Amazon bringing Voice Guide and Explore by Touch features to Kindle Fires for vision-impaired users

Amazon's been attuned to the needs of its vision-impaired customers for years, first rolling out text-to-speech technology on its original Kindle e-reader years ago. Today the company revealed plans to add to that feature set in its Kindle Fire and Fire HD (7-inch) tablets with Voice Guide and Explore by Touch technology. Voice Guide's an improvement upon regular text-to-speech tech that reads aloud any action performed by users -- things like announcing app names and book titles when they're selected. Explore by Touch lets folks swipe their fingers across their Fire's display and identifies each onscreen item as their phalanges pass over them. Once aware of what app or piece of content's being touched, a simple tap opens the item. Ready for the new assisted navigation experience right now? Well, all you anxious Fire owners will have to wait, the update doesn't land until early next year.Filed under: Tablets, Software, AmazonCommentsSource: Amazon Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2012-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #feature set #reads aloud #book titles

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Amazon has '79% of ebook market in UK'

An Ofcom study into consumers' digital consumption has found that Amazon has a dominant 79%... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google+ rolls out features to help publishers build Web audience

SAN FRANCISCO — As part of its increasingly aggressive moves to get more people to use Google+ and to keep Facebook and Twitter from dominating the social networking business, Google is rolling out two new tools that it says will help authors and publishers build a bigger audience on the Web.     Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyster, a Netflix for ebooks, is promising to rival Apple, Amazon

Netflix did it with movies. Spotify did it with music. And now a New York start-up hopes to do the same with ebooks.     Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alcatel unveils 6-inch One Touch Hero smartphone with E Ink and LED cover options

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[ Engadget | 2013-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon bundles print and ebooks

Amazon is to offer US shoppers the ability to obtain digital copies of previously purchased printed books for free or at a discount. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2013-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Content Recommendation Company Now Allows Users to Reject Stories

Taboola, a company that powers content recommendation and monetization for Web publishers, is now offering users a chance to reject and even weigh in on stories that the company suggests. The company's content recommendation tech appears on all sorts of sites on the Web, often in the form of... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon unveils MatchBook; service isn't money saver for ebook buyers

Now when you buy a print book from Amazon, you might be able to get a cheap ebook version of the same title.     Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Datapoint Discussion: “10,000″ Titles Offered Through Kindle Matchbook

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon lights a Matchbook

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[ Betanews | 2013-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon US offers ebook/print bundling

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[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ka-ching! Amazon explains benefits from ebook price-fixing settlement

The direct results of the ebook price fixing scandal between Apple and the five major U.S. book publishers are one-step closer to turning into real money for millions of Amazon customers. The online retailer recently began sending out e-mail notifications to Kindle ebook buyers telling... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon to drop Marketplace price parity

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[ The Bookseller | 2013-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Engadget | 2013-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mexico Gets Kindles, Gandhi Bookstores Sell Devices

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Guide to the Frankfurt Book Fair

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Says DOJ's E-Book Remedies Are Biased in Amazon's Favor

"Plaintiffs are seeking a remedy that would give Amazon significant competitive advantage over Apple -- an advantage it is neither entitled to nor deserves." Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Governments Requested Information On 38,000 Facebook Users In The First Half Of 2013

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[ Fast Company | 2013-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dorling Kindersley relaunches Idiot's Guide series

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[ The Bookseller | 2013-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pratchett Kindle cases from Waterstones

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[ The Bookseller | 2013-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Distro Issue 104: Prep for class with Engadget's back to school guide

Unfortunately, it's time to hit the books once more. Don't get completely bummed out by the start of classes because this special issue of our weekly e-magazine has all of the top picks for back to school gear. That's right, from laptops to portable audio, we've narrowed down the best tech... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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