Some time ago, Ronen wrote about an exciting new technology called iLane. At that time, we didn’t have any idea when the release date would be. Well, it looks like the day has finally come. They announced today the North American availability of iLane.
If you are not familiar with the product, basically it allows your mobile device to interact with you while on the road. No longer will you have to take your attention off the road to read a text message or email, just have your trusty iLane do it for you 🙂
This description comes from the iLane website:
iLane is an intelligent, portable device that lets you control your smartphone using simple voice commands when you’re inside your vehicle.
Now you can open, listen to, and respond to email entirely hands-free simply by speaking aloud.
iLane verbally notifies you when new mail arrives on your smartphone using pleasant, conversational words like “Good Morning John, you have 18 new emails.”
And iLane reads your emails to you out loud, on command. While you’re listening, you keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.
Wish to respond to an email? Simply say “Reply” and compose your response by speaking aloud. iLane hears you, and your message is sent to the recipient from your smartphone.
Plus, iLane lets you access and control lots of other smartphone applications by voice command, including managing phone calls, SMS messages and calendar
When I first heard about iLane, I assumed that it was going to be a software application similar to Vllingo. Well, I was wrong! The iLane is actually a small device similar in size to a portable GPS. So it looks like this is targeted primarily for automobile use.
Depending on how well this works, it could truly revolutionize the meaning of “hands-free”. The device itself is a little bit expensive, $599 for the device with a $39.99 activation fee. There is also a monthly fee of $7.99. But if you have a long commute to work or spend a lot of time traveling for work, this will certainly be worth it.
We will try our best to get our hands on one of these for a full review!
If you want to check out the press release, you can do so here or visit the iLane website here.
Their site says that this is compatible with all BlackBerry Devices OS 4.1 or higher.
