New Kobo E-reading device scheduled for release Mothers Day!

Originally Posted by jackie_w

Well no, "you gets what you pays for", I suppose

Yep, and I'm happy to pay for a real human to read Italian, as opposed to a machine splicing together recorded phonemes. This kind of immersive reading is the only use I have for audiobooks, I avoid them like the plague otherwise, so it's not going to break my bank to buy a couple to help improve my Italian comprehension.

[lkmiller]

Yeah, I don't listen to audiobooks on my Oasis, and I wouldn't on a Kobo unless I could have the ebook open at the same time. I wouldn't want "immersive reading" highlighting -- that would be horrible on an E-ink screen.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I don't understand the desire to control audiobooks from an e-ink device. The key feature of an e-ink reader is the screen. What do audiobooks gain from an e-ink screen?

The number of readers who own an e-ink device but don't own a phone, tablet or computer must be vanishingly small to non-existent.

This isn't a response to a reader's desire for audiobooks on an e-ink screen. It's a response to Kindle and maybe Kobo's desire to sell more books.

The key to all this stuff, and the biggest problem from a reader's point of view, is that e-ink readers aren't designed primarily for readers, they're designed to sell books. Anything the vendor can do to sell more books they'll do, readers be damned.

That's why I keep hoping, although I know better, that companies like Asus and Lenovo will get interested in making ereaders. I know I'm just dreaming but it's a nice dream and I refuse to let it go.

Barry