ISing? Karaoke application could soon come to your iPod. ISing? Karaoke application could soon come to your iPod.
It found global success with a device that transformed the way people listen to music, but now the company behind the iPod wants to teach the world to sing.
A patent application submitted by Apple has revealed its plans to turn the iPod and iPhone into a mobile karaoke system that can help to teach amateur singers how to hit the right pitch and key.
There is also good news for those forced to listen; the technology will be able to make off-key warblings sound in-tune.
The device will allow users to select songs to sing along to, displaying the words as a video on screen. As the user sings, the technology will analyse their voice, comparing it with how the song is supposed to sound.
If the singer hits the pitch and key perfectly, they will be rewarded by having their performance enhanced to give a ''concert hall'' effect.

When they are off key, or sing at the wrong pitch, the device will exaggerate their mistake.
The system would also be able to change the output going to speakers, so an audience would not have to endure bad singing. Instead, it would ''fuzz'' the singer's voice to disguise the fact they are off key.
The patent also proposes allowing users to record their performances and edit them later, while also being able to see how they had performed against the original.
Apple refused to comment on how it intends to develop the patent and when its karaoke system will be available on the market, but iTunes, its online music store, sells tracks under the category of karaoke.
The Telegraph, London