If you have a hard time keeping your hands off of your BlackBerry while driving, iLane will safely satisfy your email jones. But as with most addictions, it'll cost you.
The portable device from the Canadian company IMS costs $599 and carries a $7.99 monthly fee. It connects to BlackBerry 8000 Series smartphones (version 4.1 or newer) and can alert a driver when an email arrives and read it aloud.
iLane also allows composing emails via voice activation as well as managing an email in box using commands such as delete, reply and call back. Other features include hands-free calling and text messaging, accessing calendar functions and on-demand news, sports, weather, business and entertainment info from the Associated Press and The Weather Network.
Another benefit of the iLane is that it can be carried between vehicles. But in addition to its steep price, another downside is that the iLane sticks out like a sore thumb and requires wires dangling from your dash.
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Just what we need, more distractions while driving. Business HAS to be conducted while you're driving. It can't wait until you're in the office/at home?
^Agreed. This is getting insane.
This is an absolutely horrible idea.
Folks... if you're behind the wheel of a multi thousand pound autombile and sharing the road with the rest of us, you should be doing one thing and one thing only... driving.
Turn off the damned cell phones, stop shaving or putting on makeup. And for God's sake... don't start text messaging or conducting emails. Voice activated or not... this will reduce concentration on the task at hand.
I'm amazed that most states require you to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle (to protect the rider) but don't ban idiotic crap like this (to protect the rest of us).
I'll step off the soap box now.
The strange thing is some BBerry models already have voice command capability, so who will pay $600 for an adaptor alone?
Not to mention, the voice command feature on my BBerry is awful, I say "Call Lana" and I get 3 different names from my address book, only one of which starts with L.