“Depart. Your destiny lies with me. Obi-Wan knew this to be true.”
Let the menacing Sith Lord be your co-pilot: Voice Skins joined forces with Locutio and LucasFilms to bring Darth Vadar to the Garmin GPS system. (If you prefer a more encouraging navigator, the Yoda package should be coming soon.) Garmin customers can now download the Darth Vadar Premium Voice and Graphics Bundle to their GPS devices for $12.99.
Not only will Darth Vadar incorporate his best lines from the Star Wars movies into his turn-by-turn instructions, selections from John Williams’ signature Imperial March are also worked into the system (when you reach a destination, for example), complete with sound effects from lightsabers and TIE fighter flybys. As if that were not enough to make a wannabe Jedi download the Bundle, he can realize his dream to drive a TIE fighter in a galaxy far, far away to go to the grocery store — because that’s the on-screen vehicle icon used in the Darth Vadar package (though not shown in the above demo video).
TomTom GPS customers have had this voice skin (as well as C-3PO, Yoda and Hans Solo) since last year so it’s about time for Garmin to follow suit. Unfortunately, not every Garmin device is compatible with this package so check your model number against this list before making your purchase. The Darth Vadar bundle is available from Garmin.com and Spotitout.com (installation instructions are here), while Garmin GPS systems can be found in most electronic stores like Best Buy and Radio Shack.
Personally, I’m hopeful for a Star Trek voice skin plus gesture control GPS system. I can’t wait to say “Engage” complete with Captain Jean Luc Picard’s signature move to start my road trip. What other character voice skin are you interested in?
Here is a behind-the-scenes look at Darth Vadar’s recording session:
[Source: VoiceSkins blog post, Garmin website, VoiceSkin's YouTube channel]
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