Ipad can read any page aloud – has authors on alert.

Apple has announced that the computers will be able to read aloud “the contents of any page.” That means that with its VoiceOver technology, the iPad can read – albeit in one of Apple’s computerized voices – all e-books, according to new details released about the device Friday. That is bound to upset many who worry it could eat into sales of audio books.

When Amazon tried to do the same with its Kindle 2 e-book reader, the Author’s Guild, a writers’ advocacy group, questioned whether that amounted to copyright violation.  The Kindle’s text-to-speech function “presents a significant challenge to the publishing industry. Audiobooks surpassed $1 billion in sales in 2007; e-book sales are just a small fraction of that,” the guild said in a memo to members. “Until this issue is worked out, Amazon may be undermining your audio market as it exploits your e-books.”  CS Monitor

Technorati Tags: ipad free audio books