11-22-2013, 09:00 PM | #1 |
Wizard
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Latest Fire HDX upgrade brings audible simiulation to the WORD.
After the latest Kindle Fire HDX 2013 firmware upgrade, one can tap any word on a page of an eBook and a menu appears showing a right pointing arrow. Tap the arrow and the HDX starts reading to you from that very word. Voices are selectable elsewhere on the HDX.
Close the Kindle cover and the reading continues. Open the cover and the location page is shown and the reading stops. Thus, the new firmware makes Audio Books OBSOLETE. There is no need to buy them as extra add-ons anymore. I was reading an eBook, started the audio, closed the cover and spent an hour doing other things while the eBook was being read to me as I carried the closed HDX around placing it on tables as I worked. Then I opened the cover at my desk and was able to continue reading from where the audio left off. For folks with lots of daily tasks this new feature allows them to get more reading done while taking care of more important matters. Last edited by sirmaru; 11-22-2013 at 09:06 PM. |
11-23-2013, 06:57 PM | #2 |
monkey on the fringe
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Doesn't work on my HD. Why is that?
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11-23-2013, 07:25 PM | #3 |
Wizard
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Only for the HDX.
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11-23-2013, 07:45 PM | #4 |
monkey on the fringe
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11-23-2013, 08:53 PM | #5 | |
Wizard
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No idea.
Quote:
The Kindle Keyboard had none of the features of the first Paperwhite and the second Paperwhite has features not on the first Paperwhite. |
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11-24-2013, 09:42 AM | #6 |
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From one who doesn't mind TTS, I don't think this feature will make audio books obsolete. No generated voice can add the nuances, inflection and emotion an actual person can introduce when reading text, not to mention mispronunciation of words like "read", "record" in certain contexts. The mispronunciation is distracting in TTS (and still I use it a lot in the car!).
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11-24-2013, 11:05 AM | #7 | |
Wizard
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Male American Voice is great!
Quote:
However, when reading normally, I usually go back a paragraph or even a page in many areas to fully understand something important. The voice reading ploughs straight ahead. They really need a "Back" button to get a re-reading of some passages. Maybe the HDX 2014 will have that feature. Of course, I could open the cover to stop the reading, page back and then start it again. Actually, I just thought of that and may use that feature the next time I use the voice. It is too bad that Amazon does not retrofit the sound eBook reading to the HD 2012 but the hardware of that device may not support it. Last edited by sirmaru; 11-24-2013 at 11:09 AM. |
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11-24-2013, 03:15 PM | #8 |
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11-25-2013, 10:25 PM | #9 |
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11-25-2013, 10:33 PM | #10 |
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11-26-2013, 06:24 AM | #11 | |
monkey on the fringe
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Quote:
Last year during Amazon's roll out of the Fire HD, Bezos said "for example, we don't need you to be on the upgrade treadmill". If Amazon truly believed that, then why wasn't the HD upgraded from Fire OS 2 (And 4.0.3) to Fire OS 3 (And 4.2.2)? |
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11-26-2013, 10:40 AM | #12 |
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I agree even if they don't provide all of the features of the current model they should still provide the updated software.
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12-03-2013, 01:39 PM | #13 |
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It is a huge upgrade over previous versions of TTS but there is no way it is remotely close to a professional, quality audio book with a good reader performing.
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