Earlier this week I was given the opportunity to check out the first beta of iSpeedReader from developer Tom Glenn. iSpeedReader is a new and unique application to the App Store, giving you complete control over the content you want to read. There is already a speed reading application in the App Store but is doesn’t have the features that iSpeedReader has to offer!

As you may have guessed from its name, iSpeedReader is a speed reading application featuring the ability to input your own text from a URL or inputting text into the application itself. After inputting text into the application you can then set the speed of the text in ‘Words Per Minute’ format. Your able to change this on the fly, so if your finding your text appearing to slow, simply just slide the speed control right to make it faster!

At first I was a little unsure of what to expect from this application, having never tried anything like it before. I had great fun testing out this application and seeing how fast I was able to read, which was a lot faster than I first thought. My first thoughts of iSpeedReader was an application that would be a perfect tool for anyone wanting to improve there reading speed, see how fast they can read or could even be used to practise setting a good pace for a presentation!

One thing that really stands out with iSpeedReader is the simplicity of the layout and user interface. This is always a strong point of a good application, nobody likes buttons and text thrown all over the place and having to navigate endless menus! The control system in iSpeedReader is similar to that of a music or media player with your usual play, pause and skip buttons, making it a very familiar concept to just about everyone!

Beautifully intuitive interface.
High contrast visuals.
Rewind, Pause, Play and Forward.
Adjustable Words Per Minute (WPM) speed.
Write your own text.
Import any text from URL.

iSpeedReader is the only speed reading application on the app store that will allow you to import any UTF-8 formatted document (HTML, XML, TXT, etc) from the internet! When iPhone 3.0 OS is released we’ll see the ability to copy and paste text from sources such as articles from MobileSafari.

At this time iSpeedReader is still in beta, so the screenshots above my note resemble the final product. iSpeedReader should be hitting the App Store in the next few weeks, We’ll being you a full review of the application on its release.