Professional conference interpretation setups are notoriously painful. Dedicated booths, trained interpreters, bulky hardware, and a bill at the end of every month that makes you rethink whether the meeting was even required in the first place.
Timekettle wants to collapse all of that into a single hub that weighs 199 grams (less than modern flagship smartphones). The company just launched the X1 Meeting Interpreter Hub.
So how does the device actually work?
It is a portable AI translation device that handles real-time interpretation for a team of up to 50 participants across up to five languages simultaneously. Timekettle claims that the interpreter supports a total of 52 languages, with 106 accents, something that can benefit multinational companies.
Presenters or active speakers use dedicated X1 Meeting earbuds. They use bone-voiceprint noise reduction, along with multi-microphone processing to pick up voices clearly, even in loud rooms. The earbuds look a bit outdated to me, but if they solve the purpose, nobody cares.
Everyone else, including those joining remotely, can follow along by scanning a QR code or by clicking a meeting link on their phone, tablet, or laptop. Nobody needs to download and install any additional apps.
Is there a catch worth knowing about?
The company claims to offer translated audio and live text on their devices (with headphones they’re already using).
Meeting transcripts are stored locally on 32GB of onboard storage, and not on the cloud. For larger gatherings, you can sync up to 10 hubs together, pairing wirelessly within 16 feet, and export the required data via the USB-C port.
The catch you’re looking for could be hidden in the price, especially for small business owners or teams operating from make-shift offices. The device costs $849 at launch and is available via Amazon today.