How to master speed reading: 5 free apps and services

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-13 00:26

Read faster with these desktop and mobile tools.

When we read, we spend a lot of time and effort in eye movements. The gaze is directed from word to word and from line to line - in this way, the meaning of the text is gradually formed in the mind.

Spritz decided to speed up this process by removing unnecessary steps from it. Its eponymous technology allows you to read without moving your eyes. Spritz alternately displays the words of the selected text on a small fragment of the screen: in place of the first word, the second, third, and so on appear. The user only needs to look at one point in order to follow the change of words.

For convenience, the technology highlights the points of optimal recognition in color. This is how the Spritz developers call the letter fragment from which the brain begins to determine the meaning of the word. The user can pause or rewind the text. In addition, the technology allows you to customize the speed of word rotation.

The services listed below are based on this particular technology, thanks to which they can increase your reading speed several times. You just need to get used to the new way of perceiving the text. Start at a moderate pace and work your way up gradually.

Spritzlet

• Platforms: browsers.
• What you can read: Web page texts.

Spritzlet is a bookmarklet that can be added to any browser. It is enough to go to the project site and drag the Spritzlet button to the bookmarks bar. After that, you will be able to read texts from web pages in a special window.

To start the reader, you just need to open any article on the Internet and click on the added button. If you want to read only a certain piece of text, select it and click on the Spritzlet button.

The old reader

• Platforms: web.
• What you can read: RSS.

The web version of this popular RSS reader also supports Spritz, allowing users to view news feeds in speed reading mode. To activate this mode, you need to go to the settings on The Old Reader website and check the Enable Spritz for speedy reading option. To launch Spritz while viewing publications, just press the I key.

Boba

• Platforms: iOS.
• What you can read: Web page texts.

This program allows you to quickly read articles in Safari. After installing Boba, you need to click on the "Share" button in the browser, then "More" and activate the Speed Reed extension. As a result, you can turn on the speed reading mode on any web page: the required Speed Reed icon will appear right in the Share menu.

Application not found

The following programs from the list do not use Spritz technology, but in their own way implement the same principle of alternating words on the screen (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation).

Reedy. Intelligent reader

• Platforms: Android, Chrome.
• What can be read: FB2, ePUB, TXT, any inserted text.

The Android version of Reedy is a book reader with a built-in browser and speed reading features, and the Reedy Chrome extension helps you read selected snippets of text on web pages faster. Just like in Spritz, you can choose the speed of word rotation, pause and rewind text. Moreover, in Reedy, you can customize the display of text, and the ability to change the background deserves special attention.

The Android version is free, but it shows ads. The Chrome version is completely free.

Flash Reader

• Platforms: iOS.
• What you can read: ePub, PDF, TXT, RTF, DOC, DOCX, AZW, ODT, MOBI, web page texts.

Flash Reader users can quickly read web pages using the built-in browser, as well as books in many different formats. The program allows you to choose the color schemes of the interface and switch between night and day modes. You can change the font and size of the text and even the number of words displayed on the screen. There are rewind and speed control functions.

Flash Reader is free to read. But to open books in the program, the size of which exceeds 1 MB, you need to pay 149 rubles.