Never mind roadside assistance. I find I often need “on-the-road” assistance. I’m not just talking about the benefits of a GPS.
How do you drive safely and still have access to your Blackberry?
When I am with members of the family, they take control of my device and read incoming messages, taking dictation for replying to urgent messages. What do you do when there is no one else around?
Intelligent Mechatronic Systems from Waterloo has introduced iLane, which you can think of as a complete voice-based complement to your mobile device. The Globe and Mail had a story, talking with company COO Tony Cassetta last Thursday.
The product is being officially launched later today at IMS’ future new home in Waterloo.
iLane is described as the world’s first intelligent, portable device that lets you control your smartphone and access critical information using simple voice commands while you’re in your vehicle.
It plugs into your cigarette lighter and talks to your Blackberry using Bluetooth, getting access to your address book, your messages and your calendar. It also connects via Bluetooth into your vehicle’s handsfree system or to an earpiece, enabling the user to communicate with simple voice commands. Installation was simple enough for me to do it on my own.
Good Morning John, you have 18 new emails.
Click on the the photo of the driver to see a demo video.
You can ask for the headings of emails to be browsed, pausing for them to be read, deleted and replied to. Replies are by means of an audio file attachment, to avoid the frustration of correcting voice to text transcription.
I have been using my iLane for a few weeks now and it has been a handy tool for managing my email while driving. With more jurisdictions encouraging hands free operation of mobile devices, the timing is great.
Whether or not your jurisdiction has laws about emailing while driving, it is just plain dumb to try to have your thumbs on your keyboard and the steering wheel at the same time.
Ask your mobile device supplier to get you one of these.