Hear Restaurant Reviews in your Car

Delphi's New GPS Adds Restaurant Reviews

By Matt Safford

Delphi on Monday announced its latest portable GPS device, the Nav300, including such features as restaurant ratings for the consumer-about-town.

Aside from the usual satellite navigation abilities, the Nav300 packs in Zagat ratings, voice command control, Bluetooth connectivity, Text-To-Speech for street names, speed limit warnings, and a host of other features. The Zagat ratings will only become available in September, however, the company said.

The NAVTEQ Map software includes not only the continental United States, but Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The Delphi Nav300 is available now at ShopDelphi.com for a base price of $399, or $499 including the lifetime Clear Channel traffic and weather alerts.

Lane assistance and road sign alerts will show upcoming road signs and make sure drivers are in the correct lane to make a turn. The Points of Interest feature includes branded icons, making finding fast food at a glance all the more easy. There's optional real-time traffic and weather information available through Clear Channel, for an additional $100 fee for lifetime service, if purchased with the device. The opt-in later option costs $199. More...

Touch and Talk system

This product goes beyond what NextUp Talker tries to do, and is certainly more expensive, but good for some users.

Specialty Software Company Provides Speech Communication and Therapy Software for Speech Disabled

ore than 5 million people suffer
from speech disabilities and more than 500,000 people annually suffer from
stroke or other medical conditions that leave them unable to verbally
communicate with family members or caregivers.
   Touch & Talk Software International announced today that the Touch &
Talk Speech Communication and Therapy Software package is now available for
retail pharmacy, hospital, clinic and therapy service distribution and
sale.
   The Touch & Talk system is a speech communication and therapy tool for
patients suffering from Stroke, ALS, MD, Autism, Cancer, Trauma and other
speech communication disabilities. Patients simply point, click, tap or
type words from alphabetized word or phrase lists to build sentences and
Touch & Talk's built-in text-to-speech engine will narrate the intended
text to speech with a male or female voice through the computers speakers
for true quality of life communication to family members and caregivers.
Touch & Talk offers many quality of life enhancements such as 911 alerts,
optional instant messaging, medication reminders and caregivers log as well
as large buttons and screen options to assist patients with impaired vision
and in regaining lost motor control.
   Touch & Talk has been developed and tested by patients and medical
professionals since 2003 and is currently available in English for Windows
based PC's, laptop and touch screen computers. The Touch & Talk Spanish
release is expected early 2008. Several hospital and pharmacy chains are
reviewing the Touch & Talk system for distribution and Touch & Talk
Software International invites institutional and retail seller inquiries
for all English speaking countries and markets.
   Touch & Talk Software International, based in Mellen Wisconsin, has
provided specialty software titles since 1997 with the Touch & Talk product
and purchase information available on the company's website
http://www.TouchnTalk.com.

Apple trying to patent TTS on mobiles?

Apple tries to patent Text-to-Speech

from SensoryMetrics

Posted on July 26th, 2007 by Mitch Brisebois

In our regular installment of crazy patent talk… Apple has just filed a patent application titled Multimedia data transfer for a personal communication device. A rather vague title that’s better described deeper into the document:

Recent developments in consumer electronics have included the introduction of portable personal communication devices such as cell phones, personal walkie-talkies, and the like. In some cases, it would be desirable for a user of one of these personal communication devices to be able to transmit to another user having a similar device, multimedia data over a voice channel connecting the two devices. Such a system would be especially helpful for those users having impaired vision where reading a text message, for example, is difficult.

It’s bad enough that people will be karaokeing with their iPhones… But they’ll also be broadcasting their Twitters…

First South-African Voice

I love the non-US English voices. I'm not sure I've studied accents enough to really understand the differences between British, Australian, and South African accents, but my favorites have been great voices like AT&T Audrey and Nuance Karen. Now Nuance continues to add to their big library of voices with a new South African one.

Nuance Communications Launches South African Text-to-Speech Voice

Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN), a leading supplier of speech and imaging solutions, and Intelleca, South Africa’s leading provider of telecommunications-grade voice solutions, today introduced a South African English version of its RealSpeak® text-to-speech (TTS) engine that dynamically converts any input text into spoken output. The new female TTS voice, named Tessa (Text-to-Speech South Africa), can be used to deliver premium voice quality and natural-sounding synthesized speech for call center and network-based speech applications, as well as automotive, desktop and mobile applications.

Developed in conjunction with Intelleca in South Africa, Nuance’s development partner for speech recognition language models in the region, Tessa is the latest addition to the Nuance® RealSpeak® TTS portfolio, a collection of nearly 40 voices representing more than 28 different languages and dialects. Whether users want to enhance call center service, develop automated voice dialing applications, speech-enable an in-car navigation system or automate directory assistance services, RealSpeak delivers a friendly, expressive, highly intelligible speech interface.

“The introduction of Tessa continues our aggressive investment in the creation of new RealSpeak TTS voices that deliver the natural-sounding output required for quality speech applications,” said Peter Hauser, senior vice president and general manager for Nuance International. “With an unrivaled TTS language portfolio, now including South African English, Nuance is uniquely positioned to deliver TTS solutions that meet the localized needs of a global audience. We are delighted to have cooperated with Intelleca in developing our latest RealSpeak voice.”

As the leader in providing telco-grade open-voice solutions, Intelleca is known for its expertise in coupling sophisticated telephone solutions with automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS), and speaker verification (voice biometrics) technologies. Intelleca has a five-year track record in developing a broad-based model of South African English by incorporating hundreds of thousands of speech samples capturing the unique characteristics of the dialect.

“Nuance has unparalleled experience in the research and development of text-to-speech solutions,” said Michael Renzon, Intelleca CEO. “And with Tessa, we’ve created a TTS experience that is more natural and expressive than anything that’s been achieved before. Beyond the baseline of accurate pronunciation requirements, Tessa delivers effective phrasing and emphasis, even sophisticated emotions.”

For more information and to sample Nuance’s full portfolio of TTS voices, visit www.nuance.com/realspeak/languages/.

No idea when this voice might be available for consumers for desktop usage, but great to see companies like Nuance continue to develop and expand TTS.

iPhone and TTS speaking name of your contacts

Saw this neat tip today. Using TextAloud to create audio files of your contact names, then putting on iphone.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=330191

Here's an idea I had earlier today. We can have our iPhone's speak the names or our contacts (or anything else) when they call.

The process requires using the ringtones hack and a text-to-speech solution like AT&T's Natural Voices.

1. Create the audio files using the text-to-speech tool.
2. Convert it to MP3 using something like Audacity. I also recommend adding a bit of silence after the voice.
3. Upload it to your phone using the hack.
4. Go into your contacts and assign the custom ringtone to your contact.

I know AT&T's Natural Voices aren't that good. If anyone knows about a better tool post it.

TextAloud and the iPhone

Press release
TextAloud Takes Portables Like the iPhone (TM) to the Next Level

Popular Text to Speech program is the perfect solution for iPhones (TM), iPods (R) and other devices.

Clemmons, NC (PRWEB) July 12, 2007 -- With the recent release of the next generation of portables like Apple's enormously popular iPhone (TM), there's never been a better time for people to discover the power of Text to Speech products like NextUp.com (www.NextUp.com) software TextAloud.

Products like the iPhone (TM) illuminate what a portable device is really capable of, especially when enhanced with the power of Text to Speech.

Introducing an entirely new user interface, the iPhone (TM) is a revolutionary new portable combining three products into one small, lightweight handheld device. For users who create audio files for use on their portable devices, and who seek the perfect hardware complement to Text to Speech, a product that operates as a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod (R) and a pocket Internet browser is more than ideal. TextAloud is a terrific fit for use with this kind of new technology.

"Users of iPhones (TM) as well as other recently launched multitasking portable devices are clamoring for useful software programs that allow users to utilize them to their fullest potential," comments NextUp President Rick Ellis. "Products like the iPhone (TM) illuminate what a portable device is really capable of, especially when enhanced with the power of Text to Speech."

Equally useful for commuters and truck drivers, students and teachers, TextAloud is an award-winning program that enables anyone to easily and affordably export books, magazine articles, web content, even e-mails, into spoken audio. TextAloud smoothly converts text into spoken audio for listening on a PC or laptop, and can also save text to audio files for playback on portables like the iPhone (TM), iPod (R), PocketPC (R), and a wide range of other players and devices. A software program that is highly popular with people of a variety of professions and walks of life, TextAloud is inexpensively priced, and is simple for anyone with a PC, laptop or portable.

"The iPhone (TM) offers customers a host of technological solutions from telecommunications, to games, e-mail and more in one smart, streamlined device," adds Ellis. "TextAloud and other Text to Speech products help to truly maximize the efficiency of these kinds of devices by incorporating the ease and convenience of spoken audio. They become not just valued, but invaluable."

In addition to a host of useful features, TextAloud even offers specific enhancements especially for users who use the program to listen to their emails in Microsoft Outlook (R), another highly useful feature for iPhone (TM) users. In addition, TextAloud's easy and friendly VCR-like controls and high-quality assortment of Premium Voices make it easier than ever to select and hear e-mail messages via portable -- the perfect solution for business users and commuters who wish to maximize their time.

"The release of the iPhone (TM) really highlights the many uses possible in portable technology, and when utilized in combination with TextAloud, can really help thousands of users everywhere to get more out of their commutes, activities, work and studies," adds Ellis.

About TextAloud
TextAloud has been featured in The New York Times, PC Magazine, Writer's Digest, on CNN and more. Hailed by critics and users alike, TextAloud is priced at just $29.95, and is compatible with systems using Windows (R) 98, NT, 2000, XP and Vista. The program is available for fast, safe and secure purchase via http://www.NextUp.com

About NextUp.com
NextUp.com, a division of NextUp Technologies, LLC, provides award-winning Text to Speech software for consumers, professionals, businesses, educators and those with visual or vocal impairment or learning disabilities.

In addition to TextAloud, NextUp.com markets other innovative Windows software designed to save time and deliver vital information. NewsAloud (TM) is a talking personal "news agent" that finds the stories users want, and then reads them aloud or to portable audio files. WeatherAloud (TM) is a weather application that lets users select and listen to personalized weather forecasts, while StocksAloud (TM) reads stock updates and related news headlines aloud for specific companies of interest. NextUp Talker is an easy and affordable program that allows people who have lost their voices to use the latest in high-quality computer voices to communicate with others. Most recently, NextUp introduced a new text reader, AbleReader, available with the AT&T Natural Voices (TM) for use on Mac computers. Information on AbleReader is available at http://www.AbleReader.com

NextUp.com also offers TextAloud with optional premium voices from AT&T Natural Voices (TM), NeoSpeech (R), Nuance (R), Acapela (R) and Cepstral (R) for the most natural-sounding computer speech anywhere. Available languages include U.S. English, U.K. English, Indian Accent English, Scottish Accent English, French, Canadian French, Latin American Spanish, Castilian (European) Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, Korean, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Belgian Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish and Arabic.

Evaluation copies of TextAloud are available for the press upon request. For more information on NextUp.com or TextAloud, or for a range of Case Studies on users ranging from firefighters, doctors and lawyers, to truck drivers, musicians and more, please contact publicist Angela Mitchell at (904) 982-8043 or via Admitchell @ Nextup.com.

All companies and products referenced in this press release are the trademarks of their respective owners.

TTS in auto-dialing/notification systems

Just saw this article
New dimensions expand emergency communications

The technology for text-to-speech and dialing engines is relatively new and has only recently been developed for disaster recovery, he says. Coupled with GIS technology, information relating to a specific area can be automatically broadcast with maximum efficiency.

For example, if a train with toxic chemicals derailed, the integrated system could model the toxic plume's spread based on GIS feeds about local weather and topography, then select all phone numbers of homes within the affected area for emergency communications, says Neil Spooner, Ottawa district manager for ESRI Canada, which partners with Voicegate to provide GIS systems and databases.

Minnes says the system is designed to work with an emergency plan, allowing organizations to store over a million contacts in a central database and to create subsets based on their geography and function.

Text To Speech used for mass notifications will continue to grow in a big way. Was talking over lunch today with one of my partners. We both have kids in schools that use phone notification systems for school administrators to be able to record messages and press a button for a system to call parents of all the kids in schools with the message, for everything from reminder about PTA meetings to note about report cards coming home.

So this got us talking about how you could make this type of thing even more accessible to users who don't want to have the investment in hardware. Given the state of telephony today, where long distance doesn't mean what it used to for expense, and VOIP opening up all kinds of applications, here is what I was thinking. Does it exist?

Let's say I coach a kids soccer team, or run a bowling league, or am in charge of any kind of recurring event like that where there could be scheduling issues where I need to let everyone know of a change. Email is fine sometimes, but not if a meeting is cancelled an hour before it is supposed to start. What if I could log into a site, have already defined my mailing list my group, that includes email addresses, mobile phone numbers (for SMS message) and voice phone numbers. I type in my message such as
"Today's soccer practice is cancelled, will reschedule for tomorrow". Then I just click and it is done. The emails and SMS messages are sent, and a system somewhere uses TTS to make voice phone calls to those numbers to leave an audio version of that message, either played to someone that answers, or left on their voicemail/answering machine.

Does that service exist, where maybe I pay $10/month to have it? Guess I better research and find out.

Talking Virus

I have to admit, this is pretty funny, if it wasn't just so malicious


Talkative Trojan torments victims with speech

By John E. Dunn, Techworld

A Trojan has been discovered that not only attempts to wipe hard disks but tells its victims what it is doing in real time, using the Windows text-to-speech interface.

Called BotVoice.A (alias Win32\Hira.A), the malware spreads through a number of means, including FTP and IRC, P2P networks, and on CD-ROMs, USB sticks, or as an email attachment. Although it is rated as rare by security company Panda Software, anyone unlucky enough to encounter and activate it will quickly be made aware of their mistake.

“You have been infected. I repeat. You have been infected and your system files has been deleted. Sorry. Have a Nice Day and bye bye,” is the chilling message it delivers using a similar monotone speech format to that of the famous computerised voice of motor-neurone afflicted physicist Stephen Hawking.

Meanwhile, it sets out to delete all files on drive C, unless they are in use or have some form of file protection set. To protect itself from user intervention during this period, the Trojan blocks the running of files with a number of common extensions – COM, EXE, BAT, HTML – and also disables the Windows Task Manager and Registry Editor. Once it is up and running, there is not a lot the user can do to stop it from executing its nasty deed.

For anyone curious, the ghastly message can be heard here. Full Story...