The computerized voice of the Kindle has been widely praised for getting away from the robotic diction we usually associate with electronics and sounding almost like a human being.

However, like most humans, Kindle struggles to pronounce foreign-sounding names -- a flaw that was exposed Wednesday when the latest version of the device pronounced "Barack Obama" as "Black Alabama."

Yesterday, a spokesman for Kindle reported they had updated a correct pronunciation, and an executive at the company that makes Kindle's voice software explained that forgetting to add the name of arguably the world's most famous person to its dictionary was simply an oversight.