Claims
- 1. An Ebook, comprising:
a memory device for storing files, the files including text and music; a text-to-speech (TTS) module for synthesizing speech corresponding to the text; a music module for playing back the music; and at least one speaker for outputting the speech and the music.
- 2. The Ebook of claim 1, further comprising a display for displaying the text.
- 3. The Ebook of claim 1, wherein said TTS module has a capability of switching between any one of a plurality of voices in synthesizing the speech, based on at least one of a random basis, user-specified selections, and parameters of a current one of the files.
- 4. The Ebook of claim 1, wherein said TTS module has a capability of controlling a speed of at least one of the speech and the music, based on at least one of a random basis, user-specified selections, and parameters of a current one of the files.
- 5. The Ebook of claim 4, wherein the speed of the speech and the speed of the music are controlled independent of one another.
- 6. The Ebook of claim 1, further comprising a processor for controlling a volume of the speech and a volume of the music independent of one another.
- 7. The Ebook of claim 1, further comprising a mixer for mixing the speech and the music.
- 8. The Ebook of claim 7, wherein parameters of the speech and the music are controlled prior to the speech and the music being mixed by said mixer.
- 9. The Ebook of claim 8, wherein the parameters of the speech and the music comprise at least one of a speed of the speech, a speed of the music, a volume of the speech, and a volume of the music.
- 10. The Ebook of claim 1, wherein the music corresponds to the Motion Pictures Experts Group Level 3 (MP3) standard.
- 11. A method for using an Ebook, comprising the steps of:
storing at least one file in the Ebook, the at least one file including text and music; synthesizing speech corresponding to the text; playing back the music; and outputting the speech and the music.
- 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of displaying the text.
- 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of switching between any one of a plurality of voices in synthesizing the speech, based on at least one of a random basis, user-specified selections, and parameters of a current one of the files.
- 14. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of controlling a speed of at least one of the speech and the music, based on at least one of a random basis, user-specified selections, and parameters of a current one of the files.
- 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the speed of the speech and the speed of the music are controlled independent of one another.
- 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of controlling a volume of the speech and the volume of the music independent of one another.
- 17. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of mixing the speech and the music.
- 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of controlling parameters of the speech and the music prior to said mixing step.
- 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the parameters of the speech and the music comprise at least one of a speed of the speech, a speed of the music, a volume of the speech, and a volume of the music.
- 20. The method of claim 11, wherein the music corresponds to the Motion Pictures Experts Group Level 3 (MP3) standard.
- 21. A hand-held device, comprising:
a memory device for storing files, the files including text and music; a text-to-speech (TTS) module for synthesizing speech corresponding to the text; a music module for playing back the music; and at least one speaker for outputting the speech and the music.
- 22. The hand-held device of claim 21, wherein said TTS module has a capability of switching between any one of a plurality of voices in synthesizing the speech, based on at least one of a random basis, user-specified selections, and parameters of a current one of the files.
- 23. The hand-held device of claim 21, wherein said TTS module has a capability of controlling a speed of a t least one of the speech and the music, based on at least one of a random basis, user-specified selections, and parameters of a current one of the files.
- 24. The hand-held device of claim 23, wherein the speed of the speech and the speed of the music are controlled independent of one another.
- 25. The hand-held device of claim 21, further comprising a mixer for mixing the speech and the music.
- 26. The hand-held device of claim 25, wherein parameters of the speech and the music are controlled prior to the speech and the music being mixed by said mixer.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to the applications, Attorney Docket Numbers IU000025, IU010084, and IU010085, respectively entitled “Talking Ebook”, “Text-To-Speech (TTS) for Hand-Held Devices”, and “Voice Command and Voice Recognition for Hand-Held Devices”, which are commonly assigned and concurrently filed herewith, and the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.