Download from AppStore
Free
Genres:
  • Utilities
  • Productivity
  • News
  • Education
App profile

Subscribe to our newsletter:

Follow us on Flipboard
Flipboard

Speech Central app review: transform your digital reading experience-2020

Reviews

Introduction

Ever since I was introduced to podcasts and audiobooks, my whole life has changed. I find that I can learn while I’m on the go, and that I can learn in different ways when I’m listening as opposed to reading or watching. I simply cannot get enough.

The best iPhone apps for book lovers

Audio has become my preferred method of consuming media and learning new things as I go about my day. Ordinary tasks like housework and commuting have suddenly become a beautiful respite from the daily stresses of the world especially with a speech reader. 

The downside, of course, is that I find that I have less time to read all the articles I want to read from sites I love and there is an ever-growing list of articles I have saved that I never got around to reading. Speech Central: Web Text to Speech is the next game-changer that is already helping me turn around that problem. This voice reading app uses Apple’s VoiceOver technology to read out text to you from a variety of sources of your choosing.

Simple user-friendly interface of this speech reader and list of features covering all possible demands to any text to speech tool gave this text to speech app consistent ratings above 4 stars and made it one of the leading global text-to-speech brands. This text to voice app was nominated for the best iOS accessible app in 2017 on AppleVis, the leading authority in the field of accessibility on Apple devices.

Speech Central: Voice Reader

Free

Import Articles with Ease

The app allows users to import any kind of text file, whether it’s an article from the web, an RSS feed, one of many text files, and even emails. I opened up my poor neglected bookmarks that have been adding up for months, as this is the problem I wanted to address first.

Best iphone and ipad apps

I generally come across great articles all the time be it through social media or otherwise. I press the share button at the bottom and add them to bookmarks or other reading apps. Speech Central can be added to the share list, and articles can be added directly into the app. Handy!

Furthermore, the app also allows importing text files from Microsoft Word (.docx), Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx), OpenOffice/LibreOffice (.odt, .odp), .html, and .txt. Furthermore, it also supports ebook formats such as .epub, DAISY and .fb2 and emails in .eml format. Note that these formats only work if the document doesn’t have a DRM.

I also enjoyed the option of importing news feeds that I love, so headlines are read out to me as I go about my morning. 

Highly customizable experience

When you add an article to the app, you can choose one of three options: "Speak Now", "Add to articles" for later use, or "Add to Headlines."

I chose “Speak Now” to give it a whirl and lo and behold – we are in business! It first estimated the time it will take to read out the entire article, told me the duration, and then proceeded to automatically read it out in the robotic voice. The app turns the article into a plain text format, where the lines which are being recited are highlighted. The user interface is highly customizable, where you cna make changes to the theme, font size and type, and much more.

The VoiceOver can also be changed, and instead of using the default “shuffle voices,” I choose the Samantha voice, whom I find quite soothing; almost human. On the article interface, you can choose the speed of the reading too.

I got it to speak slower at 0.8x so that I could properly consume the information. But if you’re getting through a giant fiction novel or otherwise don’t need such a slow pace, you can also speed it up to 1.2x, 1.5x, or 2.0x. The option is also there to skip to the next or previous article.

With so many options to customize the user experience, it took a little time to set up initially with a bit of trial and error, but after ten minutes, I was all set up and thoroughly enjoying my experience.

Speech Central: Voice Reader

Free

Boost Productivity and Learning

So what are the advantages of having such an app on hand and having all your text-based media read out to you? Let me count the ways... I saved a ton of time as I caught up on things while driving, on the bus, walking, doing chores, and at the gym.

Sometimes I edit books and it can be quite a task to stay focused. Having the app read to me while I edit was also a blessing as I was forced to pay attention. Another bonus? The estimated time also helped me determine how long the editing will take me, which motivated me to stay on track.

Often while reading articles, I will learn a new word with an elegant meaning, and want to use it later that day in conversation. I used the word “intransigence” with a friend today and totally impressed her.  

Accessibility

The developers have carried out tests to ensure that it is accessible with VoiceOver by users who are legally blind. Those with visual impairments and other disabilities such as dyslexia will be able to use this app as an assistive technology. A dyslexia-friendly font type is included in the app.

The app is free to download and use, with no ads. It only has a daily limit on the number of articles you can add and read per day. An in-app purchase of Speech Central Pro is available for $4.99, giving users the ability to add unlimited articles and news feeds.

Speech Central text to speech app requires iOS 11.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV. It will take only 52 MB on your device to download and install. The Speech Central text to voice app can be used with any of 27 languages that have text-to-speech support on iOS with automatic language detection from the content.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Import articles, documents, and website feeds with ease
  • Highly customizable listening and viewing experience
  • Save time by pairing "reading" with other activities
  • Free for a limited number of articles per day
  • Easily accessible for people with visual impairments and disabilities

Cons

  • Takes a little getting used to, but worth getting to know.

Transform Your Digital Reading Experience

Speech Central: Web Text to Speech is a game-changer, and is slowly transforming my life as I consume all the wonderful information I’ve been pinning away and meaning to get to later. But, it’s so much more than that – it’s a versatile app that can be used in a number of ways thanks to its feature-laden, highly-customizable platform. Take the time to set it up the right way, suited to your needs, and it can probably do wonders for you too.

Speech Central: Voice Reader

Free
Share this article: