NextUp Releases New Version of TextAloud

NextUp.com, a text-to-speech technology provider, has released TextAloud 3, which features some improvements on the PC software that reads a variety of media out loud to users.

According to NextUp.com, TextAloud 3 can turn most text files—such as Web sites, articles, email, textbooks, and Powerpoint presentations—into a spoken audio, and the new version offers more document types. TextAloud 3 also uses file formats that are often used on mobile devices like thes iPod, iPhone, and MP3 players, so users can listen to text files on the go.

“The release of TextAloud 3 means that TextAloud is now easier and more streamlined than ever, and that it can continue to be a resource for those seeking an alternative to reading visually.  Thanks to TextAloud, users will have even more options for listening to articles, eBooks, or documents,even allowing them to work with several at once,” says Rick Ellis, president of NextUp.com. 

This updated version of TextAloud also features enhanced hotkeys that will allow users to exert more control over specific options and default voices, spell check, and a pronunciation dictionary that can be customized for technological terms.

Other improvements to version 3 of TextAloud:

 

• enhanced highlighting, which the company hopes will make it easier for users to follow along visually while listening;
• language-specific editor entries with random round-robin voice selections;
• improved pronunciation editing and word filtering;
• extended drag-and-drop support;
• updated plug-ins for Internet Explorer and various Microsoft programs, including Word, Outlook Express, etc.; and
• more options for tasks like inserting tags and automatic pauses. Popular tasks such as file splitting and writing to audio files have now been improved and rebuilt as well.

“The software even includes exciting new options for writers who use TextAloud, giving them several creative options for handling or listening to individual characters in their writing,” Ellis says.

Users who want to proofread by ear also have improved options. They can open a second proofreading window that allows them to proofread step by step and move back and forward through the text as needed. Preferences for proofreading can also be saved as profiles.

“For TextAloud 3, NextUp.com implemented user-requested features such as enhanced proofreading options, multiple dictionary support, smoother scrolling, and more, to ensure that users were getting what they needed from the software,” Ellis states. “It remains an easy, creative, and cost-effective solution for taking your reading anywhere you go, for listening by ear.” 

NextUp.com also offers TextAloud with voices from Nuance RealSpeak, AT&T Natural Voices, Acapela, and Cepstral. It is also availabe in a variety of languages and accents.