International (MNN) — Audio Scripture Ministries in partnership with MegaVoice is making available tiny digital devices that can hold up to 160 hours of recorded Scripture.
The Ambassador player is small enough to carry in a pocket and can have extra memory added to it. Depending on what the specific device will be used for, a recording of the JESUS film or the God Story will also be included with the Scripture. If needed, the device can fit 4-5 complete New Testaments.
For groups of 10-20, the Ambassador has a speaker port to enable larger groups to listen. Earphones make the device especially important though. Tom Dudenhofer explains, "Doing something like this out in the open could be risky to the individual, and this way the person who's listening to God's word on the Ambassador player could just have this earpiece in their ear. The player itself could be tucked away in their pocket. Because playback devices like this are so popular around the world, hardly anybody would give it a second thought."
Dudenhofer says there is just one downfall. All material must be collected and arranged
so that locations of Scripture can be indexed. This takes ASM a bit of time to do.
However, the unit is very cost-effective. The battery is rechargeable, but not replaceable. There is a small solar panel on the back of the Ambassador which allows it to be used for up to 10,000 hours.
Right now, Dudenhofer says ASM is translating "over 70 African languages. We're also assisting in processing languages all over the world for which there's already a backlog of requests, trying to break them down in the proper files so they can be used in digital players."
