From Disney to Thai Lectures: Robert Wilson's Timekettle Adventure

In the vibrant state of California, in a cozy corner of the United States, resides an adventurous octogenarian named Robert Wilson. At 80 years old, Robert, a retired IT professional with a rich history at the Walt Disney Company headquarters, has found himself embarking on a new journey—one that transcends borders and languages.

Being an American with English as his native language, Robert's heart has always been open to learning. His retirement, however, didn't confine him to a life of leisure. A unique opportunity arose when a contact at a university in Thailand expressed interest in someone with Robert's IT background. Eager to contribute, Robert flew across the ocean to assist Thomas Audit University in installing the internet.

Robert, a casual learner, found himself enrolled in a study program tailored for individuals around the age of 50. The catch? The lectures were conducted entirely in Thai, a language he was unfamiliar with. Despite the linguistic challenge, he dedicated about three weeks to attending classes, with only one meeting per week in the Thai lecture series.

In the pursuit of effective communication, the idea of human translation was considered. The plan was to organize lectures in Thai, with translations for an English-speaking audience. However, the downside of this solution became apparent—doubling the time of the lecture, as it had to be presented in both English and Thai.

Enter the purchase journey. Motivated by the desire to understand lectures at school, Robert sought a solution to bridge the language gap. His initial involvement in installing the internet quickly shifted gears when the university transitioned to teaching IT courses. The turning point came when a fellow learner in an English course filled with foreigners recommended the Timekettle WT2 Edge/W3 Real-time Translator Earbuds.

With a pair of these revolutionary earbuds, Robert experienced the product firsthand in an English classroom, discovering its accuracy in translation. His usage scenarios primarily revolved around university lectures in Thai, where he employed the listening and interpreting mode. A specific routine involved connecting two headphones, enabling real-time interpretation during the one-day-per-week Thai lecture series.

The satisfaction derived from using the product was noteworthy. Robert found himself understanding a commendable 80% of the lecture content, making his learning experience in Thailand significantly more enriching.

However, along this technological journey, unmet needs surfaced. During lectures featuring PowerPoint slides, language translation lagged behind text translation, creating a slight delay and diverting visual attention between the lecture and slides. Despite the acceptable delay of 1-2 seconds, Robert noted a preference for a more synchronized operation.

Additionally, when using one ear in real-time during lecture listening and interpretation, users reported the necessity of connecting two headsets each time. Setup and configuration mode presented its challenges, with occasional disconnections of the earbuds. Moreover, in the listen-to-interpretation mode, a frustrating revelation emerged—1/3 of the text recordings were missing.

In the realm of languages, the Ukrainian translation also fell short of expectations, marking the only significant dissatisfaction in Robert's tech-infused learning experience. Yet, armed with his translation earbuds, Robert Wilson continued his educational odyssey in Thailand, proving that age is no barrier to embracing the wonders of technology.