Here's an old message that appeared on Blindtech about the original machine. I stress that this message refers to the original unit, so I agree we'll have to wait to see if the player itself is any more accessible than the original which, according to this message, concentrates on giving the illusion of reading a hard copy book. The fact the last person who posted info on this saw only information about speech output and references to flipping pages, and nothing about access to the unit by the blind, I'd tend to doubt it has anything more than the Stream has to recommend it for us; but it will be interesting to see if I am proven right or wrong.
Pam -----Original Message----- From: blindt...@yahoogroups.com [mailto:blindt...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Jeff is HookedOnThe.Net Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 12:02 PM To: blindt...@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: Kindle reader As far as I'm aware, the Kindle has no TTS, so there is nothing to speak the menus or print books on the device. It is an Audible-ready device and will play mp3 files, but if one is going to spend the price of a Kindle then the VR Stream is in the price range and would provide significantly more usability to a blind person. The VR Stream is also Audible-ready and plays mp3 files as well as ogg vorbis and unprotected WMA files. More importantly, it has TTS to speak the menus and navigate the files. The Kindle was primarily designed to be an E-text reader and that's where its strength and popularity lies. I'm told by sighted folks that have seen or own a Kindle that the screen really does give the person the feeling that they are reading a printed book. I understand it has the largest screen of any of the current E-text readers and that it really does an amazing job of looking like a printed page rather than an electronic screen. But that superior technology does nothing for a blind person. If you just want a device to listen to audiobooks, then there are many other much, much less expensive options available. Now, if you have some usable vision and want to be able to read printed material, then perhaps the Kindle would be a device worth looking at just for the reasons I stated above: It has one of the largest screens and has been designed to be very easy on the eyes. I also understand its font enlargement capability is very good too. Hope this helps. Jeff ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ken Hawk" <kh...@triad.rr.com <mailto:khawk%40triad.rr.com> > Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 9:21 AM Any one on the list using the Kindle reader? Ken Hawk Jonathan Mosen List Founder Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... http://www.pc-audio.org To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org
