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ficbot · 01-07-2010, 08:05 PM

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.

01-07-2010, 08:05 PM	#1
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Questions about this reader 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.