Archive of the Opinion Category

ATX Group said it‘s developed a natural language “Browse By Voice” capability for drivers who want to surf the web without taking their hands off the wheel. The firm said drivers only to speak a search phrase, such as “What‘s the weather in Boston?” when a Google or Yahoo search engine main page is displayed on an in-vehicle display.

ATX said its voice platform should enable drivers to send text messages or emails without typing, and manage social networking, in addition to performing searches. “Voice is a natural method to converse in the car,” said Dr. Tom Schalk, ATX vice president of voice technologies. “Extending this to the Internet makes sense. We’re not only interested in finding the best and safest way to enable drivers to browse while driving, but we’re also interested in enabling other functionality in mobile devices such as outbound texting.”

Am I missing something? An advance in the deployment of in-vehicle speech recognition technology is to be applauded - especially one that involves natural language, doesn’t get hung up on regional pronunciations, need special training, etc. But search? If I type “weather in Boston,” Google gives me about 23,600,000 results. How do you comb through all of that data hands-free?

Dash Navigation‘s recent decision to stop marketing its traffic-centric, subscription-based, connected PND confirms the low perceived value of traffic service, according to ABI Research. “Current traffic solutions suffer from a lack of quality and reliability, with dissatisfied customers increasingly reluctant to keep paying recurring fees, according to ABI.

“While there is certainly an issue with convincing consumers to pay monthly fees for navigation content services, in the case of traffic the priority should be to increase the value of the offer before exploring new business models,” says ABI Research director Dominique Bonte.

“Predictive traffic makes time-dependent routing possible and provides customers with more trustworthy information, allowing them to prepare their trips more efficiently on Internet mapping sites and to calculate a more accurate Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA).

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I‘m nearing the end of my cell phone contract, so I need to decide what to do. The options are to keep my perfectly good cell phone - the one with features I‘ve yet to master - or upgrade to a Bluetooth handset. The benefit of option A, of course, is a lower average cost per-month over the life of the phone. I‘d be leveraging my initial investment. Sounds smart. But then I wouldn‘t get to play with Bluetooth. Lower “cool” factor. I write about Bluetooth; might as well have it. Okay. Indulgence wins.

But wait. If I get a Bluetooth handset, I want to be able to use it in my car, so I‘ll need a hands-free car kit. Let‘s look online. A Bluetooth headset would probably work fine - presuming that I got one that would work with my new handset.

Having written about integrated Bluetooth systems, though, don‘t I really want one that will work through my car‘s audio system and mute the radio volume when someone calls me? Sure I do.

One review site recommends the Parrot CK3100, which is available from various professional installers. But is that the latest and greatest? Apparently not, according to the Parrot web site (www.parrot.biz/usa/products/pdf/carkits). There‘s the 3200 LS-Color; a couple of models that will work with my portable navigation device (CK3300 and 3400 LS-GPS), except that I don‘t have a portable navigation device yet, and they offer a system (RHYTHM N‘BLUE) that will fit into my instrument panel.

That brief amount of research prompts me to rethink my options. What‘s the primary value of Bluetooth for hands-free calling? It‘s safer. For now, I can use a wired headset, and resolve not to dial and drive at the same time.

Yeah, but what if I were to upgrade my handset and then upgrade my car? Why then…..