Olympus has recently announced the forthcoming availability of two new devices in its DM line of portable recorders. The DM-2 and DM-4 include many of the same features as the popular DM-420 and DM-520 models, with the DM-4 including several accessibility improvements. The latter model will include text-to-speech capabilities for reading filenames, dates, and keywords as well as .txt files. In addition, voice recognition for performing common tasks and support for DAISY books is included in this model. Both models will include Olympus's familiar voice-guided menus and support for MicroSD memory cards. The DM-2 includes 4GB of built-in memory while the DM-4 includes 8GB. Unfortunately, the battery life is advertised as much less than the prior models, rated at 20 hours of use compared with 51 on the DM-520. Street prices for the two models are listed as $249 and $299 respectively, though they will certainly be available for less through online retailers. The estimated release date is June 2010, and we'll post deals on these models as the release nears.
Source: Go to sourceCategory: Portable Devices
This text to speech feature was the one thing that I was longing for in one of their digital recorders. Their voice guidance was a wonderful first start, making it possible to perform the most vital aspects of using an Olympus recorder with tremendous ease, but now Olympus appears to have taken a step that puts their product on a significant par above not only traditional consumer electronics, but above even consumer electronics with some accessibility features built in.
darknexus Saturday, 13-Feb-2010 3:31 PM ET:
Do we know if this is going to be native text-to-speech or if it will be pre-generated by the computer as, for example, Rockbox and the iPod Nano?
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J.J. Meddaugh is an experienced technology writer and computer enthusiast. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a major in telecommunications management and a minor in business. When not writing for Blind Bargains, he enjoys travel, playing the keyboard, and meeting new people.
