Android 2.2 (AKA FroYo) introduces many platform enhancements,and one that I find particularly relevant is the ability toplug-in additional Text-To-Speech engines. What this means froman end-user point of view:
- Android comes with a set of built-in voices since Android 1.6--- these are the Pico voices for English, French, Italian,German and Spanish.
- With the Text-ToSpeech plug-in mechanism in place, we can nowadd new engines to the platform.
- The first such add-on was ESpeak, which brings support formany of the world's languages.
- And now, vendors are able to sell high-quality add-on voicesvia the Android Market.
- Loquendo Susan is the first commercially available voice forAndroid. Users running FroYo can buy this voice on the AndroidMarket. Thanks to the plug-in mechanism, once you buy a newvoice, you can switch all your talking applications to use thenewly installed voice --- see instructions below.
Activating And Using Newly Installed Voices
Goto Settings → Voice Input And Output →Text To Speech Settings. First, activate the newlyinstalled voice by clicking the corresponding checkbox item forthat voice. Next, go to Default Engine in theText To Speech Settings menu, and make the newlyinstalled voice your default engine. Finaly, if you want allapplications to use the new voice, check option Always usemy settings
With this in place, my Nexus and Droid both speak usingLoquendo Susan --- thus turning my Android into into a trulypleasant eyes-free device.
