Bookshare Reader 3.7.0 and Darwin Reader 1.22: Two Android Apps Provide Access to Books
By Meddaugh, J.J.; Access World, Volume 13, Number 3Publication Date: March 2012
Product review assesses the usability of two reader applications for the Android smartphones. (1) The Bookshare Reader 3.7.0 is a free eBook reading app that has accessibility features on top of the mainstream book reading program FBReader. All of its functions are accessed from the phone’s menu key. In the menu item Network Library resides the option to download Bookshare titles, which can be searched by title, author, or ISBN. The reviewer found this process straightforward, with several messages being spoken. Navigation limitations found include having to select Speak from the menu to start reading the downloaded book and navigation options being limited to Next and Previous Sentence. (2) Darwin Reader is a low cost DAISY book reading app which has a 30 day trial available. The app offers two reading modes: eyes-free for readers preferring a speech centered output, and graphical mode for those who have learning disabilities such as dyslexia. The reviewer found page navigation simple to do in the eyes-free mode, which uses swipe gestures with the finger across the screen in various ways. The graphical mode includes options for text display including color, spacing, and font size. Other advantages include the ability to set and recall bookmarks and a sleep timer to set the reader to automatically stop. Recommendations for the improvement of the Darwin Reader are offered, including the addition of support for other file formats besides DAISY.
Published by: AFB Press (Website:http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=46)
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) (Web Site: http://www.afb.org )
Link to text: http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw130305
