Questions about this reader

[ficbot]

I am in the market for a new reader because I really want one with text to speech capability. I am a bus commuter and kill half an hour a day walking to the stop and standing in line at stops, sometimes in the dark. And I walk at a track at the gym very often. I am not a huge music listener (I have had the same hundred or so songs on my ipod since I got it) so I figure this is about an hour a day of wasted time I could use to read if the reader would read to me. I would love going for a walk and having it read to me.

I was pretty set on a Kindle and waiting only on Apple's announcement before I decided. But then I realized that all the 'free' Kindle books cost $2 in Canada. So I was thinking that given I likely will not use their store, perhaps there is less incentive for me to get the reader I did want the Wikipedia and on-line dictionary, which I would only use when reading French books. But these are not deal-breaker features; I am primarily interested in the text to speech.

The website FAQ was not very comprehensive and I am not sure how it works. It says it will not work in epub so what format should I use? Most of my books are from here or are liberated eReader files (in other words, loaded into Calibre as HTML). What should I convert them to in order to use text to speech? And how about my multiformat Fictionwise buys?

Also, I am wondering if this is an easy feature to use. Is it quick and easy to turn on and off? When you stop the voice from reading, does it leave you at the same page so you can resume reading the regular way? Has anyone used this feature on both the Astak and the Kindle and can compare?

Also, I use Calibre and enjoy tagging things and having them sort into collections that way. Can I do this with the Pocket Pro? One thing about the Kindle which gives me pause is the lack of capability to organize the books. What is the best way to use this reader with Calibre?

For a reference point, I have previously owned/used:

- iPod Touch (still have it, read on it sometimes but not much)
- eBookwise (my first reader; too clunky, sold to a good home after a year)
- Sony 505 (my current reader; love it, easy to use but no text to speech)

I feel like my ideal reader would be a 505 with text to speech and maybe a dictionary It sounds like the Pocket Pro may be better than the Kindle for me since I do not care about wireless, do not plan to use the Amazon store and I want to be able to organize my books. I did think the Wikipedia and dictionary would be nice, but these are not deal-breakers; I currently do my French reading while near a computer so I can use Google Translator for words I don't know. The real issue for me is text to speech and this is a feature I am prepared to invest in a new reader in order to obtain.

[Javed]

I don't use TTS much myself. However, there is a thread about it here that may be of some help. Particularly post #2, where Dave_S mentions a link. At that link you can hear for yourself how it sounds. Hope this is of some help.

[Javed]

Originally Posted by ficbot

It says it will not work in epub so what format should I use?

Also, I am wondering if this is an easy feature to use. Is it quick and easy to turn on and off? When you stop the voice from reading, does it leave you at the same page so you can resume reading the regular way?
.

It definitely works with epub, I just tried it! And it is clearer than I had remembered, though it is slightly stilted, the words are quite distinguishable (this can vary sometimes with some more unusual words, for example it pronounces "Spacejock" as "space ee jock"). Actually I feel encouraged to start using this feature more now! It automatically turns to the next page, when TTS is on, by itself.

This feature is easy to use and to turn on and off (2 key pressed to do either). Also it does leave you at the last page. If you turn it off midway through a page then it resumes from the start of that page when the TTS is turned back on.

[ficbot]

Javed, thank you for your reply. Does it have a male voice too like the Kindle does? The male voice on the Kindle seemed more intelligible than the female voice.

Do you use Calibre? Can you sort the files on the Pocket Pro into collections or folders?

This is much cheaper than the Kindle, but I don't want to be sorry later that I tried to cheap out and wound up with something that won't work for me. I do not plan to use the TTS all the time, only when at the track and at the bus stop. I would like whatever reader I get to be able to replace my 505.

[Javed]

It only has a female voice.

Yes, I use Calibre. Yes, the Pocket Pro definitely has folder structure which is really customizable! This is one of its strong points.

To be honest, I have never used a Kindle to compare.

I can appreciate your careful analysis of features before buying a new device. I would recommend, if it is possible, to also look at the devices you are deciding between in person. I know you can see the Pocket Pro in store at Cartoys if you are located in USA near one of their stores.

Of course I am sure you will get lots of other replies to your questions here from other forum members as well.

[Javed]

Also, I just discovered the TTS does not work in a MOBI formatted book I tried (but personally I mainly use epub anyway, so this doesn't bother me).

[nimblem]

I also bought the ezreader for the tts over the kindle... however I don't really use it much because I think the voice is too robotic. But it is very easy to change from TTS back to just reading... Just unplug the headset and it stops TTS. It doesn't have speakers for TTS (just the headset option) but I just plug it into an IPOD dock and it works fine that way. The downfall to it is that it does not have auto page turns in TTS... So you have to push the page turn to go on to the next page. This means however, that you will be able to continue reading where the TTS left off.

Disspite the robot voice I love my ezreader. Being able to use any format is a huge plus for the device. There are TONS of websites that offer free book downloads many of them with books that would normally run 15.00 on other websites... you just have to do some reading up. I use ebook3000 for the most part and rapidshare. So the ability to download free books in any format far out weighed the kindle and sony for me. Although I don't use the TTS much, I don't think I would use it that often anyhow, it almost feels like you lose 1/2 the books experiance when you listen to it rather than read.

Check out xxxxxXXXX they have lots of books to download at no cost

Illegal link removed

[Javed]

Originally Posted by nimblem

The downfall to it is that it does not have auto page turns in TTS... So you have to push the page turn to go on to the next page.

@Nimblem
I'm curious regarding your experience with this. For me, when using epub, the pages automatically turn with TTS. Perhaps this varies with different formats. What format were you using when the pages didn't turn themselves? (btw I am using November Astak firmware)

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by nimblem

Check out ****** they have lots of books to download at no cost

http://www.******.com/The-Kite-Runner_22741.html

If I am not mistaken, these are pirated copies of e-books. That's not quite kosher here, is it?

@ficbot: don't you have someone who can actually demonstrate the Kindle2 for you live? And, if you hustle down to bestbuy, you'll find the Astak EB06EZ that you ought to be able to see demonstrated. I'd be interested in the side-by-side TTS feature as well.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

If I am not mistaken, these are pirated copies of e-books. That's not quite kosher here, is it?

@ficbot: don't you have someone who can actually demonstrate the Kindle2 for you live? And, if you hustle down to bestbuy, you'll find the Astak EB06EZ that you ought to be able to see demonstrated. I'd be interested in the side-by-side TTS feature as well.

No. Not appropriate. The Kite Runner is certainly not public domain.

as far as the Kindle, keep in mind that you have 30 days to evaluate and can return it. I have both the Kindle2 and the PP and I can't say I much care for either TTS, but they are usable on both.

[ficbot]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

@ficbot: don't you have someone who can actually demonstrate the Kindle2 for you live?

I wish!

I did meet up today with a friend from the last local meetup who is letting me borrow his Pocket Pro for a few weeks. I love how light-weight is is compared to the Sony, but the text to speech cannot handle apostrophes so I am not sure how useable it will be. I would love to have a Kindle to compare it to.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by nimblem

Check out xxxxxxxxx they have lots of books to download at no cost

Illegal link removed

Unfortunately, a number of offerings on that site are pirated commercial works. MobileRead is firmly opposed to ebook piracy, and links to pirate sites are violations of our policy.

Please participate in our forums and share your experience, but don't post links to pirate copies.

Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.
_______________________
Dennis McCunney
MobileRead New York Editor

[Chiron]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

PLEASE, remove the name of the site, you can see it and a simple search will direct you to that place

Oops! Quite right. Fixed, and thanks for the catch!

...

Oh, bother. I edited your original post instead of quoting it, and can't recover. Please repost, and accept my apologies.
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Dennis