Amazon buys text-to-speech software company Ivona

If you go buying a text-to-speech software maker, you’re not exactly going to stay quiet about it, right? Amazon this morning announced its acquisition of Ivona, the company behind the Kindle Fire’s Text-to-Speech, Voice Guide and Explore by Touch features. Ivona, currently carrying the tagline “an Amazon company” on its site, offers its technology in 44 voices in 17 languages. It also works closely with organizations for the blind and visually impaired. More information on the acquisition can be found after the break.

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Amazon.com Announces Acquisition of IVONA Software

Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that it has acquired leading text-to-speech technology company IVONA Software. IVONA delivers world-class technologies that power the “Text-to-Speech,” “Voice Guide” and “Explore by Touch” features on Kindle Fire tablets. Additionally, IVONA delivers text-to-speech products and services for thousands of developers, businesses and customers around the world.

“IVONA’s exceptional text-to-speech technology leads the industry in natural voice quality, accuracy and ease of use. IVONA is already instrumental in helping us deliver excellent accessibility features on Kindle Fire, including Text-to-Speech, Voice Guide and Explore by Touch,” said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “The IVONA team shares our passion for innovation and customer obsession, and we look forward to building great products to deliver world-class voice solutions to customers around the world.”

“For more than ten years, the IVONA team has been focused on creating innovative text-to-speech technologies,” said Lukasz Osowski, CEO and co-founder of IVONA. “We are all thrilled that Amazon is supporting our growth so that we can continue to innovate and deliver exceptional voice and language support for our customers.”

IVONA offers voice and language portfolios with 44 voices in 17 languages and more in development.

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Amazon Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite now available on Amazon.ca

Our friends in the Great White North can now purchase a couple Kindle digital readers that have been available in the US and for a long time. Amazon has announced that the Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite are now available for Canadians to purchase via Amazon.ca. Digital readers aren’t all that Amazon is offering (finally) to Canadian users.

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Amazon has also announced that Canadian customers can now access the Canada Kindle Store directly from their Kindle digital readers. Amazon says that the Canadian version of the Kindle Store offers a large selection of popular books, including most bestsellers from the Globe and Mail and Le Devoir bestsellers lists. The Canadian Kindle Store also offers books that were winners of the Giller prize and lots more content from Canadian publishers and authors.

Amazon says that its Canadian Kindle Store has over 1.5 million books including 250,000 that can be purchased anywhere else. 50,000 of those books are French-language titles. If somehow you have missed all the coverage of the Kindle Paperwhite, it is billed as the world’s most advanced E-reader by Amazon. The display has a pixel density of 212 ppi giving it 62% more pixels than the previous generation Kindle. The screen also promises 25% more contrast than the previous generation.

The Paperwhite also has a built-in backlight, which means you can read in the dark without having to have an external light source. One of the best features of the reader is that it has eight weeks of battery life even if you leave the backlight on all the time. The reader is also available with free 3G connectivity for downloading content and supports Wi-Fi. The digital reader with Wi-Fi and 3G will sell for C$199 with the Wi-Fi only version selling for C$139. The normal Kindle will sell for C$89.

[via Amazon.ca]


Amazon Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite now available on Amazon.ca is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Amazon’s new Kindles now available in Canada, Paperwhite starting at CAD $139

Amazon's new Kindles now available in Canada

Despite being our neighbors to the north, Canadians have had to sit patiently and wait for Amazon’s refreshed line of e-readers to make their way to retail — even the UK’s had access to the E Ink slates. Now, just over five months later, the Paperwhite and latest generation Kindle will finally be available for purchase on Amazon.ca and at select retailers. For CAD $199, customers can choose between the top-of-the-line 3G Paperwhite and the WiFi-only model for $139, or opt for the low-end with the $89 latest gen Kindle. Support for French-language (Bonjour, Quebec!) is also included in the hardware, as well as direct access to the Canadian Kindle store. So, if you’ve been holding out hope that Bezos’ latest e-reading trio would arrive in the Great White North, well, now’s the time to submit your orders.

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Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Now Available on Amazon.ca

Kindle Paperwhite, the most advanced e-reader ever constructed with higher resolution, 62% more pixels, 25% higher-contrast, patented built-in front light, 8 weeks of battery life and an even slimmer and sleeker design-only CAD$139

Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G-the top-of-the-line Kindle with free 3G wireless-only CAD$199

Latest generation Kindle-small, light and even faster-only CAD$89

Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite also available at over a thousand retail locations, including Staples, The Source and Shoppers Drug Mart

Canada Kindle Store on Amazon.ca offers the largest selection of the most popular books, including the most best sellers from the Globe and Mail and Le Devoir best seller lists, winners of the Giller prize, and over 50,000 French-language titles

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 23, 2013– (NASDAQ:AMZN)-Amazon.ca today announced that the new family of Kindle e-readers is now available to customers in Canada. The all-new top-of-the-line Kindle Paperwhite is the most advanced e-reader ever built with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast compared to the previous generation Kindle, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, up to 8 weeks of battery life, a thin and light design, and is available in both Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + 3G models. Never pay for or hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot with the free 3G wireless Kindle Paperwhite for just CAD$199 or choose Kindle Paperwhite with Wi-Fi for only CAD$139. The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle ever, with new, improved fonts and faster page turns at the low price of CAD$89. Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G support multiple languages, including French, and are available starting today at www.amazon.ca/kindlepaperwhite.

In addition, Canadian customers can now access the Canada Kindle Store directly from their Kindle. The Kindle Store offers the largest selection of the most popular books, including the most best sellers from the Globe and Mail and Le Devoir best seller lists, winners of the Giller prize, and a broad selection of works from leading Canadian publishers and authors, including Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro and Yann Martel. The Canada Kindle Store has over 1.5 million Kindle books, including over 250,000 exclusive books customers won’t find anywhere else, over 35,000 free books, and over 50,000 French-language titles. Visit www.amazon.ca/kindlebooks for more information. All Kindle books are “Buy Once, Read Everywhere”-customers can read their Kindle books on Kindle devices and on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android and Windows phones and Android tablets using the free Kindle apps.

“We’re excited to make the best-selling and most advanced e-readers in the world available to our Amazon.ca customers for the first time, making it easier and more affordable than ever for Canadian readers to own a Kindle,” said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “With a Kindle in their hands, Canadian customers can now directly access the Kindle Store with the largest selection of the books people want to read, including the largest selection of best sellers and over 250,000 titles that are exclusive to the Kindle Store.”

“E-readers have found their place in today’s digital lifestyle by providing users with a unique reading experience,” said Mark Shanahan, senior technology merchant at Staples Canada. “Our goal is to help people choose a device that’s right for them by offering a broad selection of popular e-readers like the Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite in one convenient place, making it easy for customers to see, touch, and try the product.”

Kindle Paperwhite-The World’s Most Advanced E-Reader

Most Advanced E-Reader Display, 62% More Pixels, 25% More Contrast

Kindle Paperwhite’s display is the most advanced e-reader display ever constructed. Featuring a 212 ppi display, Kindle Paperwhite has 62% more pixels than the previous generation Kindle, making text in books and periodicals crisp and clear at any size. Images are sharper, richer and show even more detail. Kindle Paperwhite’s screen has 25% higher contrast than the previous generation Kindle- the blacks are blacker, and the whites are whiter.

Innovative Built-In Light

Backlit LCD displays direct light up through the display into the user’s eyes. Kindle Paperwhite’s patented front-lit display guides light underneath an anti-glare layer and down toward the display, away from the reader’s eyes. This means a reader can read for hours with less eye fatigue and strain. The screen brightness is easily adjusted for reading in any light. The Paperwhite display provides an incredible experience in the dark and in direct sunlight.

Breakthrough Battery Life

Kindle Paperwhite’s built-in front light is designed to be used at all times-both in daylight and in a dark room-for the clearest, crispest reading experience. In order to use the light at all times, Kindle Paperwhite requires exceptional power management to maintain the battery life that customers love about Kindle. Amazon’s light guide technology precisely diffuses the light across the screen and only requires four LEDs to light the entire screen (unlike LCD screens which can use up to 50 LEDs). The light guide is so efficient that Kindle Paperwhite has a remarkable 8 weeks of battery life, even with the light on at all times.

Free 3G

Kindle’s free 3G connection means customers never have to hunt for or pay for a Wi-Fi hotspot-they simply download and read books anytime, anywhere. Amazon pays for the 3G connection on Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G, so customers pay no monthly fees and sign no annual contracts.

Built-In Wi-Fi

Kindle Paperwhite comes with built-in Wi-Fi, letting readers discover new content at home or on the road anywhere you can access Wi-Fi.

Books in 60 Seconds

Find a book and start reading in seconds with our fast, free wireless delivery. No computer required to download content.

New Touch Technology

Kindle Paperwhite’s new capacitive touch technology is uniquely integrated into the Paperwhite display, allowing for a thinner form factor for Kindle Paperwhite and even better touch accuracy.

Slim and Sleek Design

At just over a third of an inch thin and weighing 213 grams, Kindle Paperwhite is thinner than a magazine and weighs less than a typical paperback. The bezel height between the side of the device and the display itself is 77% thinner.

Hand-Tuned Fonts

Every font on Kindle Paperwhite is hand-tuned for maximum readability. The Amazon typography team worked at the pixel level to ensure consistency of stroke thickness and shape profiles across all individual glyphs, aligning each size to the specific grid of the new Paperwhite display. This allows for unprecedented sharpness of fonts. Kindle Paperwhite’s higher resolution display also allows for new elegant typeface options, such as Baskerville and Palatino, which use thin stems that would not render well on a lower resolution display.

“Buy Once, Read Everywhere”

With free reading apps, customers can read their Kindle books on a large number of devices and platforms, including any Kindle as well as on iPhone, iPad, Android devices, Mac, PC, or Windows Phone.

Whispersync

Amazon’s Whispersync technology synchronizes a customer’s last page read, bookmarks and annotations across all of their devices, so they can always pick up where they left off.

Time to Read

Time to Read is a new feature for Kindle Paperwhite that helps readers know the amount of time it will take them to finish a chapter or a book. This feature is smart-it personalizes the time for each customer based on their reading speed and is constantly updated as the reader’s speed and habits change. With Time to Read, it’s never been easier to decide when to start a new chapter or finish the chapter you’re reading.

Explore the “Bones of a Book” with X-Ray

With a single tap, readers can see all passages across a book that mention ideas, fictional characters, historical figures, places or topics that interest them, as well as more detailed descriptions from Wikipedia and Shelfari, Amazon’s community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers. Amazon built X-Ray using its expertise in language processing and machine learning, access to significant storage and computing resources with Amazon S3 and EC2, and a deep library of book and character information.

Features Built Just for Readers

Each Kindle offers a variety of font styles and sizes, so customers can easily customize their reading experience. Kindle Paperwhite also comes with built-in dictionaries for instant lookup of words, Real Page Numbers, support for bookmarks and annotations, and more.

Worry-Free Cloud Storage

Customers’ Kindle books are automatically backed up in the cloud, so they can re-download their books wirelessly for free.

Sharing

Customers can share highlighted sections, notes and meaningful quotes on Facebook and Twitter directly from Kindle without leaving the book.

Parental Controls

Parental Controls allow parents to restrict access to the Kindle Store, Cloud Archive and the Experimental Web Browser so they can give their Kindle to a child worry-free.

Top-Rated, World-Class Customer Service

Whenever customers shop on Amazon, buy a Kindle, or buy Kindle content, they know that they are also getting Amazon’s world-class customer service. Customers have been shopping on Amazon.ca for 11 years, and they continue to do so because of the unparalleled, end-to-end customer experience.

Beautiful Leather Covers with Auto Wake and Sleep

Covers for Kindle Paperwhite feature a premium textured leather exterior and a subtle woven nylon interior to provide the lightest and thinnest form of protection. The integrated magnetic clasp ensures the cover remains securely closed while in a backpack, purse, or briefcase. The cover automatically wakes Kindle Paperwhite upon opening and puts it to sleep when closed, making it easy to dive right back into the book.

Latest Generation Kindle-Small, Light and Now Even Faster-only CAD$89

The smallest, lightest and most affordable Kindle ever is even better, with new improved fonts, 15% faster page turns and a new, unbelievably low price: just CAD$89. In addition, the new Kindle now supports children’s books and comics, and includes new parental controls. Weighing just 170 grams, Kindle is small and light enough to fit easily in a pocket and take everywhere, and still features the same 6-inch electronic ink display that reads like real paper. At just CAD$89, the new Kindle is the perfect entry Kindle for young and adult readers alike.

Kindle Direct Publishing

Independent authors and publishers can make their books available in the Canada Kindle Store using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) at http://kdp.amazon.ca. Canadian independent authors and publishers can utilize the English- or French-language KDP website to make their books available in Canada and more than 175 countries worldwide. They can also price their books and receive payments in Canadian dollars, earn up to 70% royalties on each book sold, all while retaining control of their content and copyrights.

Thousands of authors in Canada are already using KDP to make their books available in Kindle stores around the world, including Montreal resident Matthew Mather, the best-selling KDP author of the Complete Atopia Chronicles.

“My experience self-publishing with KDP has been nothing short of amazing,” said Matthew Mather. “Within weeks of publishing, my book climbed to #1 on the science fiction best sellers list, and now I’ve sold tens of thousands of copies. I’ve just finished my second novel, “CyberStorm,” and look forward to the idea of writing for a living, something I hadn’t imagined possible just six months ago. The best part, though, has been the interaction with readers. I get emails from every corner of the world, contacting me to say how much they liked my work. This is an amazing feeling!”

Pricing & Availability

The Kindle family is available at Amazon.ca and at over 1,000 retail locations across Canada.

Kindle is available for CAD$89 at www.amazon.ca/kindle.

Kindle Paperwhite is available for CAD$139 at www.amazon.ca/kindlepaperwhite.

Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G is available for CAD$199 at www.amazon.ca/kindlepaperwhite3G.

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Source: Amazon.ca

Amazon Testing Book Rentals For Its Kindle Books

Kindle Amazon Testing Book Rentals For Its Kindle BooksI love Kindle. As a matter of fact, I’ve bought a number of books already and read most of them during weekends. But it looks like I’ll be reading more if Amazon decides to make this new feature you are about to hear official. You see, Amazon seems to be testing a new rental service, for Kindle books that is. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: GlassFloor Could Be Future Sports Floor, Google Thinking Of Ways To Replace Traditional Passwords With Portable Methods,

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: January 18, 2013

Welcome back to Friday folks. Earlier today, we saw what’s rumored to be the Samsung Galaxy S IV pop up in AnTuTu’s database, with the listing suggesting that it will come equipped with an Exynos 5 Octa CPU. The iPad Mini has been projected to both drive and cannibalize Apple’s sales in Q1 2013, and Kim Dotcom’s new site Mega launched today for advance users. Apple CEO Tim Cook, Intel CEO Paul Otellini, and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt have all been ordered by Judge Lucy Koh to submit to questioning after allegations that the three companies entered into a non-poaching pact together, and we learned today that Windows 8 upgrades will jump up to $119 come February.

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Facebook for Android took the jump up to version 2.1 today, and we were right there to go hands-on with it, while the first picture of the unannounced Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 surfaced. The chairman of the FCC wants gigabit Internet in all 50 states by 2015, and we got our first look at BlackBerry 10 voice commands today in a new leaked video. Opera has announced Opera Ice, a new browser for mobile devices, and today Amazon introduced the world to Kindle Rentals, which is obviously a new feature allowing users to rent eBooks for a pre-set period of time.

It seems that the Exynos security hole has been fixed in the Verizon Galaxy Note II, with a new update being sent out to users today. Bethesda revealed that all Skyrim DLC will be heading to the PlayStation 3 in February after months and months of waiting, and it seems that Google is working with Yubico for password USB rings. XBMC has come to Android and we tell you how to get it on your device of choice, and with the NHL lockout finally (finally!) over, NHL GameCenter has arrived on Xbox 360.

Dynamism today showed off its new KUPA Ultranote X15 Windows 8 Pro tablet today, while a new bill in the House wants stronger laws for video game ratings. AVADirect announced the world’s first quad NVIDIA Tesla system today, and Forbes named Google the best company to work for. Finally tonight, Chris Burns walks you through why Facebook not offering a “hide from search results” option isn’t anything to worry about. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you enjoy the rest of your night folks!


SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: January 18, 2013 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Amazon Kindle ebook rentals take the time out of reading

This week Amazon has unveiled Kindle book rentals in an extremely quiet fashion, opting to test it out with the public before doing any sort of press on the topic – but you can try it out right this minute if you wish. What you’re going to be doing here is renting a title for a certain amount of time, with the price going up based on how many months you’d like to keep it around. Thirty day increments appear at the moment to be the turn-over for how much you’ll be paying, 30, 60, 90, and 120 day periods being available for less than a dollar difference.

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If you’re paying for a digital book, you have the right to look at that book as much as you’d like – and in most cases, download it to a limited number of devices at any one time. Here with Amazon’s Kindle rentals, you’ll be doing the same – but instead of your limits stopping at the amount of devices you can download to, you’re limited to time. The price being significantly less for these limited amounts of time may just be the ticket to those of you out there that have steel trap memories and tight pocketbooks in the e-generation.

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If you have a peek at one of the very, very few titles available with rentals thus far by the name of Theories of International Politics and Zombies (courtesy of tipster Karen at Zats Not Funny, you’ll find that the Buy Price is (as it usually is) a little more than half of the price of the list price. The rent price, then, is less than half that cost – 80% off the original list price. Of course that’s the price to rent a digital copy for 30 days instead of owning the original print book forever, but the price difference is extremely important to the author in the end.

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Is this the future of literature? Will we be working with Spotify services for books before too long where authors are compensated for each read? Maybe that’s better for the author than the print process – who can tell? One way or the other, you’re going to be able to rent books with your Kindle tablet or Kindle-capable mobile device immediately if not soon – have a peek and see if you can find any titles with the ability!

[via Engadget]


Amazon Kindle ebook rentals take the time out of reading is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Amazon quietly introduces Kindle rentals for US readers, bases prices on duration (updated)

Amazon quietly introduces Kindle rentals for US readers, bases prices on duration

Think you can finish a 168-page novel in a month? It might pay to opt for Amazon’s new Kindle rental feature, now available on an incredibly limited number of titles. A few options published by Princeton University Press appear to represent the site’s introductory offering. The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking isn’t exactly a bestseller — we weren’t able to locate any eligible books from that list — but it’s a popular enough title, with a current rank of 1,432 (if the rental option takes off, that position’s likely to change). You can buy it outright for $9.99, or you can instead opt for a 30-day rental. Prices there start at $5.50, increasing by pennies each day until you reach the buy price (in this case, that’ll happen at the end of June).

This new rental option certainly seems appealing, unless you’re the type who slowly makes your way through a text over the course of a year. The feature appears to be open to any US-based Kindle owners, though you’ll need to do quite a bit of digging before you locate any titles with the rental option affixed. In fact, if you wouldn’t mind, do us a favor and share your findings in the comments section after the break — we have quite a few bookworms on staff who wouldn’t mind saving a buck or two.

Update: It’s likely that the book rentals currently available have been internally categorized as textbooks, which is prompting such an offer to appear. We’ve reached out to Amazon and are awaiting confirmation.

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Via: Zatz Not Funny

Source: Amazon

11 Apps to Put Your Musical Taste Back on the Right Track

Most people probably remember having a song, album, or band change our lives. It’s a fairly common experience, even for those unfortunate beings who don’t live and breathe music. It’s a good thing to have happen to you (unless you’ve become too obsessed). More »

Emailing Jeff Bezos Every Time You Read a Book on Kindle Is the Best Art Project

Everyone wants you to share. Share the music you listen to, the movies you watch, the articles you read, the books you read. So Johannes Osterhoff is sharing, just with the guy in charge. More »

Kindle Touch updated with new UI, Whipersync for Voice and comic book navigation

Kindle Touch updated with new UI, Whipersync for voice and comic book navigation

Still have an old Kindle Touch sitting around? You have some new features to play with. Despite replacing it with a brighter son, Amazon is still updating its original touch sensitive e-reader — outfitting it with a new UI, enhanced parental controls and Whispersync for Voice, which shares bookmarks between audio and text versions of the same digital tome. Amazon’s improved the Kindle Touch shopping experience too, adding recommended content offers to users and remembering where they left off in a sample after they purchase the full text. Finally, the company injected the Kindle Touch with better comic and graphic novel navigation — allowing readers to view their funnybooks panel by panel, rather than by the full page alone. The update will be delivered wirelessly, though users that fancy their USB cable can install the new features the old fashioned way. Check out Amazon’s “what’s new with Kindle Touch” page for a run down of the update’s features.

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Via: Verge

Source: Amazon