Voice Dream Reader, has two main functions: to turn text into speech and to assist writers with proofreading their texts. For readers that struggle with dyslexia, vision challenges, or simply those that comprehend better auditorily, Voice Dream Reader can read any text aloud in 30 languages and 186 voices. Words are auto-highlighted on the screen to improve comprehension and retention. The user can change the reading speed, highlight or take notes, and change the font size, color, or spacing. To assist writers with proofreading their texts, Voice Dream Reader can help writers find the right words through phonetic and meaning searches (“enuf” brings up the word “enough” and “giant water mammal” brings up “whale”). It automatically creates an outline to help writers structure their documents—reordering sections is as easy as dragging and dropping. And proofreading is as easy as listening. Writers hear their work read aloud and can more easily spot grammar errors, typos, and awkward wording.

Website: http://www.voicedream.com/

What Users Love About the App

“I will type up my notes and save them as a pdf file. Then transfer the file into voice dream. This application does really well with medical terminology, which I was surprised with”

“I work in research, and with many professors. I have to read A LOT of other people’s papers. Like many people I work with, I get “reading fatigue,” where I might go insane if I have to sit and try to slog through five more pages and try to also take notes and then also incorporate what I read into my own writing. Enter this app, which I first bought so I could have a book read to me as I fall asleep. While it works great for that initial purpose, given the built-in timer and adjustable voice speeds, I quickly found that this app also immediately boosts me past the point of “reading fatigue” while working.”

“The standard out of the box voice (Heather) is the most human-like I’ve ever heard. Also, the “pronunciation dictionary” feature is amazing – allows you to change how the voices pronounce certain words if you don’t like the default pronunciation. This is great for the few instances where there’s a word or acronym or name that occurs frequently in a text (reoccurring newsletter or book) that I want Voice Dream to say it differently from the default.”

“I have always struggled keeping up with my reading in grad school. All of my time was devoted to just keeping up with assignments, not writing or exploring my own related interests. A prominent reason was getting bogged down in the details of texts. Listening through a first time has helped me focus on the big picture of arguments and identify arguments most important for my interests.”

“I absolutely love this app! It is far and away the best reader on the market. I work full-time, commute many hours, take care of my kids in a household, and started a second masters degree program last year. Voice Dream Reader makes graduate school possible for me.”

What Users Dislike About the App

“This application struggles with numbers and abbreviations. I have adapted to not using abbreviations in my notes or I will use the replace function in Microsoft Word to find and replace any abbreviations. For numbers, you are better off spelling them out.”

“When switching into the app to a reading that has been paused, it frequently jumps to a random point in the text on the screen. If I hit play, it resumes playing at the point where I left off and a quick 2-finger tap will take me back so the right part of the text shows on the screen, but it’s annoying to have to do this when I am regularly switching between Voice Dream and another app I use to take notes on the books I read (Microsoft Word, in case that helps catch the bug!).”