Thanks to Nicole Bremer Nash for this great piece on the VoiceSkins Star Wars GPS voices:

Dashboard-mounted navigation systems from Garmin and TomTom seem to mostly be marketed to middle-aged suburbanites. Commercials extolling how easy it is to run errands when using a nav system do little to excite the geek in most anybody. Nav systems are great (I can barely find the end of my street without mine), but personalization options failed to make dash-mounted nav systems a true geek tech toy. I even cracked one open a few years ago, and I still didn’t feel like it was very geeky (though running it over with the car was loads of fun). Makers and marketers of navigation units have finally realized that geeks like to be entertained and that even the most useful item can be a fun toy to our ilk. Let the “our unit is more geeky-cool than your unit” battle begin! First, Garmin came out with a Yeti voice. While this was intended more as a winter-themed item, geeks really like the Yeti because it makes us think of World of Warcraft. Still, that only gets about 1.5 out of five geek stars.

TomTom has raised the stakes in capturing the geek market by going even geekier with its Star Wars nav unit voices. Now you can be lured to the dark side, err… your destination… by Darth Vader. Or learn the mysteries of the Force while Yoda guides your physical and your spiritual navigation. (TomTom even released a “behind the scenes” video of Yoda’s recording session.) C-3PO is also available, though reluctant, to give driving directions. (Han Solo will be available later this month.)

Of course nothing with the Star Wars name is free — each voice is available for purchase ($12.95 USD) via the TomTom website. I give the Star Wars voices for TomTom navigation units four out of five geek stars. As the battle to sell the most navigation units heats up in time for the holiday shopping season, there are other popular voices from the geek canon that I think GPS makers should consider: Ash from Evil Dead – “Hail to the navigator, baby” and “This is your RIGHT TURN!” GLaDOS from Portal – “There is cake at your destination.” But would she really get you there safely? HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey: Instead of saying “Recalculating,” the HAL 9000 voice would say, “It can only be attributable to human error.” Captain Kirk from Star Trek: “Arriving at the final frontier, on the left.” Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: Patrick Stewart has a great voice, so any direction would sound good coming from him. Will you buy a TomTom device to get the Star Wars voices? If you already have a nav unit, will you upgrade to TomTom from another brand just to get the Star Wars voices? I had a pretty good laugh imagining the voice options.

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I came across this the other day, a really interesting article about the advances in speech technology for GPS navigation instructions and the impact on driver behaviour [read it here]. Basically, the author summarises the state of play and development for text-to-speech technologies and the use of computer generated voices in satnav. He concludes by illustrating how crude the systems still are in terms of getting emotion into the computer generated GPS voices. Contrast this with pre-recorded GPS voices, like our very own VoiceSkins, which manage to convey a huge range of emotions in each character’s satnav voice: Darth is threatening, seductive, menacing; Homer is goofy, defensive, self-important; Snoop is laconic, critical; Yoda is quizzical, authoritative, encouraging; C-3PO is concerned, obsequious.

Why would you want to listen to a voice that fails to keep your interest and that can’t reproduce anything like the emotional range of a real human voice? I’ve always wondered why you need a text-to-speech voice to tell you to ‘turn left into Acacia Avenue’, as:

a) you rarely have the ability to catch a street sign whilst driving, in which case the additional location specific addition is unnecessary;

b)if you need your GPS to guide you then you probably don’t know / don’t care about the name of the road you are about to turn left into – all you need is a simple instruction like, ‘take the next left’.

Text-to-speech will have to be able to reproduce a far richer emotional range than currently as well as provide the option of real celebrity GPS voices like Homer, Darth Vader, Snoop Dogg, Yoda and others before it will be a real contender IMHO!

Chris.

For all German Star Wars fans out there who wish they could hear the original German GPS voices of Darth Vader and Yoda, today is a special day! TomTom have just announced the launch of the German Vader and Yoda satnav voices, and they sound amazing!

Working in a foreign language presented many challenges for the VoiceSkins team but the voices turned out great. Still, recording  the original talent that did the Star Wars films’ overdubs in German meant that the VoiceSkins team had the best raw material to work with. You can hear them here.  And for those of you who speak German, here’s a bit about Darth Vader from the TomTom site:

‘VaderLord Vader befiehlt Ihnen, den Pfad zur dunklen Seite einzuschlagen. Werden Sie es schaffen, sich ihm auf dem Weg zu Ihrer Bestimmung zu widersetzen? Obi-Wan war Ihnen ein guter Lehrmeister, aber jetzt müssen Sie sich für eine Seite entscheiden. An die Lichtschwerter!’

Chris.

We’ve got a great give away for you: you can win a TomTom Go 630 with the official Darth Vader GPS voice onboard here, at Engadget. What better way to turn your TomTom into an instrument of the Empire than have the Dark Lord of Sith direct you on your vacation! All you have to do is leave a comment and the winners will be pulled out of a virtual hat. If you fancy it, you can also enter our very own Darth Vader satnav voice giveaway here.

Be lucky.

Chris.

June 10th sees the launch of the official Star Wars C-3PO GPS voice. As with the Darth Vader gps voice launched on May 4th, this satnav voice promises to be just as exciting and innovative in the use of original Star Wars sound effects and music. The C3PO TomTom voice features the navigation talents of R2-D2! On a number of the commands you will hear Threepio ask for R2-D2’s opinion and even berate him when C3PO thinks he may have made a mistake – just like the classic Star Wars films! John Williams’ masterful main title theme tune from the Star Wars classic films is also subtly interwoven into the navigation commentary, making for a very uplifting and rich experience.

This TomTom GPS voice is distinctive, characterful and very entertaining to have in the car. Where Darth Vader is menacing, Homer Simpson goofy and Snoop just plain laidback, C-3PO is the supportive co-pilot you will want to drive around with time and time again, master.  All Star Wars fans should have this TomTom voice in their car; if you’ve already got Darth Vader then C3PO really is the perfect antidote to the Sith Lord.

So, enlist your TomTom ‘navi-computer’ in the Rebel Alliance and make sure you get the inside track;  subscribe to our newsletter and we will let you know the day  - may the moment – threepio is available for download onto your TomTom. And don’t forget, we will also be giving away free TomTom voice content voiced by C-3PO – including warning alerts, start up and shut down sounds as well as very cool wallpaper and a map icon pointer.

Chris.

If you haven’t see the TomTom Darth Vader gps voice viral video, you’re in for a treat. It really is genuinely entertaining. You can see it here on YouTube. It has been an immense success, with total viewings just short of the 1,000,000 mark. And that’s only after 7 days!! TomTom have done a really good job with this and clearly know how to respect a premium satnav voice like Darth Vader and other real celebrity GPS voices too, such as Snoop Dogg and Homer. [Shameless plug - all are available here!] All these voices are official, authentic and really do sound excellent. Beware of imitations!

By the way, the official Darth Vader gps voice comes with John Williams’ music, TIE fighter fly by noises and light sabers embedded into the navigation commentary. This is GPS voices as you’ve never heard them before! Enjoy.

Colin.

MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU! Darth Vader Voice on TomTom GPS

~ Official Star Wars™ GPS voices now available, only on TomTom devices ~

Amsterdam, 4th May 2010 – Get ready to feel the Force –  behind the wheel! In association with Lucasfilm Ltd. and VoiceSkins.com TomTom brings official Star Wars GPS voices to TomTom navigation devices for the very first time.

Launching today with Sith Lord Darth Vader, the line-up will continue throughout summer 2010 – with C-3PO arriving in June and Yoda in July. The cast will be complete with Han Solo in August.

“We are thrilled to launch these exclusive Star Wars voices, available only on TomTom devices,” said Tom Murray, senior vice president market development at TomTom, Inc. “Now, Star Wars fans around the world can unite their enthusiasm for Star Wars with their driving experience, making every journey more entertaining and enjoyable.”

“The TomTom brand is synonymous with high quality navigation. Star Wars fans are sure to be delighted when they hear just how great these voices sound on their TomTom navigation devices,” says Casey Collins, sr. director of international licensing and marketing at Lucas Licensing..

Darth Vader’s menacing voice and signature breathing add a thrilling dimension to TomTom GPS voice commands. Incorporating dialogue inspired by the original films, Darth Vader delivers navigation instructions such as: “Bear left, to the dark side. Then in 200 yards you have reached your destination. The Force is with you, but you are not a Jedi yet”.

The Darth Vader voice also features original sound effects from the classic films, including lightsaber sounds and TIE fighter flybys. John Williams’ unforgettable Imperial March music is embedded into certain sections of the navigation commentary. With such audio temptation, Darth Vader will turn all TomTom drivers to the dark side!

TomTom customers will also be able to download free of charge various official warning alert sounds voiced by Darth Vader, along with free start up screen wallpaper and Lord Vader map icon.

To celebrate the release of the Darth Vader satnav voice, TomTom is launching a unique Star Wars game where fans can also test their allegiance to the Force, to see if they wish to turn to the dark side..

All Star Wars GPS voices will be available in English with further languages available throughout the summer.

Darth Vader’s satnav voice is available for download immediately for $12.95 / £7.95 / €9.95.

To hear clips of the voices – and to find out more about them and the Star Wars game – visit:

• Website www.tomtom.com/starwars
• Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ljFfL-mL70
• Game: www.tomtom.com/usetheforce

- ENDS -

Note to editors
High resolution Star Wars images are available on request.

About TomTom N.V.

TomTom N.V. (AEX: TOM2) is the world’s leading provider of location and navigation solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands it employs over 3000 employees worldwide. More than 40 million people daily use its solutions, be it in the form of dedicated portable navigation devices (PNDs), in- dash car systems or tracking and tracing solutions for fleet management. In addition, hundreds of millions of people use TomTom’s digital maps on the internet or mobile phone.

In 2009, TomTom reported €1.5 billion in revenues and a €340 million net cash flow from operating activities. More information about TomTom can be found on www.TomTom.com.

About VoiceSkins.com & Locutio Voice Technologies

Founded in Winchester, United Kingdom in 2004, Locutio Voice Technologies is the world’s foremost developer of real celebrity and branded licensed voice content for in-car GPS. Working with vocal luminaries like Fox / Simpsons and Snoop Dogg, Locutio’s VoiceSkins are scripted, recorded and performed to both enhance the navigation experience and ensure that every journey is a truly fun event. Locutio’s official celebrity GPS VoiceSkins deliver real in-car infotainment!

VoiceSkins.com currently offers for sale the original Homer Simpson voice, as recorded by Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Snoop Dogg and now the Darth Vader Star Wars voice. More high-profile premium branded celebrity voice content is set to be launched throughout 2010. See www.VoiceSkins.com and www.Locutio.co.uk for more details.

Lucasfilm, STAR WARS™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd.  All rights reserved.  All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

If you didn’t see Snoop on Larry King talking about his GPS voice, you missed a fun show! Larry loved the idea and even said he wants to create his own GPS voice. That would be cool…Now Snoop clearly loves his VoiceSkin and watching Jon Stewart’s, Larry King’s, Wendy Williams’s and Conan O’Brien’s responses to him speaking about it, we’d say they love it too! You can catch up on these videos at our YouTube channel here.

Anyhow, you can see Snoop discussing his GPS voice with Larry King here. And don’t forget to watch Snoop take Larry out for ride in the Snoopmobile here.

The new female TomTom Irish GPS voice: congratulations are due.

A few months ago we recorded Naoimh Touhy, the new female free GPS voice of TomTom Ireland. Naoimh had entered the Today FM radio competition to become the GPS voice of TomTom Ireland and, to her surprise, she came first out of a 1,000 entrants! She received a brand new car and a got to record her GPS voice at a recording session in Dublin, run by our good selves.

The VoiceSkins.com team just wanted to congratulate her on the milestone of over 3,000 TomTom celebrity voice downloads achieved in a very short space of time. Her voice is truly lovely and she was a real pleasure to work with. She seemed to grasp the essentials of voice-over work really quickly, which was very surprising as Naoimh had never set foot in a studio before. Naoimh is a natural talent and will hopefully go on to do other exciting voice-over work. She’s in illustrious company now, sitting along side the Snoop Dogg GPS voice and the original Homer Simpson GPS voices.

Well done Naoimh!

Note: Naoimh’s voice is a standard voice – not a TomTom celebrity voice – and will come preinstalled on all TomTom devices sold in Ireland from April 2010. You can download her free GPS voice here.

Snoop Dogg GPS Voice Recording Session

Snoop turns up a little later than expected (that’s ok – he’s a star!). He had fair reasons: he’d been up all night making a series of videos to support Malice in Wonderland and then onto his son’s football practice during the day. But the moment he arrives, he’s totally ready for work. A real trooper. I have to add, he is incredibly charismatic and very courteous too (damn tall as well). I feel a bit silly shaking his hand. Being the awkward Brit that I am, I probably said something like “ How do you do, Mr. Dogg.’ Ok, I didn’t but you know what I mean: exactly how does an uptight limey address an international rap megastar? Snoop takes it all in his stride, making us feel completely relaxed from the moment he walks in. My brother in law, Sam, is a big, big fan: and having met the man, I can see why he holds such appeal for so many all around the world.

We explain how we want the recording undertaken; Snoop and his manager, Ted, listen intently. Then Snoop goes into the booth and pretty much nails the entire thing in just under 2 hours. This is a record time for us. He seems to know exactly how we want things: 3 variants of everything with all the required pauses and gaps we need for our edit points. Perfect. No guidance needed. At one point we stop to let ProTools catch up but Snoop wants to keep on. The man never lets up.

When he has given us more than enough, including all his great scripted lines, he then starts to improvise (go to www.voiceskins.com and be in with a chance to win the signed script he used at the session!) Anyway, we all spend the next 20 minutes laughing, ‘rapt’ (sorry!) with admiration; he isn’t one of the biggest and best for no reason. The man is really, really funny and despite having been up for 24 hours, he’s brilliant at improvising. Some of it we can’t use and will remain in the archive forever. But watch out for a director’s cut of the Snoop GPS end of next year on www.voiceskins.com– who knows what you might get to hear?

Snoop finishes, puts his fists to mine (so that’s how you shake hands with Snoop!), signs an album for my brother-in-law, has some food and disappears with his manager Ted into another room to do more work. The guy just never stops. Grant and I sit around chatting about the session, the safest place to be in LA when the Big One hits (clue: not in the hills, according to Anthony from Cashmere Agency), whilst we wait for the adrenaline rush to subside.

Snoop GPS voice – Larry King show

Listening to the recording at the airport, I know we have an amazing TomTom GPS voice to share with you. We hope you think so too. Check out the videos ‘The making of the Snoop TomTom GPS celebrity voices’ and the video of Snoop’s VoiceSkin shown in demo mode. You can also see other cool GPS voice videos on our YouTube channel, here.

UPDATE: just heard about Snoop on Larry King talking about his Snoop GPS voice. A very cool little piece with Snoop in his Snoopmobile showing Larry his GPS voice. You can see it here.

And don’t forget to watch Snoop also discussing his involvement with VoiceSkins and his GPS voice on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show, here.

Thanks for reading!

Chrizzle H.