This page contains lots of information about BookCourier in the form of
questions. Many of these questions are from real people who emailed us wanting
to learn more about the product.
What it is and isn't
- Can I scan books with BookCourier?
- Does BookCourier perform OCR?
- Does BookCourier record speech?
- Does BookCourier have a radio?
- Can I synchronize the calendar in BookCourier with a product like Outlook on my PC?
What can I play with it?
- What file formats does BookCourier support?
- Does BookCourier support files from Audible.com?
- Does BookCourier support DAISY files?
- What about eBook files?
- Does BookCourier read text from books?
- What kind of audio files does BookCourier support?
- Can I read email with BookCourier?
- Can I read Web pages on BookCourier?
- Where can I get books to listen to on BookCourier?
How does it work?
- Can I read through the BookCourier User Guide before I buy the product?
- How do I save the BookCourier User Guide document on my PC?
- How do I load files into BookCourier?
- Can I load more than one book into BookCourier at a time?
- How many books can I store on BookCourier?
- Can I organize the books in BookCourier?
- Can I save my place in the book I'm reading with BookCourier?
- Can I fast forward a file on BookCourier?
- Can I set bookmarks in a file?
- Can I navigate by line in a file?
- Can I navigate by character?
- I'm learning disabled and it's important for me to be able to reread passages in a book or
to read them slowly. Does BookCourier do this?
- What kind of files are the voice recordings?
- Can you name the voice recording files?
- I want to read books in MP3 format. Will I be able to stop the MP3 file and restart it in the same position? Or will I have to listen from the
beginning?
- Can you adjust the reading speed for MP3 files as well as text files?
- Does BookCourier have Help?
Hardware Questions
- How is BookCourier powered?
- How long will BookCourier run on a set of AA batteries?
- Can I use rechargeable batteries in BookCourier?
- Does BookCourier alert me when the batteries run low?
- How does the battery life indicator work?
- Can I plug BookCourier into a wall outlet?
- Does BookCourier have a speaker?
- How big is BookCourier?
- Is the unit heavy?
- What type of speech does BookCourier use?
- Can I download my favorite speech synthesizer into BookCourier?
- All text-to-speech synthesizers make mistakes. How does BookCourier handle this?
- Is the BookCourier keypad similar to a telephone keypad?
- Does BookCourier lose its memory when the unit is
idle?
- Can I control the volume on BookCourier?
- What accessories do I need?
- I have a CompactFlash® card reader. Can I create my own flash cards for use on BookCourier?
- Do you recommend a particular memory card?
- Can I purchase BookCourier with a memory card that has more then
256 MB?
- Does BookCourier work with Windows 98?
- How will you upgrade the software in BookCourier?
- What is your upgrade policy?
Other Questions
- I've heard about a product called Book Port. Is it the same as BookCourier?
- Does BookCourier support Road Runner?
- Is Springer Design, Inc. related to Companion Devices Inc., the producers of Road Runner?
- Does BookCourier speak other languages besides English?
- How much does BookCourier cost?
- Does BookCourier come with a warranty?
- Is there a BookCourier User Group I can join?
No. You can scan documents using a scanner and then send the resulting text
files to BookCourier. BookCourier itself does not scan documents. BookCourier simply
reads electronic files.
No. BookCourier is a text-to-speech player. You load text files into BookCourier and
then it reads them to you.
Yes. You can create to-do lists and personal notes on the fly and store them on
BookCourier.
No, but we've had several requests for a built-in AM/FM
radio in BookCourier. We're looking into it for a future release.
No. BookCourier is primarily a reading device, not a PDA.
BookCourier does allow you to take audio notes, set alarms, and tell the date
and time, but it doesn't support the kind of calendar or phone book you’d find
in products like Outlook.
BookCourier supports digital audio files such as music MP3 files, DAISY 2.02
(audio only), and Audible.com
files (type 4 only). BookCourier also supports several text-based files
including generic text files (TXT), Bookshare.org DAISY 3 text files (BKS), Grade 2
Braille files (BRF), and files from the Talking Newspaper Association of the
United Kingdom (TNAUK's DOC).
Many file formats can be converted to text. So, don't worry if you
have other file types you want to listen to. Many programs (including Web browsers) offer
a feature that will convert a file to text format.
Yes. You can download Audible files already stored on
your PC into BookCourier. Once you get those files onto BookCourier, you can navigate through them using
the Audible-defined sections or by time increments (5 seconds, 1 minute, 5
minutes, and 10 minutes). You can fast forward and reverse through the files and
set bookmarks. And because these files are large, you can transfer all or just
part of an Audible file into BookCourier, depending on how much space you have.
A 256 MB memory card will store about 16 hours worth of Audible files.
BookCourier supports only type 4 Audible files. The type 4 files are encrypted MP3 files
and, therefore, tend to be large. While we would like to support the other file types
as well (types 1 through 3), all these files use proprietary compression routines to make the files smaller.
The companies who own these routines require royalty payments for their use and decryption. Consequently,
BookCourier support for these files types would require a much greater development effort as well as a higher cost
to the customer.
As a bonus, new BookCourier users are eligible for one free month when they
sign up with Audible.com. Visit Audible.com to find out more about their huge
selection of spoken word audiobooks.
Yes. BookCourier supports DAISY 2.02 audio files that you can get from
organizations like the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB at www.cnib.org),
the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB at www.rnib.org)
in the UK, and the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D) in the
United States. RFB&D produces digitally recorded books in an encrypted DAISY
2.02 format. Although BookCourier does not currently support
the encrypted files from RFB&D, we are in discussions with RFB&D. For more information about RFB&D, please
visit their web site at www.rfbd.org.
BookCourier also supports DAISY 3 text files that you can download from
Bookshare.org,
a non-profit Internet organization that allows people with documented vision and
learning disabilities to download all kinds of books (from the classics to
today's bestsellers) for just the price of a membership. Learn more about this
service by visiting www.Bookshare.org. As
a BookCourier user, you are also eligible for a discount on a new Bookshare.org
subscription.
No. But this support is on the enhancement list.
BookCourier is not a scanning device and does not read a
book directly. You must either scan the book yourself to create a text file or
you must acquire an electronic version of the book in text format. Once you
have a file in the format we support, you can use the BookCourier Transfer Tool
to move the file from your PC to the BookCourier device.
BookCourier supports MP3 audio files, DAISY 2.02 audio files, and type 4 Audible files.
Yes. Simply save you email to an ASCII text file and then download that file to BookCourier.
Yes. Load the desired Web page into your browser and then save the page in ASCII
text format.
The Internet is a terrific resource for all kinds of materials, from classic literature
to arcane medical journals. In particular, BookCourier supports files from
Audible.com and
Bookshare.org. Both organizations also offer new BookCourier
owners a special discount on membership. You can also use a scanner and OCR program to read hard copy
documents and generate text files that you can in turn send to BookCourier for listening. For
example, the Kurzweil 1000 system from Kurzweil Educational Systems can download
files directly to BookCourier from within its application. You can also access
periodicals through services such as the NFB Newsline (available through
Bookshare.org) and the Talking Newspaper Association of the United Kingdom
(TNAUK). TNAUK also offers its members a discount on a new BookCourier purchase.
With the introduction of BookCourier's support for DAISY 2.02 audio files, you
can also get files from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (www.cnib.org)
and the Royal National Institute of the Blind (www.rnib.org)
in the UK.
Yes! Click here to view the user guide right now.
There are at least two ways to do this. You can load the document into your web browser and then do a
"Save as..." to a folder on your PC or you can right click on the link even before you load the HTML
file into your browser and choose to save the file on your PC. Click here
to access the user guide right now.
The only way to load files into BookCourier is to use the BookCourier Transfer Tool
software. This software runs on a PC with Microsoft Windows ME, 2000, and XP.
First you connect BookCourier to a USB port on your PC using the supplied cable. Then, in the
Transfer Tool, you select the files you want to send to BookCourier and press the
Transfer button. Disconnect BookCourier from your PC and you're off and running.
Yes. In fact, we encourage you to load multiple books or files into BookCourier to get
the most use out of the unit.
The number of books you can store on BookCourier depends on the size of the CompactFlash®
card you are using. BookCourier is shipped with a 256 MB card, but you can purchase cards
with up to 4 gigabytes of space. Most works of fiction are well under
1 megabyte. For example, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is 161 kilobytes and Pride
and Prejudice by Jane Austen is 714 kilobytes.
Yes. When you select the books or files you want to send using the BookCourier Transfer
Tool software, you can also group them into folders similar to folders on your PC. Once
you transfer the files to BookCourier, you can navigate from one folder to the next and
then play any file within the folder.
Yes. BookCourier automatically saves your place when you stop playing a file. When you
restart play, BookCourier begins reading where you left off. You can also set a bookmark
anywhere in a file and then jump to that bookmark when you like.
Yes. BookCourier has a fast forward and fast reverse feature similar to an audio or video
cassette player. BookCourier also lets you jump through a file by word, sentence, paragraph,
and, in some cases, by page. You can also jump to the beginning of a file.
Absolutely. You can set an almost unlimited number of bookmarks in each file,
including Audible digital audio files. You cannot
set bookmarks in MP3 files, however.
No. You can navigate by word, sentence, paragraph, and, in
some files, by page.
No. You can navigate by word, sentence, paragraph, and, in
some files, by page. You can also spell individual words, which is similar to
navigating by character.
Yes, but only in text-based files that use BookCourier's text-to-speech
engine. You cannot change the playback speed of digital audio files such as MP3,
DAISY 2.02, or Audible.
BookCourier saves the voice recordings as WAV files.
No. BookCourier names these files with a date/timestamp.
Yes. BookCourier maintains your current reading position in
an MP3 file so you can pause the file in the middle and then restart it where
you left off.
Currently, you can change the reading speed for
text files only. We're planning a future enhancement that will allow you to
change the speed for MP3 files as well.
Yes. BookCourier is delivered with a Talking User Guide already loaded in memory.
This document is also available as a text file and as a Word2000 document on the supplied CD. BookCourier also
has Talking Help for each key on the keypad.
BookCourier uses two AA batteries.
When you're listening to a text-based file, BookCourier will run for at least 40 hours of continuous play and maybe as long as 60
hours on a set of AA batteries.
Yes, but for the most reliable performance, we recommend that
you use non-rechargeable alkaline batteries like the ones shipped with
BookCourier. You can also run BookCourier on rechargeable batteries such as Ni Cad and Lithium Ion.
However, there are a number of caveats. First, BookCourier cannot accurately
evaluate the level of rechargeable batteries. As a result, when you request
battery level information for rechargeable batteries, BookCourier will say
"Unknown." Second, depending on the type of rechargeable battery you
use and how often you recharge them, you may find that the battery life for a
set of rechargeable batteries is shorter than it is for regular AA alkaline batteries.
Finally, BookCourier
can display very unpredictable behavior when rechargeable batteries run low or die.
Yes. BookCourier will make an announcement when the batteries are running low. You
can also ask BookCourier how much battery life is left at any time.
Battery life depends on how you use BookCourier. The battery life indicator tells
you how much energy your batteries have left, expressed
as a percentage. So, if BookCourier tells you the battery life is at 80%, that means you've
used up about 20% of the batteries' available energy. BookCourier measures the battery life
as an average, meaning that at the time you request the battery life, BookCourier analyzes
your current activity and calculates the remaining battery life based on the assumption that
you will continue performing the current activity. So, when the unit is paused, the battery
life percentage will be higher than when the unit is playing an MP3 file (a particularly
energy-intensive activity). As a result, you can get widely varying battery life percentages
just within the space of a few minutes. For instance, the battery life might be 40% while you're
playing an MP3 file and then 80% a second later when you pause the unit.
Note: BookCourier cannot accurately evaluate the level of rechargeable
batteries. As a result, when you request battery level information for
rechargeable batteries, BookCourier will say "Unknown."
No. BookCourier uses batteries as its only power source.
No. BookCourier is shipped with a set of earphones you use to hear the files
being played. You can also use your favorite headphones or any external speaker you might use with a
portable CD player or a cassette tape player.
BookCourier is slightly bigger than a cassette tape. The dimensions are
2.75" x 4.9" x 1" (W x H x D).
No. BookCourier weighs six ounces with the batteries loaded.
BookCourier uses DoubleTalk, a state-of-the-art speech synthesizer from RC
Systems.
No. BookCourier uses DoubleTalk from RC Systems as its
speech synthesizer. You won't be able to download and use another product for
this purpose. Check out the speech sample on our web site.
Like most screen readers that you hook up to your PC, BookCourier offers a word spell
feature. If you run across a word you can't understand, you simply stop BookCourier, back
up to the word you don't understand, and press a key to spell the word.
Yes. The BookCourier keypad resembles the telephone
keypad, with 12 keys arranged in four rows of three. These keys have numeric
and symbolic names that are identical to the keys on a telephone. So, the keys
in the top row are called 1, 2, and 3. The keys in the second row are called 4,
5, and 6. The keys in the third row are called 7, 8, and 9. And the keys in the
fourth row are called star, 0, and pound. In addition to the basic 12 keys,
BookCourier has a fifth row of three keys across the bottom. This row of keys
is slightly separated from the rest and uses symbolic names: diamond, plus, and
question mark.
No. BookCourier uses non-volatile memory, meaning that the data doesn't go away even
if the unit is idle for a while or you remove the batteries.
Yes. BookCourier has thirty-six different volume settings. BookCourier also allows you to
change the reading speed, the type of voice used, the pitch of the voice, and many other
settings.
Everything you need is shipped with BookCourier: two AA batteries, stereo earphones, a USB cable to connect BookCourier to your PC, the
transfer software to move files from your PC to BookCourier, and even a
pocket clip.
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. BookCourier requires
that all files use a proprietary format. So, the BookCourier Transfer Tool
takes files on your PC and converts them into this format before sending the
files to the CompactFlash® card in BookCourier. By the same token, you won't be
able to take a CompactFlash® card out of BookCourier, put it in your card
reader, and copy files directly back to your PC.
No. BookCourier supports type 1 CompactFlash® cards. As long as you purchase
a memory card matching that description, you should be fine.
Unfortunately, no. BookCourier is shipped with a 256 MB memory card. If you want more memory,
you must purchase another card. Springer Design, Inc. does not sell memory cards
No. BookCourier's transfer
software will work with Microsoft Windows ME, 2000, and XP. You'll also need a
USB port on your PC.
BookCourier enhancements and upgrades are available
online through the Download
page on our website.
To date, all our software upgrades have been available free of charge to
BookCourier users. To find out about the latest release, go the
Support page.
No. Book Port is a different product manufactured by Springer Design,
Inc. for American Printing House
for the Blind (APH). For more information about Book Port, you can visit the
APH website.
Although BookCourier and Road Runner are similar products, you can't download
files to Road Runner using the BookCourier Transfer Tool or vice versa. If
you're familiar with the Road Runner product, you shouldn't have any difficulty
learning BookCourier. Like Road Runner, BookCourier reads text files (as well as
other file formats) and allows you to create a file hierarchy on the unit. You
pick the books you want to read from your PC or the Internet and then use the
Transfer Tool to download those files into folders that you create on
BookCourier using the transfer software.
Springer Design, Inc. designed, developed, and supported Road Runner and Road Runner Talking Bible for
Ostrich Software. When Ostrich Software went out of business, Springer Design, Inc. continued the
natural development of Road Runner and came up with BookCourier. So, you might say that BookCourier is the
next generation of Road Runner. However, Springer Design, Inc. is not affiliated with the existing
Road Runner product or Companion Devices, Inc.
No. Currently BookCourier can speak only English language texts.
The retail price is $379.00
Yes. There is a one year warranty. You can read the entire text of the warranty in the
BookCourier User Guide.
Yes. The BookCourier User Group a great forum for asking questions about how
the product works (or doesn't work). Group members also share tips and tricks
for operating BookCourier. You don't need to be a customer to join. To sign up,
send a blank email to bookcourier-request@freelists.org
with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.