Dolphin EasyReader

Category

Description of App

Dolphin EasyReader is a free reading app that enables people who are blind, visually impaired (VI) or dyslexic to read text and audio books in ways that suit their vision and preferred reading style.

EasyReader offers convenient access to your favourite accessible book libraries and talking newspaper stands, in one place.

Neurodivergent readers – especially readers who have dyslexia – can customise their reading experience with dyslexia-friendly fonts, adjustable colour schemes and word highlights that synchronise with audio.

Designed for accessibility, EasyReader enables blind and partially sighted readers to read with magnified text, with audio, or a combination of both - where each word is highlighted on screen as it’s read aloud. It also links to braille displays for braille readers.

EasyReader is fully optimized for use with iOS VoiceOver and iOS supported Braille displays.

EasyReader Features:

Open a World of Accessible Books

EasyReader provides global access to millions of books from accessible book libraries around the world. Log in to your favourite library to read accessible versions of classic books, the latest bestsellers, non-fiction, school textbooks and children’s storybooks.

Customise to Read Your Way

Text magnification in EasyReader is easy to adjust. Simply pinch in and out on the screen to find the text size that’s best for you. With EasyReader the text is always sharp and visible on screen. It’s an exceptional experience for readers with visual impairments.

Read in fonts that work best for you, including dyslexia-friendly fonts. In EasyReader you can customise the colour of text, background colour and contrast. Adjust letter and line spacing to make your reading experience even better.

Audio Books & Text-to-Audio

Listen to narrated audio books or listen to text-only books and newspapers, which EasyReader converts to human-sounding synthesised speech. Audio perfectly synchronises with on-screen text highlights, so you can read along as you listen.

In EasyReader, you can modify pronunciation, choose the reading voices you prefer and adjust reading speed and volume.

Read a Range of Formats

EasyReader reads a wide range of book and document formats, including:

• HTML

• Text files

• DAISY 2 and DAISY 3

• Microsoft Word (DOCX only)

• PDFs (with RNIB Bookshare)

• Any text copied to clipboard

Easy to Navigate

Access your favourite libraries, then browse and download books easily, with intuitive navigation and accessible controls.

In EasyReader you can move around books quickly. Skip forward or back when reading and skip to any page or chapter.

Type keywords in the search facility to quickly find the information you need.

Add Bookmarks & Notes

To help navigate books, readers can bookmark favourite pages and sections. To help with study or reference, readers can also add text notes.

Libraries & Talking Newspaper Services in EasyReader

Global:

• Project Gutenberg

• Bookshare

UK:

• Calibre Audio

• RNIB Bookshare

• RNIB Newsagent

• RNIB Reading Services

USA & Canada:

• Bookshare

• NFB Newsline

• CELA

Sweden:

• Legimus

• MTM Taltidningar

• Inläsningstjänst AB

Europe:

• DZDN

• Eole

• Anderslezen

• ATZ

• Bookshare Ireland

• Buchknacker

• CBB

• DZB Lesen

• KDD

• Libro Parlato

• Luetus

• NBH Hamburg

• NCBI Overdrive

• NKL

• NLB

• Nota

• Oogvereniging

• Passend Lezen

• Pratsam Demo

• SBS

• UICI

• Vereniging Onbeperkt Lezen

Rest of World:

• LKF

• Vision Australia

• Blind Low Vision NZ

Please note:

Membership is required for most accessible libraries. It’s easy to set these up on the library websites. To help, we have listed all of these in the EasyReader app.

You can apply for membership with your diagnosis of a print impairment - which includes dyslexia and other neurodiverse conditions, vision impairments and other physical disabilities.

Version

3.07

Free or Paid

Free

Apple Watch Support

No

Device(s) App Was Tested On

iPhone

iOS Version

15.6

Accessibility Comments

you can choose to read with VoiceOver or any other voices already on your device, and you can buy more for use specifically within the EasyReader app. This app was designed with VoiceOver and large print in mind so it is completely accessible.

VoiceOver Performance

VoiceOver reads all page elements.

Button Labeling

All buttons are clearly labeled.

Usability

The app is fully accessible with VoiceOver and is easy to navigate and use.

Developer's Twitter Username

@yourdolphin

Recommendations

8 people have recommended this app

Most recently recommended by Portland Chris 6 months 3 weeks ago

Options

Comments

By Rafal on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

I find the app nice but navigating around it is not that intuitive. I definitely prefer voicedream reader and also in this way I benefit from my library books. Another disadvantage is that when I was without internet connection, I couldn’t read the copied book. Also navigation on screen lock is impossible. Hope the above will be fixed somehow.

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

In reply to by Rafal

We're aware of the lock screen limitations and these are scheduled to be fixed in a coming app update. Adding your own books (a feature sometimes known as side-loading) is also planned for an update - we agree that this is an important feature that's currently missing. The other issue you mention with reading the 'copied book' without internet connection isn't something we can replicate. Can you let me have some steps to replicate so we can investigate further? Thanks again.

By Abdel on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

Can you added french libraries?

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

In reply to by Abdel

Hi Abdel - We're hoping to include direct access to AVH. Would this work for you? Do you have another library service in mind? Many thanks Hazel

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

In reply to by Abdel

We're working with lots of these libraries already and have several in a queue. Really it's about us prioritizing based on our readers' requests and the libraries' popularity!

By Trenton Matthews on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

Greetings,
Quoting from with in the above description:
"login. Books that are protected by DRM (including those purchased via Kindle and iBooks) are not compatible with EasyReader.."
Will NLS "not" be coming along for the adventure?

Thanks for any clarification.

Hi Trenton - Good question! So at the moment NLS BARD is not supported. Next week we will release another product in the US in partnership with Irie-AT. GuideReader Pod includes support for downloading and reading NLS BARD books and you can read more or watch a short video at https://yourdolphin.com/guidereader-pod . I am not suggesting this is an alternative product for you, as GuideReader Pod is designed for visually impaired people that are looking for a really simple reading solution. But we are already developing solutions that support the NLS BARD library, we're familiar with their API and have a good working relationship with their team. Do you think adding NLS BARD support to the EasyReader app would be a popular addition?

By Trenton Matthews on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

Hi Hazel,

I myself would not mind having the alternative option of NLS in your app there, just for the sake of having it around, especially when it Easyreader comes to Android in the future, particularly since NLS on Android does not support braille yet.

By Afrim on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

Hello Hazel,
Thank you sincerely for creating an amazing application which I think is still under further development. I have a suggestion; when reading books with an available voice on iOS rather than using Voiceover, can you give us the opportunity to change the speed so that it doesn't move only by 10 percent? On iOS, if you want to change the slider, besides changing it via roter, you can double tap on the slider field and it will move down by 1 percent. I couldn't make it on Easy Reader. If you could make this feature available on your application, it would be highly appreciated. Also, would it be possible to load or copy books from other Cloud storage services such as Dropbox? It would really help since not all the books we want can be found or downloaded from the libraries you have included in the app. If this feature could be implemented, the app would be far more useful for a wider audience.
Cheers and good luck!

By Jean M on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

Quite disappointed with the inability to read downloaded books without a connection. I had downloaded some CELA titles to read on an airplane. With Airplane mode turned on, I could not read books even though I had downloaded them to my device. It seemed to be wanting a log on to the Dolphin account.

By Kelly Sapergia on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

What information do you need to log into the CELA Library? Nothing I've tried works in Easy Reader, but I can log into the library on my computer just fine.

By Jean M on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

In reply to by Kelly Sapergia

Kelly. For your user ID, type in CELA in all caps, then an underscore, and then your bar code number. Example: CELA_123456

By Kelly Sapergia on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

Thanks Jean, that did the trick. I knew the bar code would be needed, but didn't know about the first bit.

Hi Afrim - thanks for the positive feedback. As you say, at the moment the voice rate slider (in the voice settings) only goes up/down in increments of 10%. It was designed like this for more efficient speed changes but I can definitely log a suggestion to decrease this. Your other suggestion about loading content from Dropbox and other cloud storage locations is already on the development schedule - we totally agree - this would be a great addition and would instantly broaden the audience. Thanks again for the feedback. Hazel

Hi Jean. Thanks for the feedback. Did you log out of your Dolphin Account before switching to Airplane mode? If you did, it would then ask you to log back in. We have done some test runs here at Dolphin and if you are logged into your Dolphin Account and then switch to airplane mode, the books on your device are still available. Could you give it a try and let me know how you get on? Thanks Hazel

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

Hi All - We have made an update to EasyReader available via the normal iOS methods. We'd encourage everyone to update, but it includes a number of important fixes for CELA users. Plus there is now an Italian edition of EasyReader! The 1.2 update includes:

* Enabled streaming from CELA Library
* Fixed an issue for returning books to DAISY Online Delivery Protocol servers
* Fix an issue for images in some DAISY books
* Italian translation is now available
Thanks Hazel

Hazel, thank you. I tried it again just now by turning Air Plane mode on, and it worked as it should. If I had logged out before, it was unintentional. My error. Just curious: what is the intent of having to be logged in to a Dolphin account to read content saved to the device?

Hi Jean. Good news - glad it is working now. The benefits of the Dolphin Account have yet to be felt, but the plan is that the Dolphin Account will sync your libraries, books, settings and newspaper subscriptions across multiple devices - iphone, ipad, Windows laptop or Android device (the Android app is due late Summer). So at the moment there is no immediate benefit, but there will be! You can read more here: https://yourdolphin.com/dolphin-account . Hope this helps. Thanks. Hazel

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 - 16:02

Hi All - just a quick note to share the good news. EasyReader for iOS is now being used in 73 countries from around the world! Our geography is improving by the day! ;-)
Hazel

By Vsevolod Popov on Saturday, August 5, 2017 - 16:02

Hello. I have a question. Will be russian library with lkf books added to the app? Thanx.

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Saturday, August 5, 2017 - 16:02

Hi Seva - Good news! The work to add access to the LKF(Russian) library is almost complete and should it pass testing, it will be included in the next app update - EasyReader 1.3. Hope this helps.

By Scott Davert on Saturday, August 5, 2017 - 16:02

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

I have to ask, though I suspect the answer is no. Will this app ever include Eloquence as a possible TTS option? I'm glad to see Dolphin getting in to the iOS app development game!

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Saturday, August 5, 2017 - 16:02

In reply to by Scott Davert

Hi Scott, It's not something that has been requested by anyone else and isn't on our plans. Do you think this would be a popular option? Thanks. Hazel

By Sean Randall on Saturday, August 5, 2017 - 16:02

In reply to by Hazel @ Dolphin

Hazel,

I'd pay double the price for any of the voices to have Eloquence in the iPhone app. It's used so widely in other screen readers, and even of course usable with Supernova on Windows, that not having it to read for pleasure or study on iOS is a major turn-off for many. I think the reason you've had no requests is people have been wanting it for so long and nobody's managed it that folks have just given up hoping.

but yes I think it would be popular.

By Scott Davert on Saturday, August 5, 2017 - 16:02

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Hi Hazel.
I agree with the above poster about this. I know that it has been looked in to by the developer of Voice Dream Reader, but he never went forward with it for some reason. I, too, would pay a premium for this TTS. As someone with a major hearing impairment on top of blindness, it's the only TTS I can understand well. Likely because it's what I grew up with. However, many people use it on Windows with their screen readers. While not the most human sounding TTS, some people prefer that. You can read faster with it, and because it's such a small TTS, you can speed it up without using a lot of system resources.

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Saturday, August 5, 2017 - 16:02

Hi All, We've been in touch with Nuance and there is no iOS or Android version of Eloquence, and they have no plans to develop one. So it looks like it's a non starter. Sorry! :-( Hazel

By AnonyMouse on Saturday, August 5, 2017 - 16:02

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Hello Hazel @ Dolphin,

I tried sending you fine folks with some questions but I never heard back so I'll just post this right here as some people may have the same questions.

1. The app requires that I create an account. May I ask the reason behind this of why we need to create an account? What is stored in regards of our personal information etc. with this account?

2. The credentials that I need to use to log in to various services such as like Bookshare for example. Are they stored or ever pass through your server? Are they stored in my account that I created with you?

3. I noticed that we can by some Vocalizer Expressive voices. How are these voices any different than the voices we have our iPhone? Like Samantha, Tom, Ava etc. Are your Vocalizer Expressive voices 2.0?

Lastly, this is more of just wanted to let you know. Did you know that in some of the areas there are some unlabeled buttons? Especially, in the areas of the Services we can choose to sign in. If you need help in locating them. Please, let me know!

By Kelly @ Dolphin on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 - 16:02

In reply to by AnonyMouse

Sorry we missed this one, AnonyMouse. In answer to your questions:

1) The only personal information we store when you create an account is your email address. The reason we created the app to require a Dolphin account is because we will introduce syncing across different devices in future releases, which will require a record of use. We will never share your email address externally with 3rd parties.

2) All external credentials like library logins are stored purely on your device. They do not pass through or get stored on our server. We have recently fixed a bug around logins - people were having to login to their library account every week, which isn't ideal. Now it has been fixed, login is required once only, or again after 6 months without use.

3) The voices available on iPhone are the same as those in the product. At the time of development we weren't aware that Apple had the facility to provide these voices, and we wanted to make sure that EasyReader users had access to a range of listenable voices if they wanted them. EasyReader is, as you're aware, a free app and Dolphin doesn't see it as a revenue maker in anyway; our intention was not to push people into buying duplicate voices. We'll make this clear in our online EasyReader help going forward.

Finally, with regards to unlabeled buttons, it would be great if you could share with us the ones you've noticed, so we can resolve the issue. Perhaps you can email [email protected] and mark your message FAO: Marketing Department.

Thanks so much for your feedback and comments; always appreciated.

By Matt on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 - 16:02

Hello. I am definitely enjoying using the EasyReader app. However, when I try to download from the book share library, most of the time the book acts like it downloads, then when I try to open it, it says failed to load book. This happens about nine times out of 10. Would anybody happen to know what is causing this? I know with book share, you only get so many book downloads a month, and I have not exceeded mine for this month. This error is rather frustrating, because I do enjoy reading with this app. If this is a bug, I hope it gets fixed soon

Hi Matt, I have forwarded this to our development team to ask if it's a known bug. We'll see what we can find out.

Thanks for your patience in the meantime.

Kelly

By Vsevolod Popov on Thursday, October 5, 2017 - 16:02

Hello all! Thank you for adding russian lkf library. I have 1 question. do I understand right that there is no feature to listen to books online? If there is no such feature will it be added in the future? Thankx a lot for additing library to the app again!

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Tuesday, December 5, 2017 - 16:02

We are actively looking for new beta testers for both the iOS and Android versions of EasyReader. We particularly want to attract VoiceOver, Braille and TalkBack users. If you are interested in getting involved, there is a short form here: https://yourdolphin.com/beta-tester-zone/about or if you have any questions, please do reply.

Hi Afrim - Good news. The next EasyReader update v1.5 is due for release in the next couple of weeks and will include the ability to adjust the voice speed sliders by 5% intervals. Also this release will include the option to load & read books that are saved on your device, on the cloud, sent by email etc. When it becomes available, let me know what you think - always pleased to have feedback. Thanks, Hazel

By Kelly Sapergia on Friday, January 5, 2018 - 16:02

I just got version 1.5 of EasyReader this morning. One thing I noticed in the description of what's new is that the slider for adjusting TTS rates supposedly now moves in 5 percent increments instead of 10. However, when I tried adjusting Ava's rate on my iPhone 5C, it still moves in 10 percent increments. I was just wondering if anyone else is experiencing this?

By Sabrina on Friday, January 5, 2018 - 16:02

Legimus? That was very unexpected. I have to give this a try. I never thought this would work with Leguimus. I have a login non Legimus and will try this as soon as I can.

By Christo on Friday, January 5, 2018 - 16:02

Hi Hazel, I have version 1.5 of EasyReader. I believe I am supposed to be able to read books from sources such as DropBox, e-mail or saved on my phone, but I can't find anything in the documentation to tell me how to do it. Could you give me some pointers please?

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Friday, January 5, 2018 - 16:02

In reply to by Sabrina

Hi Sabrina - Glad you are pleasantly surprised. Let us know how you get on with accessing Legimus. Cheers, Hazel

By Christo on Friday, January 5, 2018 - 16:02

Hello again Hazel, I am enjoying EasyReader, especially now that I can transfer any Daisy or epub book into it. I have run into one issue, though: We who live outside the US and are Bookshare members, receive our books in password protected zip files. These books won't open in EasyReader. It would be very nice if the feature could be built into EasyReader to allow one to enter the password so that the book will open. I must mentioned that the book I tried, was one I downloaded from Bookshare some time ago and transferred to EasyReader via DropBox and not directly from Bookshare. I don't know if that would make a difference, but I suspect not. I am not currently a bookshare member, so I can't test that process.

Hi Christo - Sorry for the delay in responding. As you mention Bookshare no longer distribute books as password protected zip files and haven't done so for several years. At the moment we don't plan to support the opening of this type of file, as we're getting very few requests. So far you're the only one! Thanks for the input.

By Sabrina on Monday, February 5, 2018 - 16:02

It works great. I tried it now and I love it.

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Monday, February 5, 2018 - 16:02

In reply to by Sabrina

Hi Sabrina - Great news. Feel free to leave us a review in the app store *smiles*. Hazel

By Vsevolod Popov on Monday, February 5, 2018 - 16:02

Hello. I have a question. There was information in one of the previous updates that new imbadded nuance v3 voices are included and we can listen to the preview on the websyte. I tryed to find these previews on dolphin websyte but i couldn't find anything about it. How can i listen to these voices? Thanks!

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Monday, February 5, 2018 - 16:02

Hi Seva, Thanks for your comment.

The easiest way to listen to the voice samples is from within EasyReader. From the 'Audio Settings' menu (top right when in a book), select 'Add Voices'. This presents a long list of voices and their corresponding Buy buttons. But in the top right of the 'Add Voices' screen there is an information button that directs you to all the Voice samples on the Dolphin website.

Let me know if you're still having problems and I'll endeavour to help. Thanks Hazel

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Monday, February 5, 2018 - 16:02

EasyReader 1.7 for iOS is now available and includes an important crash fix for users of the Passed Lezen library (Dutch). Highly recommend updating.

By Hazel @ Dolphin on Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 16:02

Just a quick note to say a new update has been made available for the EasyReader app. V2 makes BIG improvements to the reading experience in both audio & text-only books. Start, stop and move around more easily. Larger play, pause, next & previous buttons are easier for the eyes & the fingers.

A brand new navigation bar makes skipping through your title more instant. Improved headings & search lists add to the enhancements. Adding & editing bookmarks is now more intuitive.

2 new libraries also join the EasyReader family: NBH Hamburg (Germany) & CBB (Netherlands). Plus various fixes & improvements are also rolled in, including improved support for Arabic text from the Bookshare library.

As always we welcome your comments and feedback.

By Sabrina on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 - 16:02

Hello Hazel.
I am encountering a crash when trying to read clipboard texts.
I press play and the app crashes.
I am using a indian english voice named zangita or whatever.
I tried over and over again but it just won’t work.

Hi Sabrina, Sorry to hear you're having problems. Can you confirm which version and build number you are using? You can find this in the 'About & Help' screen. Also what language is the text in that you are copying/reading? If you could let me have a few more details, we will try to replicate the problem here. Look forward to hearing from you. Thanks. Hazel