[Blindtlk] Fwd: Victor Reader Stream is Now AudibleReady

[David Andrews]

>
>VICTOR READER STREAM DAISY, MP3 AND NISO PLAYER IS NOW AUDIBLE READY
>
>Portable MP3 Player Specifically Designed for the Blind and Visually 
>Impaired now Compatible with Audible.com
>
>Longueuil(Canada), November 15, 2007
>
>Victor Reader Stream, the pocket-sized portable MP3 player designed 
>for blind and low-vision people now has the capability to play the 
>popular Audible.com books. In addition to the variety of audio 
>formats (MP3, DAISY, and NISO books and music) supported by Victor 
>Reader Stream, the Audible format will provide a huge additional 
>choice of content to the users. Audible is the leading provider of 
>spoken audio on the internet, providing over 140,000 hours of 
>digital audio editions of books, newspapers and magazines.
>
>The Stream has extensive navigation features for moving through 
>audio books and text files, including functions that allow you to 
>move to the next chapter, section or page, or to set bookmarks.  For 
>Audible books, the user will be able to navigate from one Audible 
>heading to the next, move by increments of one-, five-, or 
>ten-minute time jumps, and move with an accelerated fast forward 
>feature that announces the amount of time lapsed. Blind and 
>low-vision people who listen to talking books on a regular basis 
>often prefer to speed up the playback. For all audio book formats 
>that Stream plays, including Audible, variable speed control with 
>digital pitch correction allows the reader to accurately listen at 
>higher than normal playback speed.
>
>The player is completely accessible by blind and low-vision users. 
>All keys and messages are provided through audio feedback. The 
>player has a built-in User Guide and a Key Describer mode to remind 
>the user of keypad functions. It comes with integrated 
>text-to-speech voice, allowing it to play text-only files and 
>announce the track names of music files. It uses an SD memory card 
>to store books and music transferred from a computer.
>
>"We are very happy to bring the advanced navigation features of 
>Stream to the Audible listener experience", says Gerry Chevalier, 
>HumanWare Victor Reader Product Manager. "I know of no other 
>Audible-ready player that offers accessibility, variable speed 
>playback, and advanced navigation, all in one package."
>
>"We are very much aware of the value and popularity of Audible books 
>for  the blind and visually impaired", says Will Lopes, Vice 
>President for Business Development at Audible. "We are pleased to 
>work with HumanWare to bring the benefits of the accessible Victor 
>Reader Stream player to Audible listeners".
>
>Victor Reader Stream can be purchased online at www.humanware.com 
>(in USA). Current Victor Reader Stream users will need to upgrade 
>their player to software version 1.1 in order to play Audible books. 
>The latest version 1.1 software upgrade is also available online at 
>www.humanware.com.
>
>About HumanWare
>HumanWare (www.humanware.com) is the global leader in assistive 
>technologies for the print disabled. HumanWare provides products to 
>people who are blind and have low vision and students with learning 
>disabilities. HumanWare offers a collection of innovative products 
>including BrailleNote, the leading productivity device for the blind 
>in education, business and for personal use; the Victor Reader 
>product line, the world's leading digital audiobook players, and 
>SmartView Xtend, the first fully modular and upgradeable CCTV-based 
>video magnifier.
>
>
>For further information:
>
>HumanWare Canada
>Nicolas Lagace
>tel.: (450) 463-1717
>email: nicolas.lagace at humanware.com