Hundreds of libraries in Canada and the United States recognize that people with vision orders or are completely blind need a way to consume audiobooks and ebooks. There is a company called Humanware, that have been making these types of products for a number of years and their most popular ones are the Victor Reader Stratus12 and the brand new Victor Reader Stream.
The Victor Reader Stratus12 M Daisy has been out for a number of years. It plays MP3 files and CD’s, many libraries carry this model because it has come down in price and can be purchased for $495 USD. It includes a 12-key number pad for direct navigation allowing to reach specific heading, page, folder, or file numbers. It also has speakers, so audio can be read aloud, without the need for headphones.
Victor Reader Stream is their most recent product and likely their best one. It is a digital music player and has compatibility with DAISY books, MP3, MP4, and even EPUB, which are read aloud with TTS. It has a SD card that is capable of an additional 32GB of storage. This device retails for $425 and the company stated it has a recording function, for voice notes. It can also read aloud podcasts, magazines and some newspapers.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
