Are you reading?

If you love MSN Direct, and if you have a thing for the in-car GPS, you are going to go wild for this next item! Alpine has just announced its newest, the PND-K3msn. This is the MSN-ified version of the PND-K3, sporting text-to-speech functionality, an SD slot, MP3 support, Bluetooth, 3D map view, highway junction view, and a slew of services from MSN Direct (including real-time traffic, weather, gas prices, and movie times). A three month subscription comes with the $299.95 purchase price, after which the service will run you $49.95 / year or $129.95 for a lifetime membership.

[Via CNet]

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The controversy surrounding the Kindle 2’s text to speech functionality continues unabated, and as we delve further into the legal back ‘n forth between Amazon and the Authors Guild, we wonder if we haven’t discovered the true identity of “Tom.” According to David Pogue, the New York Times journalist has received an email from a certain adult contemporary heartthrob named Tom Glynn, claiming to be the source of the mysterious voice. What do you guys think — would you pay $359 for this guy to read you a bed time story?

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By Andrew Liszewski

Besides the included OCR/TTS (text-to-speech) software and the company’s patented ‘SEE Technology’ which uses a curved lamp to reduce text distortion along the spine of a thick book, I don’t really see what sets this Plustek scanner apart from the cheaper versions you can find at most electronic stores. But I guess in this case the whole is greater than the sum of its parts because the Plustek V100 BookReader makes converting a page of text into an MP3 audio file as easy as clicking a single button.

The Plustek V100 can also do standard scanner stuff like converting a document into editable text or spitting out an email-friendly PDF file, but it’s the text-to-speech functionality that seems to be its real claim to fame. The V100’s price tag comes in at around $700, but since it doesn’t feature an auto page-turning mechanism, the real price is the amount of time you’ll have to spend manually flipping pages if you intend to convert an entire novel into an audiobook.

[ Plustek V100 BookReader ] VIA [ Cool Hunting ]

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It’s been a nice little while since we’ve seen any new navigators from Medion, but the outfit’s hitting back with its relatively forgettable GoPal P5430. The European PND sports a 5-inch touchscreen display, integrated TMC antenna, fingerprint sensor, text-to-speech functionality, an inbuilt FM transmitter and pre-installed NAVTEQ maps of Western and Eastern Europe. Like we said, forgettable — but you should know it’s priced at £175 ($269) just in case you’re tempted.

[Via NaviGadget]
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