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 ]
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Jeff Bezos, in the U.K. to launch the Kindle Paperwhite and Amazon's Lending Library service, has told the BBC that his firm makes no money on its Kindles. "We make money from when people use our devices, not when people buy our devices," he told technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones. "That... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2012-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The majority of Canadians still prefer print, and more than a quarter of book purchases were made... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 7th Woman by Frédérique Molay is a serial killer novel that’s sold over 150,000 copies in France and has been published in seven languages, in addition to its native French. You can add English to that list on October 23, when indie startup Le French Book brings it to the U.S. as an ebook,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's all too easy to forget in English-speaking countries that the e-reading selection often isn't as diverse in other parts of the world, where local authors are often kept out of the equation. The Portuguese may know that all too well, which makes Kobo's arrival in their country a potential... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hints at a Kindle launch for Japan in October have been upstaged by Google’s sudden... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At this year’s publishing pow-wow in Germany: John Banville channels Raymond Chandler; Daniel Woodrell explores a 1929 American bombing; Michael Pollan gets elemental; Elif Batuman tries fiction; and Lionel Shriver goes to Iowa. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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IAC/InterActiveCorp Chairman Barry Diller, producer Scott Rudin and publishing executive Frances Coady are investing in a book venture that will attempt to challenge Amazon.com Inc.’s dominance in the industry. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon will not release its Kindle Paperwhite device in Europe this year, as the etailer prepares... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new printed book celebrates all of the quirky flaws of the world’s most famous ebook. Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2012-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wow. Judge Denise Cote certainly knows how to put a spring in the step of mega corporations. Mere days have passed since she ordered HarperCollins to let retailers to set their own ebook prices, and yet already Kindle bestsellers from that publisher are selling for around $9.99 -- in some cases... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took the stage at a large airplane hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., this morning and presented a dazzling, methodical, hourlong disquisition on the state of the technology business. He began by explaining why most of the iPad’s competitors have failed: “They’re gadgets,” he... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2012-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kobo is launching a new tablet and e-reader in an attempt to wrest the market away from Amazon and Apple, both of which will probably release new tablets soon. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Throughout its 17-year history, Amazon has helped change the way that books are sold, the format in which they’re read and how they are published. Now it could change how they’re written. In addition to the Kindle Fire HD and the Kindle Paperwhite, Amazon introduced a subscription book format... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2012-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon is planning to take a Charles Dickens approach to publishing with the launch of fiction in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Just how important Amazon’s Prime shipping offer has been to the online giant’s success can be seen in data recently compiled by the Codex Group. Last Monday, Amazon announced that Prime, which allows customers free two-day shipping for a $79 annual fee, had surpassed its free shipping on orders... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookworld, formerly Borders.com.au, has internet giant Amazon in its sights with new book business. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2012-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Publishing is continuing to broaden its distribution channels, as the New York-based imprint has formed a partnership with Ingram Content Group that will make the company's ebooks available to competitors such as Apple, Barnes & Noble and Kobo. As you may be aware, there's some uneasy... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin has released a visual of the front cover of Pippa Middleton’s party planning guide... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has today (30th August) launched its Appstore in Europe, including in the UK, Germany,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has also begun piloting a UK discounted daily deals website, AmazonLocal, to rival sites... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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