Hello Everyone,

Someone wrote on this list that Dolphin is targeting a slightly different market group than is CodeFactory.  I spoke to Gareth Collins at Dolphin, today, and he assures me that this is not the case. 

Because of our recent discussions regarding alternative voices for MSS and the fact that it appears that some of us want more choices, I started thinking about Dolphin again.  

Please, please know that I am not attempting to persuade anyone of anything but I do believe that knowledge is power and I do trust in the power of competition to drive innovation. 

Toward this end I wish to relay the following to you. 

Last night, I went to www.yourdolphin.com and discovered that the only SmartPhones listed as being supported by Dolphin are Windows Mobile 5 handsets. 

Gareth, who is the head technical support guy for Smart Hal, Dolphin’s answer to MSS, freely admits that at present, Dolphin does not have a Windows Mobile 6 ready version of Smart Hal. 

He also concedes that Dolphin’s website is much out-of-date with its latest offerings.  Believe me when I tell you that I expressed my disappointment at this.

According to Gareth, they will have a beta version of Smart Hal that will be Windows Mobile 6 ready within two weeks.  He asked me to check back with him around February 11th.  I agreed to do so.

Just so you know, Gareth told me that Smart Hal is now compatible with Microsoft’s Voice Command.  In fact, he uses it, himself. 

It should be noted that aside from Eloquence, the only near-human voices they offer with Smart Hal are the Acapela voices which we currently have available for MSS, not including their default speech engine which, to me, is not much different than Fonex Paul. Please note that the Acapela voices cost extra, just as they do with MSS.

Unlike Code Factory, would be customers can purchase Smart Hal directly from Dolphin’s website. 

Again, according to Gareth, Dolphin is considering offering a GPS solution for blind users of Smart Phones. 

I also learned that Smart Hal allows users to listen to streaming MP3 files from sources like ACB Radio. 

I forgot to ask him about DAISY compatibility. 

I did mention to him the audio limitations of the Motorola Q that MSS users have been experiencing. He could not comment on Smart Hal’s answer to the problem at this time.  I am referring, of course, to the limitation of not being able to access the menus during a call. 

OK boys and girls, that’s all for now. 

I would like to add that Gareth is a very patient and knowledgeable technician who genuinely cares about the people he supports.  He is definitely an asset to Dolphin.

For more information go to:

Dolphin Systems

Code Factory

 

Until Next Time,

Mark