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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Find new inspiration with this CES-featured app

It often feels like the buzziest things to come out of CES every year are fascinating hardware, new applications of AI, and things that feel right out of science fiction movies. But, sometimes, the coolest things you find at CES are the most useful. Take, for instance, Deepstash... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2023-03-04 08:00:00 UTC ]
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Tracey Rose Peyton: Exploring Six Stories of Motherhood for Enslaved Women

Tracey Rose Peyton is the guest. She is the author of the debut novel Night Wherever We Go, available from Ecco Books. Subscribe and download the episode, wherever you get your podcasts!  From the episode: Brad Listi: This book really brought into focus for me the awful risks and costs of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-03 09:53:42 UTC ]
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Should You Buy That? A Kindle Scribe Review

Our Kindle Scribe review goes over pros and cons of the device, what customers say, its standout features, and more!- Jessica Pryde Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-03-02 11:36:00 UTC ]
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31 of the Best Kindle Unlimited Romance Books in 2023

For voracious romance readers, there’s nothing better than the best Kindle Unlimited romance books 2023 has to offer. Find our picks, like The Cask by Danielle Allen. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-03-01 11:37:00 UTC ]
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Kindle Scribe update adds new brushes and better organization

Amazon is adding new features to the Kindle Scribe. A new update gives the e-reader / digital notebook new brush types, including a fountain pen, marker and pencil — each with five thickness settings. The new tools respond to various pressures and angles, and you can use them anywhere you can... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-02-27 21:00:11 UTC ]
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The Morning After: The Kindle Store’s hottest new author is ChatGPT

According to a report from Reuters, ChatGPT is listed as the author or co-author of at least 200 books on Amazon’s Kindle Store. However, the number of bot-written books is likely higher than that since Amazon’s policies don’t require authors to disclose their use of AI.Brett Schickler published... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-02-22 12:20:19 UTC ]
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Rick Warren Brings a New Book to Zondervan

Megachurch pastor and bestselling author of ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ Rick Warren is writing his first new book in over a decade. The title, ‘Created to Dream: The 6 Phases God Uses to Grow Your Faith,’ is slated for publication on April 11. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
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WI2023: Only Legislation Can Curtail Amazon's Power

Stacy Mitchell, co-executive director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and Cory Doctorow, author of a new book "Chokepoint Capitalism," discussed the ways in which Amazon and other digital platforms exploit the creative industries and identified state and national legislators as the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The Kindle Store has a prolific new author: ChatGPT

ChatGPT is listed as the author or co-author of at least 200 books on Amazon’s Kindle Store, according to Reuters. However, the actual number of bot-written books is likely much higher than that since Amazon’s policies don’t explicitly require authors to disclose their use of AI. It’s the latest... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-02-21 20:30:39 UTC ]
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Rocketship Entertainment's Tom Akel Talks Bringing Webcomics to Print

Distributed globally through Simon & Schuster, the publisher has 24 projects lined up for 2023 to turn more mobile webcomics into print books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The Ghostwriter typewriter brings generative AI to the printed page

Running from 1992 through 1995, Ghostwriter, the beloved PBS children’s television show, followed a diverse group of friends as they solved mysteries around their Brooklyn neighborhood with the help of their haunted typewriter, a cursed item possessed by the trapped soul of a murdered runaway... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-02-16 17:00:16 UTC ]
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Plex's latest feature lets you skip movie and TV show credits

Plex now has the capability to skip intros and credits, so you don't have to sit through them if you don't want to. The streaming media service has introduced its new "Skip Credits" feature, a couple of years after a similar feature debuted for intros, and it shows up as a button at the bottom... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-02-16 12:45:54 UTC ]
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Audiobook Narrators Fear Apple Used Their Voices to Train AI

After a backlash, Spotify paused an arrangement that allowed Apple to train machine learning models on some audiobook files. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2023-02-14 16:03:54 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘Holding Fire,’ by Bryce Andrews

In his memoir “Holding Fire,” Bryce Andrews confronts the violence and guilt of past generations. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-02-07 10:00:30 UTC ]
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Amazon Luna will lose over 50 games this month

Cloud gaming libraries normally get larger, but Amazon Luna's appears to be shrinking — for now, at least. 9to5Googlenotes that the paid Luna+ tier will lose 53 games in February. Many of these are older or niche titles you won't necessarily miss, but that does mean losing classics like No More... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-02-06 16:53:46 UTC ]
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Kindle Unlimited Pricing: Is It Worth It?

We look at Kindle Unlimited pricing, catalog, free trial, and the rest of its elements in order to determine if it’s worth it for you. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-02-03 11:32:00 UTC ]
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Online Sales Stall at Amazon, More Layoffs Coming

Revenue rose at Amazon in 2022 over 2021, but profits declined, with sales in the company's online business falling for the fourth time in five quarters. The company plans to cut 18,000 jobs worldwide. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-03 05:00:00 UTC ]
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'Star Wars: Visions' Volume 2 debuts May 4th with an Aardman short

Star Wars: Visions is returning for a second 'season,' this time with a more international scope — including a studio you might not have expected. Disney has announced that Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 will premiere May 4th (aka Star Wars Day) with shorts from nine countries, including one from... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-02-02 15:41:49 UTC ]
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Amazon Layoffs Hit Comixology Staff

The e-tail giant's plans to cut 18,000 jobs has resulted in a large number of layoffs at its Comixology operation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
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More Than Books: Indigenous Voices in Publishing

Readers find community and a wealth of perspectives at Indigenous-owned bookstores. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
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