A few weeks ago I wrote about using the audio version of The Economist and other audio resources to keep up with the latest news and information.
I’ve learned a few new things since then on the same topic:
(1) Audible.com has a great Android app that allows you to increase the narrator speed up to 3x normal, and the voice quality is so good that your brain quickly adapts. This means you can tear through books and magazines much more quickly.
(2) Another Android app called “Maple” lets you play MP3 audio books, also with a faster narrator speed if you like. I try to download The Economist audio version each week, and play back at ~2x. Between the faster speed and skipping things that don’t interest me I can get through the whole Economist most weeks, while I drive.
(3) I haven’t tested this yet, but the Kindle Keyboard 3G has a text-to-voice feature that uses a computerized voice to read aloud to you. It also has an adjustable narrator speed. This could be useful if there is a book or periodical you want to read that is not available in an audio format. I am especially interested in finding out if this works with the Harvard Business Review, one of my other staples.