Why Speed Reading Software?

Tedious textbooks or work reports can slow down the productivity of many readers. Unfortunately, there is no getting around required reading. Many people wish they could save time at work, school or home if only they could read faster. Some people possess a natural talent for reading quickly and speed–readers enjoy the extra time to read more of what they want to read, not what they have to read.

With effective speed–reading software, average and slow readers can learn to increase their reading speed while maintaining a high rate of reading comprehension.

In this site, you’ll find articles related to speed–reading software, as well as comprehensive reviews and a side–by–side comparison to help you make an informed decision about the program that is right for you. At TopTenREVIEWS — We do the research so you don’t have to.™

What to Look for in Speed Reading Software

A good speed–reading program will offer several general features. The program should track a reader’s progress to prevent accidentally repeating the same exercises and tests from a previous session. For multiple users, password protection can be important to protect readers' privacy. The option to change the program settings are also useful to choose specific texts, set reading speeds and choose the types of exercises to take.

  • Exercises and Tests – Effective speed–reading software will include comprehension tests for reading exercises and/or speed tests. Learning to read faster doesn’t accomplish anything if the reader fails to comprehend what they read.

    The software should also require readers to take a speed–reading test the first time they use the program to establish a base speed–reading rate to track readers’ progress. Based on this rate, the program will automatically set the reading speed for exercises and tests. The option to manually adjust reading speeds is also important in the event a reader doesn’t feel they are ready for a particular speed.

  • Types of Exercises – Speed–reading software should include different methods to teach speed–reading skills. Many programs refer to the same teaching methods by different names; they are essentially: Flash, highlighted word groups and keyword focus. Since many people learn in unique ways, readers can try out all these methods to find out what works best for them.

    The flash method focuses reader’s attention at the center of their computer screen while one or more words are flashed at certain speeds. This method eliminates the need for readers to move their eyes back and forth, which saves time, prevents accidental re–reading of the same text and reduces eye fatigue.

    For highlighted word groups, the full text is displayed on the computer screen while groups of words are highlighted. The highlight moves left to right along the text at a specific speed, which mimics a reader’s eye movements. This method focuses readers’ attention to specific groups of text, which eliminates accidental re–reading and readers are trained to speed–read without the use of a computer.

    The keyword focus method trains readers to concentrate their attention on words that relay information and ignore words that exist only for grammatical reasons. For example, the meaning of the following sentence can be understood the long way by reading every word: “We walked along the path and saw many other people enjoying the day” or the short way by focusing only on words that convey information: “We walked saw people enjoying day.”

  • Reading Levels – A versatile speed–reading program will include texts for children and adults as well as beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert readers. For programs with a limited amount of texts, children with intermediate reading skills can manually slow down the reading speed.
  • Types of Texts – Successful speed–reading programs will include large libraries of stories, essays and other documents on a variety of subjects for speed reading exercises and tests. Some programs also allow readers to copy and paste text as well as import their own documents into the program.
  • Change Text Format – Some programs make speed–reading easier on the eyes by allowing users to change the text format such as the font color, size and style. Large text that is colored stands out from the background and reduces eye fatigue. Additionally, readers can focus on increasing their speed instead of trying to make out what the text actually says.
  • Technical Help/Support – Companies that offer speed–reading software should provide customer service contacts through phone or email and technical help for problems users may have installing or using the program. The company should respond to emailed questions within a few days.
For the best speed–reading software that we could find, see The Reader’s Edge.

 
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Learn to speed–read through boring textbooks and work reports or read more of your favorite mysteries, romances and thrillers with Speed Reading Software.

Rank #1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10
Excellent score   Excellent
Very good score   Very Good
Good score   Good
Fair score   Fair
Poor score   Poor
The Reader's Edge Ace Reader Pro RocketReader Ultimate Speed Reader Speed Your Read Letter Chase Speed Reader Stretch ReallyEasyReader RapidReader Speed Reading
The Reader's Edge Ace Reader Pro RocketReader Ultimate Speed Reader Speed Your Read Letter Chase Speed Reader Stretch ReallyEasyReader RapidReader Speed Reading
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Lowest Price Buy The Reader's Edge 5
$79.95
Buy Ace Reader Pro
$49.95
Buy RocketReader 2.5
$89.00
Buy Ultimate Speed Reader
$39.99
Buy Speed Your Read
$18.95
Buy Letter Chase Speed Reader
$26.00
Buy Stretch 2007
$60.00
Buy ReallyEasyReader 3
$46.98
Buy RapidReader 6 Pro
$29.95
Buy Speed Reading 1.2
$24.95
 
Overall Rating Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Very Good Very Good Very Good Very Good Good Good
Ratings
Features Set Excellent Excellent Excellent Very Good Very Good Excellent Very Good Good Fair Good
Ease of Use Excellent Excellent Very Good Very Good Very Good Excellent Good Very Good Very Good Good
Ease of Installation/Setup Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent
Help/Support Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Good Excellent Good Very Good Fair
View Specifications Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!
View Screenshots View The Reader's Edge screenshots View Ace Reader Pro screenshots View RocketReader screenshots View Ultimate Speed Reader screenshots            
General Features
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Progress Reports Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark      
Multiple Users Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark      
Cutomize Program Settings Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark          
Password Protected Check Mark       Check Mark          
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Exercises and Tests
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Highlighted Word Groups Check Mark Check Mark                
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Display Full Text Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark  
Manual Speed Adjustment Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark
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Reading Levels
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Types of Texts
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Import Documents Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
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Change Text Format
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eMail Support Check Mark Check Mark     Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark    
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FAQ Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark         Check Mark    
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Vista Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark     Check Mark      
Windows XP Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
Windows 2000 Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark
MAC   Check Mark     Check Mark       Check Mark  
 
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Lowest Price Buy The Reader's Edge 5
$79.95
Buy Ace Reader Pro
$49.95
Buy RocketReader 2.5
$89.00
Buy Ultimate Speed Reader
$39.99
Buy Speed Your Read
$18.95
Buy Letter Chase Speed Reader
$26.00
Buy Stretch 2007
$60.00
Buy ReallyEasyReader 3
$46.98
Buy RapidReader 6 Pro
$29.95
Buy Speed Reading 1.2
$24.95
Readers Edge Speed Reading Review
Readers Edge Speed Reading...

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