14 DAY TRIAL // VoiceOver Kit 1.4, an update to the “speaking” ability of Apple’s newer iPods, is now available via Software Update as users connect their media players to a Mac or PC.
Version 1.4 of the VoiceOver Kit targets three devices: the fifth-generation iPod nano and the third- and fourth-generation iPod shuffles.
According to Apple, the new version brings pronunciation improvements for numerous artist and song names, revised voices for Korean, German, and Russian.
Exclusively targeting fourth-generation iPod shuffle owners, support for Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak, and Thai languages is also included.
The VoiceOver Kit enables new-generation iPods to announce the names of playlists, songs and artists, as well as battery status and other alerts.
“Enabling VoiceOver for iPod allows you to hear the names of songs, artists, and playlists spoken when listening to content on your iPod,” Apple explains in a support document posted with the purpose of explaining the nuts and bolts of VoiceOver for iPods.
“If you have the Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic or the In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic, you can also use VoiceOver to navigate playlists,” Apple notes.
VoiceOver Kit 1.4 weighs in at 32.5MB and is available for download solely via Apple’s Software Update utility (no standalone download/installer package).
Although this recent update is aimed for three iPods only, VoiceOver is a common feature to many of Apple’s portable players.
The following iPods have support for VoiceOver, some of which are still good to go with version 1.3 of the kit:
iPod shuffle (3rd generation Late 2009, Stainless Steel), iPod nano (5th generation), iPod shuffle (3rd generation), iPod nano (6th generation), iPod shuffle (3rd generation Late 2009), iPod shuffle (4th generation).
The feature, however, stems from Mac OS X, Apple's Desktop operating system.
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard includes VoiceOver 3, a thoroughly updated iteration of Apple’s screen-access technology.
New features include gesture support, braille display mirroring, web spots, and spoken hints.
VoiceOver for Mac OS X also offers frequently requested features including autospeaking web pages, “read all,” web page summary, web table support, user-created labels, customizable verbosity, and more.