Visually challenged people require braille books in order to read. However, not many books are available in braille due to cost and inefficiency. Translating a 500 page book into braille nearly doubles the thickness. EAP is a technology that can dynamically change the surface pattern by way of an electromagnetic signal – simulating braille text. Not exactly a new idea but a nice executive nonetheless.
Designers: Seon-Keun Park, Byung-Min Woo, Sun-Hye Woo & Jin-Sun Park
Just got my Kindle 2 today. I had seen a Kindle 1, but did not own one.
Overall? I am thrilled! I had already purchased some free and cheap books (all of Mark Twain, all of Arthur Conan Doyle) as well as some “specialty” books (travel guide to Scotland) and a few bestsellers. I opened my box, plugged in the cord, and there they were! Easy to read, navigate, etc. Out of the box, it is elegant.
I am a Mac person, for the past 19 years. The Kindle 2 seems very “Maclike” to me–very well-designed. Very intuitive. A pleasure to handle and use.
Then I tried the “unusual.”
I e-mailed a large .pdf file (a textbook instructors manual) to my kindle address. It arrived on the Kindle, correctly formatted! I was stunned!
After reading some websites, I added music. I put copies of a rainforest sound into the music folder for a sound machine when I travel. Worked perfectly.
Then I put copies of podcasts into the audible folder–some short, but also some longer lectures. They sound perfect.
Finally, I added some other mp3 files to the documents folder. When in that folder, you can choose which song you want to hear. It also keeps them from creeping into the audible folder (which I need to keep “pure” for my pseudo-sound machine). They sound great.
Text-to-speech is not as good as the ones I have purchased (at a much greater price than an actual book) But certainly good enough for the occasional listen as I find myself in the car.
I am still working on getting the web access to work well . . . it is adequate, but I can’t seem to reach either yahoo or gmail. But these are not deal breakers.
I am a very heavy reader. The Kindle 2 will make it easy for me to read without spending a fortune. It will make travel MUCH more pleasant! I am very, very pleased with this purchase.