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Amazon gives in: Text-to-Speech now decided by book publisher
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video,
The text-to-speech feature of the Kindle 2 in one of the main features that Amazon was touting when they debuted their latest e-book reader. However, Roy Blount, Jr., president of the Author’s Guild, made it immediately known that the Guild objects to the feature that he believes undermines the market for professional e-book. While this is overly cautious, since the Kindle sounds nothing like a real human being, Amazon has decided to step up (or back down?) and allow book publishers and authors the right to allow their works to be compatible with the text-to-speech feature or not. We are hoping that most will see that it’s harmless, and just allows folks to enjoy their work in a different way, albeit on the same device. You can read Amazon’s full statement after the jump.
You can pick up the Kindle 2 at Amazon, be sure to check out our Kindle 2 review.
Click to continue reading Amazon gives in: Text-to-Speech now decided by book publisher
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Amazon Kindle 2 review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Handhelds, Product Reviews,
We’ve spent a few days with the Amazon Kindle 2, which has been the talk of the gadget world this week. We know some of you are wondering if you should pick one up, so we are here to give you our thoughts on the latest iteration of Amazon’s e-book reader. If you’re like us, you already know that the Kindle 2 is available for purchase now, and you likely have one in your hands - but for the rest of you, join us for our full review of the Kindle 2 (and if you missed it, check out our Kindle 2 gallery.)
Okay, so while we were working on the review, we sent a couple of questions out to some of our Twitter peeps asking what they thought of the device, and Lisa from EllisLab hit us back with so much info, that we are using her feedback to break this down for you. Sometimes you need the point of view of a “real world” user anyway, as opposed to one of us gadget fiends. So what we will do is give some of our thoughts on the Kindle 2, and then bring in Lisa’s thoughts as well.
The Kindle 2 was announced on February 9th, and just started shipping on February 24th. The announcement came with the promise of a 25% improvement in battery life, 20% faster page turns, a better screen that supports up to 16 shades of gray (as opposed to 4 shades with the original,) and a much thinner design.
Click to continue reading Amazon Kindle 2 review
Amazon Kindle 2 unboxing gallery
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Galleries, Handhelds, Miscellaneous,
It’s a happy day here at Gear Live HQ, what with the arrival of both the Amazon Kindle 2 and Resident Evil 5, thanks to UPS. We figured we’d tear right in to the Kindle 2 upon arrival so that we could bring you another unboxing gallery full of e-book reader goodness, and we think we succeeded. We’ve got 30 images of the Kindle 2 available for you to check out in our Kindle 2 unboxing gallery, showing off all aspects of the device, the packaging, and the included USB cable and charging add-on (which, we think, is pretty neat.) Go ahead and check out all the images yourself, and give your thoughts. Also, any questions on the device itself that we can answer for you?
You can purchase an Amazon Kindle 2 now.
Read More | Kindle 2 unboxing gallery via Amazon Kindle 2
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Our Amazon Kindle 2 is here…
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds,
Oh, happy day, our Kindle 2 has arrived. We are opening it up now and snapping images for your enjoyment. Be sure to keep at eye on Unboxing! Back to work…
UPDATE: We’ve put up our entire Kindle 2 unboxing gallery - check it out!
Read More | Amazon Kindle 2
Daily Show: Jeff Bezos on the Kindle 2
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Videos,
We are fans of The Daily Show for reasons like this - only Jon Stewart can get this type of reaction from powerful mogul like Jeff Bezos. Watch as Bezos comes on The Daily Show to let the world know about the Kindle 2, while Jon makes fun of just about every aspect of the product, from the price, to the notion of e-paper. Great stuff.
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