NVDA Screen Reader vs Speech Assistant AAC

is freely and open source (GPL2) Supports Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Word, Excel and Outlook Express, and Mozilla Thunderbird. NVDA supports web content using JavaScript. For students testing the screenreaders, NVDA was considered to be the second best screen reader in terms of capability for Windows and a great selling point is its price-free. In testing, some students preferred NVDA while some preferred JAWS. Interestingly enough, NVDA was able to read some web content that JAWS did not but the reverse was sometimes true as well.

- George Thompson

I have done my best to outline the major differences between NVDA on Windows and VoiceOver on the Mac. While both products are good, I personally lean in favor of NVDA. Microsoft Windows is by far the most popular system in the world, and NVDA is a great tool in the toolbox. Its open source nature is a major plus and means the innovation and ability to keep up with the ever increasing changes in Windows is almost certain. In contrast, Apple’s neglect has turned me personally away from the Mac. I do not recommend people invest in Macs anymore either, as it has been clear for many years that Apple’s focus is on iOS. While it’s sad these events have transpired, we must never forget or disrespect the work Apple has done. Apple is a pioneer in the realm of mainstream accessibility, and now everyone else including Microsoft is trying to catch up. This is a very good thing as it pushes the entire industry forward and ultimately means access for blind users is only getting better and better as the years march on.

- iPhoneGeeks

NVDA was much easier to get up and running, and I can keep it on a USB drive so that if I have to use it, then I can just pull it out and have it work.

- Blee Blat

This app is unique and well worth purchase to get backup and restore option. Great app especially for tablet. Larger keyboard makes composing easy. Backup option makes it easy to transfer changes between devices with email and restore function. I have app on phone and tablet. I noticed speech loss when using 4.2 Bluetooth devices. Thanks to email exchange with developer, we found that using Bluetooth 5 speakers stopped loss and all words and phrases are spoken. Thanks Ton

- Gary Peterson

Great app. Have a week or so of vocal rest and liked the app enough to pay to upgrade. Couple of things tho: I have noticed it sort of supports SSML.. a lot of the google TTS SSML doesn't work. Do you have a list of things supported? Could you add SSML features (pauses and emphasis) into the app interface to be able to make phrases sound less robotic and more natural? Could you add some hot buttons for MP3 sound bites? I like the "Notification" option.. but being able to add a bunch of easily playable sound bites would be perfect. The app is almost there... these things would flesh it out some more. Great job, guys! PS: one other thing.. love that I can edit on the computer and restore the file! PPS: How about a backup option for *all* the settings in the app?

- Ricardo Hampsoni

Fantastic This app has been a huge help to me after I permanently lost my ability to speak in January. It is very user friendly and easy to personalize. I really like the feature where the text can be shown in large print. I had used a similar app that allowed me to use my own pre-recorded voice, but I ended up coming back to Speech Assistant AAC due to its ease of use. This is the best app I have ever used! It has truly been a blessing.

- Mr. Chuffy , 09/08/2022