Amazon Kindle discussion
what features do you use?
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Ann
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Aug 30, 2010 05:20AM
I have an original kindle, and was wondering, is it worth it to upgrade? I don't see many people commenting about the text to speech feature, I was thinking, I can listen to the audio, on my walk to the train station, and read for the rest of my commute. I prefer the printed word to the audio, but would like to listen also.
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Thanks for the input Candy, I've been hoarding Amazon gift cards, think I'll take you're advice. A friend used to have a talking caller I.D. and it would pronounce names in that robotic voice, it was pretty funny.
Hi Ann-The first Kindle I bought was the K2, which I love. I have used the text-to-speech feature occasionally, however, for me, it tends to be a little hard to understand. Like Candy says, It's one of those computerized voices which tends sound a bit ... well ... mechanical! The phrasing can be a little peculiar. I'm not sure if they've improved that on the K3--it's always a possibility. Amazon's always changing things for the better. One thing that's nice: you can hook earbuds into it and listen to your books while in public.
Hope that helps!
Andrew E. Kaufman/author suspense thrillers
www.andrewekaufman.com
I find the text-to-speech pretty useless. I might listen to an actual audio book, but I don't find having a robot read books to me that appealing. You can put an audio book on your Kindle as an MP3 file and listen to it that way; that's probably a better route than the text-to-speech feature.I use the dictionary more than I expected to -- apparently there are plenty of words that I have a general idea what they mean, but it's nice to get a precise definition!
The web browser is very slow and primitive. Once in a while I'll look something up in Wikipedia, but it takes forever and totally disrupts the reading experience for me.
I have a K2 and I love it! I have used the text-to-speech feature but it takes some getting used to. I find that I get distracted easier than if I was reading it myself.I have used the internet for basic stuff such as googling to get an address or the weather when I am on vacation camping without a computer.
I do not use it for MP3s. I do love the ability to make collections to organize all my downloaded books.
The text-to-speech feature is a real plus for the visually handicapped. I have several blind friends who used it all the time. The blind community has been very upset with some publishers' decision to suppress that feature, arguing I suppose that it cuts into audiobook sales. I would hate to see that feature disappear even though I never use it.
I love how you can add MP3s on my K2. I normally listen to music in the background when I read. Music that fits with what I'm reading. Its very easy to load and surprisingly loud. However I don’t like how they only play in the order your input them on your kindle. Maybe the K3 works different. Still the MP3 feature is great.
I love having my whole Audible library available as well as my Amazon library. I love the highlighting feature and note taking feature (much easier to use than on K1). Also dictionary look up so much faster so I use it more often. The screen is amazingly better than K1 as well.It was well worth the upgrade for me.
I actually enjoy the text to speech feature, especially when driving!
I have a K1 and a KDXG so far (awaiting K3 delivery). I love the collections feature, although if you have a LOT of books, it's a pain to set up at first.
