Nuance Brings Voice to New Jawbone ERA Headsets
Jawbone’s new Jawbone ERA Bluetooth headset integrates the Vocalizer Network connected text-to-speech (TTS) from Nuance Communications to deliver a unique Caller ID by Name feature via Jawbone’s MyTALK platform. The Jawbone ERA is the first mobile device deployment of Vocalizer Network, and was fully-integrated and developed through the Nuance Mobile Developer Program.
The Jawbone ERA’s Caller ID by Name feature lets consumers load an address book onto the headset’s serial flash via Jawbone’s unique MyTALK platform. As calls come in, the Jawbone ERA will announce the caller’s name through a combination of pre-recorded names and Nuance’s Vocalizer Network TTS for all other names. Vocalizer Network is Nuance’s server-based TTS service that has now been optimized for HTTP-connected mobile devices to deliver readback of names, numbers, and more from just about anywhere.
“The Caller ID by Name feature of the Jawbone ERA takes the hands-free experience to an entirely new level, with callers’ names announced in an amazingly natural-sounding voice. We have pre-recorded thousands of the most common names for this function, but there is a long tail of over 100,000 proper names that continues to grow everyday, and for this we needed a high-quality TTS solution,” said Travis Bogard, Jawbone’s vice president of product management and strategy. “To ensure a top-quality experience that was seamless with correct name pronunciation, regardless of whether the name was pre-recorded or generated with TTS, we chose Nuance’s Vocalizer Network. And the Nuance Mobile Developer Program enabled us to quickly and easily integrate and deploy Nuance’s connected TTS for use in Jawbone ERA.”
“Jawbone’s unique Caller ID by Name feature is yet another example of how we’re empowering developers to innovate and differentiate through the power of voice technology,” said Michael Thompson, senior vice president and general manager of Nuance Mobile. “By letting developers customize and rapidly integrate our proven voice capabilities into virtually any device or application, we’re fostering a compelling ecosystem of intuitive mobile solutions.”
Jawbone ERA is available in four designs: Shadowbox, Smokescreen, Midnight and Silver Lining. The new line is available today at Apple Stores, AT&T, Best Buy Stores, and on Jawbone.com for $129.