Reading

One of the nice things about reading electronic text is the fact that if there's a word you don't understand, you can just highlight it to do a Google search. Well, a device called the Googstick is designed to do the same thing for printed text.

Scientists in Australia have developed a new gap-ridden font designed to help students remember what they read by filling in the blanks, dubbed Sans Forgetica.

There are plenty of impressive eReader alternatives to Amazon's Kindle coming from smaller brands like Kobo. The Canadian company's latest is the Aura One, a 7.8-inch eReader designed not to disturb the circadian rhythm of late-night bookworms.

​It's an unfortunate fact of life for web writers … people viewing text online tend to skim through it. With that in mind, researchers have created a program that lets people skim even faster​, while retaining more information.​

It may indeed be a First World problem, but using a mouse or arrow key to scroll through blocks of computer text is a bit of a hassle That's why scientists have developed a sort of teleprompter-like system, which automatically scrolls text at the rate that it's being read.

Flipboard is one of the most successful apps for aggregating content from social networks and websites and presenting it in a personalized magazine-style format on mobile devices. It is now looking to replicate its success on the desktop with the announcement of its first foray onto desktops.

Millions of children don't have basic literacy skills, presenting a problem that cannot be solved without some big picture thinking. Launching today, the Global Learning XPrize offers US$15 million for the development of software that teaches children these vital skills in the space of 18 months.

Advances in technology have opened up some important new ways for the visually-impaired to consume printed content. Researchers have now unveiled a low-cost reading device that processes graphical information, enabling the blind to digest documents such as bills, PDFs, graphs and bank statements.

FingerReader is a 3D-printed device that is worn as a ring on the index finger and uses a built-in camera and haptic actuators to read aloud as the user traces the printed words. The researchers say the ring could also be used to pronounce words in other languages and teach children how to read.

In our world of smartphones and tablets, is there still room for e-readers? They may not be as versatile as tablets, but sometimes there's a lot to be said for a product that does one job very well. Join Gizmag, as we review Amazon's latest e-ink reader, the 2013 Kindle Paperwhite.

The Spritz reading app flashes words at you in quick succession so you don’t have to move your eyes around a page, and in my very quick testing it allowed me to read at more than double my usual reading pace.

Kobo isn't exactly the first name that comes to mind when people think of e-readers, but after spending some extensive hands-on time with the company's latest e-reader – the Aura HD – we see an argument for that to change.