individuals Multitask
Trend Themes
1. E-mail Multitasking - Developing technologies that enable people to multitask with e-mails while on the move presents opportunities for productivity-enhancing tools and apps.
2. Smart Text-to-speech Devices - The trend of text-to-speech devices is growing and presents opportunities for the development of new devices that combine text-to-speech and voice recognition technology.
3. Hands-free Technologies - The demand for hands-free technologies is growing, creating opportunities for innovation and new applications across different industries.
Industry Implications
1. Mobile Technology Industry - iLane's Bluetooth earphone technology presents a new opportunity for mobile device manufacturers to create gadgets that provide hands-free on-the-go email reading and communication.
2. Wearable Technology Industry - The trend towards creating smart wearable devices presents opportunities for new headphones that enable hands-free emailing and communication while on-the-go.
3. Healthcare Industry - The demand for hands-free devices to improve safety and productivity in healthcare environments represents an opportunity for the development of voice-activated communication devices for healthcare professionals.