The maker of the Canadian gadget that gives drivers hands-free access to their Blackberry inbox has announced a nationwide distribution deal. The device known as iLane will be sold at Bell Mobility stores across Canada. Bell and IMS (the Waterloo, Ontario company that created iLane) announced the partnership that’ll put the device into dashboards across the country.
With a coast-to-coast Canadian retail deal, we can only guess at how long before company gets the same treatment in the US. The voice-controlled gadget has been recognized as one of the most innovative new mobile devices and even netted a finalist spot at the Andrew Seybold Choice Awards for 2009.
Nothin’ But Voice
iLane is a James Bond-style gadget, a no-brainer for BBGeek-professionals with a long commute. When you’re driving precariously on the edge (preferably in G3) it’s the only product of its kind that lets you fully manage your Blackberry (OS 4.1 or greater) completely hands-free. Hands-on-wheel and eyes-on-road are the most important safety features when you’re careening over the mountainside in your Aston Martin DBS. Even if like most of us, you only image yourself in Bond’s dream-ride.
The Internet connected device even offers on-demand news and local weather. You can ask iLane to give you updates on the Wall Street or the latest news headlines and select Internet content – including tech-tips direct from BBGeeks.com. IMS is well connected on the Internet. If you’ve got any questions or comments just ask iLane directly through Twitter or look for them on Facebook.
We’ve only been able to demo the product first-hand (no review model yet but we’re working on it) and I’m pleased to report it works well once you’ve got the hang of interacting with the voice controls. In fact the voice recognition system is one of the most advanced we’ve used and IMS says it can actually filter out most traffic noise and the occasional cough.
Hopefully the Bell Mobility partnership will only be a catalyst for many more distribution deals to come.
