Next iPod to Have Text-to- eech?

An article in the Scotsman eculates that the next version of A le's icon iPod will have text-to- eech capabilities that allows it to read the text of music tracks to the listener. The article says,

"A le has flatly refused to comment on the design, but a patent lodged by the company in the United States makes clear the sixth generation of iPods will be able to convert those famous text menus into eech.

The ingenious system will rely on home PC proce ing power and clever software. The computer being used to download tracks will analyse each album title, song name and artist and convert them into sound files. These will be loaded into the iPod, along with the song files."

This is being driven by safety concer . When you use an iPod in an "eyes-busy" activity like driving or using exercise equipment, having the music tracks read to the listener is preferable to having them only di layed on the screen.

This certainly makes se e to me. A le has long been at the forefront of text-to- eech technology. It only seems a natural move to integrate it into their iPod music players.