The NY Times, along with every other news source, is reporting on the new version of Amazon’s e-book reader, the Kindle.Buried among all the other changes is one important accessibility feature: text-to-speech. According to the Times:
Giving Voice to the Kindle: The Kindle 2 also has text-to-speech built in. “Any book, blog, magazine or personal document can be read aloud,” Mr. Bezos said. Users can switch between reading text and hearing it read by a fairly computerized voice. “It’s very easy to go back and forth between reading and listening,” Mr. Bezos said
Amazon Kindle Accessibility Features: Mouse over to see various font sizes.
I have tested out the first version, as my wife has the Kindle 1.0. With its adjustable font size set to the maximum, I can read the text fairly easily with my low vision reading glasses. I look forward to testing out the new text-to-speech feature when I find someone with the new version. The new Kindle’s text-to-speech offers two voices, male and female, and does not offer variable speed playback. I really like the variable spped playback on the iPod, though I wish it had more than three settings. We will have to wait on reviews of the reading quality, but Nuance, who provides the Kindle’s text-speech engine, is one of the best in the market.
The Kindle now has four accessibility feeatures; adjustable font sizes, text to speech, Audible-ready and image zoom. From the Kindle page:
Adjustable Text Size
Because one size doesn’t fit all, you can increase the text size of your favorite book or periodical with the push of a button. If your eyes tire, simply increase the font size and continue reading comfortably. Kindle has six adjustable font sizes to suit your reading preference. Now every book in your library can be large print.
Read-to-Me Feature
Now Kindle can read to you. With the new Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud to you. You can switch back and forth between reading and listening, and your spot is automatically saved. Pages automatically turn while the content is being read, so you can listen hands-free. You can choose from both male and female voices which can be sped up or slowed down to suit your preference. Anything you can read on Kindle, Kindle can read to you, including books, newspapers, magazines, blogs and even personal documents. In the middle of a geat book or article but have to jump in the car? Simply turn on Text-to-Speech and listen on the go.
Full Image Zoom
Images and photos display crisply on Kindle and can be zoomed to the full size of the screen.
Audiobooks
With Kindle, you are able to download and enjoy more than 50,000 audio titles from Audible.com, including bestselling audio books, radio programs, audio newspapers, and magazines. Due to their file size, audiobooks are downloaded to your PC over your existing Internet connection and then transferred to Kindle using the included USB 2.0 cable. Listen via Kindle’s speaker or plug in your headphones for private listening.
We are one step closer to an all-in-one accessible reading device.
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