Richard Davies wrote: The UK has a good crop of technology pioneers in cloud computing - for example ElasticHosts, FlexiScale, Flexiant, OnApp - and also some strong government initiatives such as G-Cloud.
We will have to see whether this kind of technical leadership converts into swift mass-market adoption or not.
BlueAnt introduces the S4, the first true hands-free voice controlled
Bluetooth car speakerphone. For the first time, drivers can communicate
on the road without needing to touch their phone or car speakerphone at
all, making and receiving calls and accessing information using only
their voice.
All you have to do is say the hands-free trigger phrase “BlueAnt
Speak To Me” at any time and the S4 will be ready for your voice
commands. Then say the command to activate your phone’s voice dialing
feature and you can make a call just by saying the person’s name (“Call
Mom…”) if your phone supports name dialing. When the phone rings, you
will know who is calling without looking at your phone because the S4
will read out the caller’s name and ask you if you want to answer: all
you have to do is say “answer” or “ignore”. The S4 accomplishes this
with text to speech (TTS) technology and by transferring and storing up
to 2,000 phonebook entries from each paired mobile phone.
To reduce distracted driving, BlueAnt and Vlingo have partnered to
provide drivers a safer, easier way to consume SMS messages and email by
including the SafeReader application on the S4 for use with BlackBerry®
smartphones and Android™ 2.0+ devices. Users can simply press one button
on the phone and say "Start SafeReader" and the feature is activated so
all incoming messages will be delivered audibly through the S4.
The BlueAnt S4 also acts as a hands-free gateway to the world, providing
access to stock quotes, movie times, weather, sports, news and traffic
updates just by saying the words. For example, BlueAnt user “Bill” has a
lengthy commute to work every morning and likes to check his stock
market performance during the drive. Without taking his hands off the
wheel, Bill can call through to Bing™ and find out if he is up or down.
After the S4 has read aloud his stock performance and the call has
finished, Bill can say, “BlueAnt: Speak To Me,” then “Phone Commands,”
then “Call Jim Smith” to place a call to his broker and make quick
adjustments to his portfolio. Time is money and the BlueAnt S4 enables
Bill to optimize his time.
Using A2DP, S4 users can also take advantage of navigation software on
their mobile phones and listen to turn-by-turn directions over the
speakerphone. An example of a user taking advantage of A2DP is “Anne”
who has a hot date at a new restaurant across town. Anne does not know
this area so she plugs the address details into the GPS application on
her mobile phone. While en route, she uses her S4’s A2DP feature, which
is on by default, to enable audio streaming of the GPS navigation
details through her car speakerphone. With turn-by-turn directions
announced along the way, Anne meets her date with plenty of time to
spare.
The S4 is the first car speakerphone in BlueAnt’s product line to
include its Simply Connect technology, used and loved in the
award-winning V1 and Q1 Bluetooth headsets. When you switch it on, the
S4’s embedded audio quick start guide talks you through the setup and
pairing process without the need to read the manual. Once you are set
up, you can use your voice to control other features and functionality,
such as checking the battery level, adjusting the voice recognition
sensitivity, finding out if your phone is connected, entering pairing
mode, turning off the LED light, as well as controlling calls and phone
functions.
The S4 is also the first BlueAnt car speakerphone to support firmware
upgrades to add new features down the road. To enhance the customer
experience, BlueAnt is continually improving the software on its
devices. Updates and feature enhancements are made available for
download on the BlueAnt website free of charge, and users can update
their own devices by following a simple update process that takes a
matter of minutes.
BlueAnt brings all this together in the S4 to provide a powerful
hands-free experience. In addition to the most advanced hands-free
features on the market, the S4 offers users:
Best in class sound, with rich audio quality
True multipoint to connect and conduct calls on two mobile phones
simultaneously
Voice isolation technology that is constantly monitoring and removing
background noise during a call to ensure excellent voice quality
Sleek design with touch-sensitive volume controls
Portability and zero installation cost because the S4 attaches to the
car’s sun visor
The S4 is available now at Best Buy and will be offered through AT&T
starting Sunday, May 23 with an MSRP of $99.99. You can find more
information on this and other BlueAnt hands-free products at www.blueantwireless.com.
S4 Feature Summary:
Voice controlled, true handsfree car speakerphone
Optimized for Bing: hear movie times, stock quotes, weather and more
and the go
Use your voice to control the S4: just say the trigger phrase “BlueAnt
Speak To Me” to activate the voice recognition
Answer calls with your voice just by saying “Answer” or “Ignore”
Use your voice to make calls with quick access to phone voice dialing
Hear incoming text messages read out loud with Vlingo SafeReader
Stores up to 2,000 phone book entries for each paired device and uses
text to speech technology to read out the name of the incoming caller
Multipoint: connect to two phones at the same time and answer
whichever one rings
True multipoint: both phones remain connected even during a call, so
you can switch between multiple simultaneous calls on both phones
without disconnecting from the S4
Simply Connect technology and embedded audio guides talk you through
setup and pairing
A2DP streaming for playback of music, podcasts and turn-by-turn
direction information from a phone GPS application
Outstanding wind, road, and background noise reduction and echo
cancellation gives clear calls no matter how noisy it is
Sleek design with touch-sensitive volume controls
Full duplex, high volume speaker for a booming, rich sound
Free firmware upgrades available online
Zero installation costs (fixes to car sun visor)
Hardware on/off switch
Up to 20 hours talk time; 700 hours standby
The S4 incorporates the BlueGenie™ Voice Interface software from
Sensory, Inc. BlueGenie is a trademark of Sensory, Inc.
Bing is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United
States and/or other countries. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. The
Trademark BlackBerry® is owned by Research In Motion Limited and is
registered in the United States and may be pending or registered in
other countries. BlueAnt Wireless is not endorsed, sponsored, affiliated
with or otherwise authorized by Research In Motion Limited.
About BlueAnt Wireless
BlueAnt Wireless is a global technology company providing the most
innovative Bluetooth peripheral devices and accessories on the market.
BlueAnt’s product portfolio includes hands-free, stereo audio streaming
and wireless communication products offering cutting-edge technology,
design and features. With its headquarter office in Melbourne,
Australia, BlueAnt also has offices in Silicon Valley and London. Find
more information on www.blueantwireless.com.