Smartphone uses love Siri and other phone voices. We Americans are fascinated with accents, whether it be from other parts of the country or foreign nations. There’s technology to combine both.
Eventually, that robotic smartphone voice is going to get tired. For some, it already may be tiresome. Now, your phone can speak in a British accent. This works for both Apple and Android based devices. For iPhone, open Settings, the Siri, then Siri voice, and choose the accent option. So far, there’s male, female, American, Australian, and British. For Android devices, tap the menu icon on the Google Now screen. Then tap Voice, then tap Language. They have many languages to choose from, including several English languages. Choose English UK. There you have your British accents. Don’t expect Paul McCartney, Julie Andrews, or any spectacular, breathtaking British accent with this option, anymore than you should expect James Earl Jones or Morgan Freemen when you choose the male and American options. The British voice is just as generic and almost as robotic as the American option. I haven’t heard the Australian option yet, but I wouldn’t expect Hugh Jackman or Olivia Newton-John to direct your GPS, either.
But the phone accents they have now is a great start. But it’s just a start. I’d like them to add more accents. How about the French, German, Italian, Mexican, Brazilian, or Jamaican accents. While Android offers different languages, and that’s great, but I’m talking about English language with these accents. Let’s take it even further. How would you like different access from different regions of the US? Obviously, not all Americans sound the same. We could have a Boston accent. We could have a Brooklyn accent. We could have a Southern accent. We could have a California Valley Girl accent. What accent would you like your smartphone voice to have?