MedBio Announces Real-Time Voice Recognition
Last week I posted a note about my dream of a speech recognition system that could be mounted on a pair of eyeglasses and project real-time captions. This week I see MedBio Research Centre in Hawaii has announced just such a system. The MedBio “Speak ‘n Read” system integrates speech recognition into a Sony hand-held computer that records the speaker’s voice and immediately displays captions on both the computer screen and a small projector on a pair of eyeglass frames. The company’s web site lists plenty of qualifications on how well it works under what conditions, but it’s impressive there’s a commercial product out there now. Distribution will be through audiologists and other hearing professionals.
Sonic Innovations Banks on Innova Sales
Sonic Innovations issued its first-quarter earnings release a few days ago, and this weekend I finally listened to the webcast of CFO Stephen Wilson’s conference call with financial analysts. The bad news is that sales are down two percent from last year’s record first quarter. At first glance it looks like an indicator of weak demand and flat sales generally in an industry that should be seeing healthy growth from consumers whose need for hearing assistance is constantly growing. But Sonic Innovations is betting heavily on its new Innova line of hearing aids, which it didn’t introduce until early April after the fiscal quarter ended. Read more
Will Mick Fleetwood Replace the Energizer Bunny?
You know a manufacturer is smelling a market opportunity when it hires an aging rock star to promote its products at a staged event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Go to the Energizer web site for hearing aid batteries and you will be treated to news of Mick Fleetwood “teaming up with Energizer® to drum out an important message for his fans’ hearing health — how to keep rockin’ responsibly.” Read more
The Seven Sisters of the Hearing Aid Industry
When you start thinking about buying a hearing aid, the choices can be dizzying. On first look, you would think there are hundreds of manufacturers. The reality is simpler. While there are scores of name brands, in fact only seven manufacturers control about 90 percent of the worldwide market for hearing aids. Read more