The multimedia, interactive, speech-orientated, verbally-driven world that the computer industry is offering will be a jolly noisy place unless speech-input methods get better. Hence the interest in Jabra Corp’s EarPhone, an earpiece – about the size of a Sony Corp Walkman earphone that combines a microphone and speaker. Jabra Corp, San Diego-based subsidiary of Norris Communications Corp announced its ‘Earphone Streamline’ product last week, on the back of Apple Computer Inc’s PlainTalk speech recognition software and its multimedia Quadra 840AV and Centris 660AV multimedia machines. However the technology has been around for over a year. Last year’s Apple worldwide developer’s conference in the US was entertained by demonstration of a user getting his machine to dial a number from his database by simply telling it to ‘Call John’; the earplug’s wire fits straight into the Mac’s audio jacks. At that time some members of the audience were under the impression that the system used ‘bone conduction’ techniques – picking up the sound transmitted through the skull. In fact the earplug sports a small bump pointing forwards which houses the microphone. A company spokesman said that bone conduction is being worked on, but faces problems from vibration and the fact that many people’s jaws tend to make nasty crunching noises as their joints grind together. On the face of it, mounting a microphone out by a user’s ear does not sound like a good idea. However the company reckons that it has overcome problems with ambient noise by taking advantage of the microphone’s constant distance from the mouth – and says users can talk quite quietly into the device. They also get the ability to talk to their machines hands-free and without having to wear a daft headset. The company is also working on a wireless version, which is due to ship next spring and will come with a 1,000 foot radius – enough to enable users to wander off and make a cup of coffee while chatting to the computer. The technology has wider applicability than speech input for personal computers. Already the company has launched adaptor kits that convert the Oki 1150 and AT&T 3760 cellular phones for hands-free use. Both the Macintosh and Cellular telephone versions are $100, versions for Windows machines and as a handset replacement for a standard telephone cost $105 and $200 respectively.
