Infovox Enhances Its Talking Companion App

Infovox has released a new version of its all-in-one local and portable talking companion application, providing seamless access to written information no matter where the user is. A software license includes both a portable USB solution and three local installations, which follow users as they work on different PCs.

Infovox4 uses Acapela speech synthesis to convert any written text into speech in real time. Acapela offers improved intelligibility at high reading speed using its new Colibri voices collection. With the new Colibri voices, users can also modify the pitch of the spoken output.

Users also have access to all 62 voices in all 26 languages included in the license. The choice between languages provides access to information in foreign languages as well as language learning.

Other features include several applications that can be launched from the infovox4 LaunchPad application. The NVDA screen reader helps the user accessing computers when no other screen readers are pre-installed. The Speech Creator enables creation of MP3 files for personal use, from any text file. The Pronunciation Editor allows management of lexicons and exceptions, to fine tune and customize the way names and exceptions are pronounced. The Download Manager allows users to add and remove voices locally. The Voice Manager allows users to create new voices with particular settings. The Configuration Wizard guides users step by step through installation and configuration of infovox4 on the computer. An on/off switch for verbose mode expands acronyms, abbreviations, and related information.