The Pocket Reading app will look more so robotic now – TechCrunch



[ad_1]

Last year, Mozilla made its first acquisition by grabbing Pocket, the competitor of Instapaper, which allows you to keep longer articles for later reading. Today, this popular reading app is getting a major update that gives its app a visual makeover, including a new dark mode and, more importantly, a better way to listen to the content you're having. have saved.

Poached added a text-to-speech feature several years ago so you could listen to an audio version of your saved articles instead of reading them. Instapaper now offers a similar option.

But these speech synthesis engines often sound robotic and change, leading to a bad listening experience. They will work hastily if you really need to read a bit, and can not sit down to do it. But this is certainly not the ideal.

Today, Pocket solves this problem by launching a new listening feature that will allow a more humane voice. On iOS and Android, the listening feature will be optimized by Amazon Polly, says Mozilla.

Introduced for the first time at the re: Invent developer event in the Amazon in November 2016, Polly uses machine learning technologies to deliver a more realistic speech. Polly also understands the words in their context. For example, he knows that the word "live" would be pronounced differently depending on its use. (For example, "I live in Seattle" or "Live from New York.") Technology has since evolved to support speech brands, a timbre effect, and dynamic range compression, among others.

To take advantage of the "Listen" feature update, just tap the new icon located in the upper left corner of the Pocket mobile app to start reading their articles. It's like your own custom podcast, Mozilla notes.

In addition, the application has been redesigned to give it a neater, less cluttered appearance, and introduces a new dark and sepia-themed scale-of-application, for those who want an experience different reading.

The redesign includes updated typography and fonts, also aimed at making longer readings more comfortable.

"At Mozilla, we love the Web. Sometimes we want to surf, and the Firefox team has been working on ways to surf like an absolute champion with features like Firefox Advance, "said Mark Mayo, director of Firefox products, in a release about the launch. "Sometimes, though, we want to sit down and read or listen to some good pages. That's where Pocket shines and the new Pocket makes it even easier to use the best of the Web when you're on the road, in your own concentrated and uncluttered space, "he said.

The updated version of Pocket is available live on the web, on iOS and Android.

[ad_2]
Source link