Small Thinking Book Industry Challenging Kindle 2

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/121556

 It was hardly the most interesting or earth-shaking part of Jeff Bezos's introduction of the Kindle 2 on Monday, but one small, experimental feature in the device is already causing a minor uproar. Specifically: The Kindle 2's text-to-speech function, which will use a computerized voice to read aloud anything displayed on the device's screen. The problem? The Authors Guild says that that's against the law.

The challenge revolves around audiobooks, which are treated separately from printed material from a copyright standpoint. A retailer can't record a copy of a book on a CD and sell it or bundle it along with a novel without paying a separate fee, just as buying a copy of an audiobook doesn't entitle you to a free copy of the printed version.

Amazon -- and many legal observers -- vehemently question this stance, noting that an automated text-to-speech system isn't the same as a pre-recorded audio book. Some have even compared computerized speech systems like these to reading a children's storybook aloud at bedtime. Since the Kindle doesn't store a copy of the book on the device in an audio format, but rather converts from text on the fly, it seems likely that Amazon is on the right side of the law on this one.

I, as a publisher and author, applaud this new technology on the Kindle 2.  The reason is that it will be a boon for the visually impaired and open up a whole new market for digital content.  The print-to-voice technology will allow those that otherwise would have no use for digital content to access it and enjoy it.

I've seen first hand how this sort of technology can reall help those with severe vision problems...particularly people who develop vision impairments later in life.  It gives them back so much of their freedom and the flexibility they enjoyed before. 

I don't see the Kindle being used to "replace" audio books.  Audiobooks fill a completely different niche in the marketplace.  The Kindle 2 would simply be 'reading' the text for the reader, not dramatizing it or including other audio elements that enhance audiobooks.  People aren't going to buy Kindle books as a substitute for audiobooks.  And frankly, so what if they do?  They are still buying the book...something they may not have done at all otherwise!  In fact, if publishers are smart, they will include the digital format of the audiobook with the Kindle ebook in bundles.  After all, why have to go through the production cost of publishing physical cassettes when you have something that lets you distribute them digitally?

The thing is, anyone that invests in a Kindle is a serious book reader.  They WANT to buy books!  Why, as a publisher, would I not jump on an opportunity to make it easier for people to buy my books?