Drivers are now being offered a way to read their mail while they drive without the need to halt their vehicle thanks to new messaging technology that reads out messages.

 

Because reading emails while driving can be dangerously distracting-- a recent survey by Nationwide Insurance found that 1 in 5 people text while driving.

 

For this reason, USTelematics (News - Alert) have introduced a new technology, Vivee - Voice Interactive Voice Enhanced Email that takes the role of an animated character to read out messages for drivers.  

 

Whenever there is an incoming email or text, Vivee alerts drivers so that they can listen to their messages instead of trying to read them. Vivee connects to the internet through the Verizon (News - Alert) Wireless EVDO high-speed network. When installed in any compatible device, including laptops and USTelematics Multimedia Car PC’s, it also brings unparalleled wireless internet connectivity with speeds on par with many DSL services.

 

“Safety should be our primary concern when driving—that’s what makes Vivee such a remarkable and timely development,” says Charlene Montalbano, Product Manager of USTelematics, Inc. in a statement to the press.

 

 “Insurance studies show that distracted drivers cause 80% of all traffic crashes, so several states already have laws banning the use of handheld cell phones while driving. Now, lawmakers are becoming more precise and targeted in the approach to eliminating driver distractions for drivers by considering laws that specifically ban text messaging and reading email while driving. Vivee will not only keep your focus safely on the road, ultimately, ‘she’ may help you avoid a ticket,” also noted Montalbano.

 

Vivee is compatible with all current windows operating systems and smart phones.   USTelematics plans to release an iPhone (News - Alert) compatible version by the end of the summer.

 

Yet another version of this technology - Vivee2go, which is a portable multimedia device measuring the size of 2 decks of playing cards, can be linked to Web-augmented GPS navigation and play music and movies. 

 

“We’ve all become so conditioned to being accessible at all times, we look back and wonder how we ever managed without cell phones. Once PDA’s hit the scene, they became indispensable. Now that you won’t be forced to cut the cord on your incoming information with Vivee-- we’ll wonder what we did before Vivee,” Montalbano said.