For Release Tuesday, February 15, 2005 Contact: rdellis@nextup.com Drive Time Turns Productive for Commuters with iPods®! Popular Text-to-Speech Product Scores Big with iPod® and Portable Users Listening to Text While Commuting CLEMMONS, NC — - In today's busy world, more people than ever are choosing to recapture their lost time during commutes, according to a recent survey from Text-to-Speech software leader NextUp.com. Commuters are therefore now using their iPods® and other portable players to listen to audio files created from text - and overwhelmingly, the product they choose to create those audio files is TextAloud 2.0. In a recent survey conducted by NextUp, the company found that 3 out of 4 iPod® and portable respondents used their devices for listening to text outside the home or office - with 60% of these listening while in the car. TextAloud uses voice synthesis to "speak aloud" documents, web pages, e-mail and more, with text seamlessly converted into spoken audio you can hear on your PC, or save to MP3/Windows Media files for easy playback on portables like the iPod®, Rio®, iRiver®, PocketPC®, and dozens more. "Most people view their commute to work or school as wasted time, but with the growing use of Portable Audio devices like the iPod® for listening to audiobooks from Audible.com, Radio from services like AudioFeast and RadioTime.com, Podcasts, and Text via TextAloud, commuters are turning that downtime into a productive part of their day," comments Rick Ellis, President of NextUp.com. "Using TextAloud to create 'audio-to-go' has suddenly opened up a whole new world to many customers, allowing them to truly maximize their time away from the home or office, and to 'listen' to everything from eBooks, to study material, work notes, websites, e-mails or articles - wherever they may go, while they drive." NextUp conducted the survey in late November 2004, and its results clearly indicate that today's portable users are smart, driven -- and always seeking to maximize their spare time (perhaps today's most precious commodity). Many users commented that TextAloud actually increased their information retention for work or study, improving grades and work performance, while bringing still others a whole new enjoyment of fine literature through simply listening to a good book or story read aloud. Others used the newfound time simply to listen to articles, chuckle over a humorous website or magazine story, or to catch up on the latest trends and technology. Following are just a few direct quotes from survey respondents who raved about using TextAloud "on the go": Once again, TextAloud proves its value - and emphasizes the power of the spoken word. About TextAloud 2.0 Hailed by critics and users alike, TextAloud is priced at just $29.95, and is compatible with systems using Windows® 98, NT, 2000 and XP. The program is available for fast, safe and secure purchase via http://www.NextUp.com. NextUp.com also offers TextAloud with optional premium voices from AT&T Natural Voices™, NeoSpeech and Cepstral® for the most natural-sounding computer speech anywhere. About NextUp.com In addition to TextAloud, NextUp.com markets other innovative Windows software designed to save time and deliver vital information. NewsAloud™ is a talking personal "news agent" that finds the stories users want, and then reads them aloud or to portable MP3 files. WeatherAloud™ is a weather application that lets users select and listen to personalized weather forecasts, while StocksAloud™ reads stock updates and related news headlines aloud for specific companies of interest. Evaluation copies of TextAloud 2.0 - as well as limited packages including a portable audio player presented to reporters for their reviewing convenience - are currently available upon request. To receive a review copy, or for more information on NextUp.com or TextAloud, please contact Rick Ellis at rdellis@nextup.com. All companies and products referenced in this press release, including TextAloud™, iPod®, Rio®, iRiver®, Windows®, and more are the trademarks of their respective owners. # # # |