Here's an excerpt from an article written by Richard Gray of the Scotsman.com News. We thought you'd enjoy it!

"Not content with changing the world's music-listening habits, Apple has come up with another innovation: the talking iPod," Richard Gray writes for The Scotsman.

Gray writes, "A new generation of machines will use sophisticated software to convert the names of bands, albums and individual tracks into recognisable speech."

"The new iPod will tell you what it is about to play, removing the need for users to look at the screen while selecting music, and making the device safer and easier to use while driving, cycling or in badly-lit locations," Gray writes.

"Apple has flatly refused to comment on the design, but a patent lodged by the company in the United States makes clear the sixth generation of iPods will be able to convert those famous text menus into speech," Gray writes.

"The ingenious system will rely on home PC processing power and clever software. The computer being used to download tracks will analyse each album title, song name and artist and convert them into sound files. These will be loaded into the iPod, along with the song files," Gray writes.

"Users of the music players will still operate the Clickwheel as normal, but hear the names of songs and bands through their headphones," Gray writes.

Gray writes, "[The] Apple [patent application] says its system will break down words in a new way that makes it possible to pronounce perfectly even the most obscure song titles and artist names.

"It also proposes using 'voice talent" - such as famous actors - to make the speech more human and add in the celebrity factor," Gray writes. "The patent also proposes using different voice 'characteristics,' such as gender, for different sections of the iPod menus."

Read the full article here.