Amazon Pulls Back On Text-To-Speech Dispute

Extending an olive branch, Amazon has announced that they will allow publishers to decide if the Kindle 2′s text-to-speech feature will be available for their titles.

When the Kindle 2 feature – which allows readers to have the book read to them in a GPS-like voice – was announced, the American Publishers Association and others criticized Amazon for potentially violating authors’ audiobook rights.

Amazon fought back at first, pointing out that a computerized voice could never replace the talent of authors and voice actors who provide the voice for audiobooks.

With any luck, authors and publishers will realize that the feature might be an important one for Kindle users. I have not tried the function yet on my own Kindle 2, but I was never one to listen to audiobooks to begin with. Can any Kindle 2 users comment on how this might affect them? Will you purposely avoid Kindle books that do not include the text-to-speech option?