VOICE EMPOWERED SOFTWARE: NextUp.com chooses Acapela Group multilingual speech synthesis for popular TextAloud suite.

NextUp.com, the developer of TextAloud text to speech (TTS) software, has chosen Acapela speech synthesis to enrich its latest software packages. TextAloud enables users to convert text into audible speech for easy listening, study, and comprehension. Text can also be converted to audio files for easy playback on iPod®, PocketPC®, and a wide range of portable devices. With Acapela High Quality speech synthesis, TextAloud provides improved reading comprehension and speed, the ability to listen to text away from the computer, and a number of utilities, from audio proofreading, to word highlighting for dyslexics.

“TextAloud users include educators, individuals with reading disabilities, writers, medical professionals and others who find this powerful text to speech tool useful in their daily lives, noted Rick Ellis, President of NextUp.com. “Our customers depend on this technology and demand the best available, natural sounding speech synthesis so we are excited to offer the outstanding Acapela TTS engine with our software.”

“We are very happy to contribute to voice empower a user friendly and powerful tool such as TextAloud. Text to Speech has become a natural way to communicate, freeing time and relaxing eyes from screen dependence”, added Antoine Kauffeisen, VP Marketing of Acapela Group.

Acapela's High Quality tones speech empower TextAloud with its Italian, Swedish, Spanish, Norwegian, French, Dutch, Arabic, British English and US English and are available in male or female voices.
To test the voice, please visit http://nextup.com/acapela.html and select the language you wish to hear.

The TextAloud speech software, voice enabled by Acapela's High Quality voices, is available at the suggested retail price of £29 for one voice of your choice. The cost for an additional voice is approximately £13. Text Aloud is compatible with systems using Windows 98, NT, 2000 and XP. The programme is available for purchase via http://www.NextUp.com

Note to Editors:
Evaluation copies of TextAloud are currently available upon request. To receive a review copy or for more information on NextUp.com or TextAloud, please contact publicist Angela Mitchell at admitchell@nextup.com.



About NextUp.com:
NextUp.com, a 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 audio 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. NextUp Talker is an easy and affordable program that allows people who have lost their voices to use the latest in high-quality computer voices to communicate with others.