Ohio-based Findaway is ready to launch a self-playing audio book. The first product of its type, the innovative Playaway is designed for those who feel uncomfortable navigating the chaos and complexity of competing audio players and download formats. It's also the first time that electronic media of any form has been sold complete with the player.
Designed in conjunction with IDEO, Playaway promises to be extremely user-friendly. In fact, all you have to do is insert a standard AAA battery at the base of the gadget, plug the earphones on the universal jack and press the Playaway button.
While listening to your book, you can put digital bookmarks, control the speed of a narrator's voice, and go forward or backward through the book. Because of its size, half the size of a deck of cards, the Playaway should be a handy portable device.
Despite the success of MP3 players, a lot of people actually do not like dealing with downloads and file transfers. The Playaway has the potential to take an immediate chunk of the audio book market as it offers the ability to go straight from the shelves to your ears without the need for downloading.
As such, the Playaway could be a runaway hit as it is the first product that brings audio books pre-loaded on a portable digital device. The downside is that you'll need to buy a new Playaway for every new book, unlike an iPod that can store around 100 books.
Findaway is expected to announce a list of publisher agreements soon as it readies Playaway for a Christmas season release.
BIOS, Jul 04, 05 | Print | Send | Comments (0)
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