# Word Runner on Voyage???



## MrKnucklehead (Mar 13, 2013)

any rumors of Word Runner upgrade on the Voyage


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

MrKnucklehead said:


> any rumors of Word Runner upgrade on the Voyage


I can't see that ever being "a thing". The eInk technology, it seems to me, is not conducive to that sort of rendering.

("Word Runner" is the name Amazon has given to it's scrolling technology. Apparently it's implemented on the new Fires for reading. It allows you to set the reading speed. Your eyes focus on one place and the words move up so the eyes don't have to.)


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

Actually Word Runner only displays a single word at a time.  It's similar to Spritz, available as an app on Android and IOS and in a couple of other reading apps.  There are differences in the way Spritz and Word Runner line up the center of the word they're displaying and Amazon also slows down and speeds up the display depending on the length of the word and complexity of the text.

I tried Spritz for a while and it does seem to work to speed up my reading but I feel a pressure to keep up that takes the fun out of reading for me.  I can set it so that I can keep up okay.  That isn't a problem.  It's just more fun when I can speed up and slow down without even thinking about it.

Word Runner is said to add an easier way to control speed and even to look back.  I haven't seen that yet and maybe that'll help.  But it's not a feature I'm expecting to like a lot.

Barry


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

barryem said:


> Actually Word Runner only displays a single word at a time.


Really? I can't help but think that would be incredibly annoying. I don't read word by word . . . I look at whole sentences. Not quite 'speed reading' but word by word would totally slow me down. Only time I do that is when it's something complex -- like a tax publication!  -- and I have to concentrate a bit harder to be sure I'm comprehending thoroughly.



> It's similar to Spritz, available as an app on Android and IOS and in a couple of other reading apps. There are differences in the way Spritz and Word Runner line up the center of the word they're displaying and Amazon also slows down and speeds up the display depending on the length of the word and complexity of the text.
> 
> I tried Spritz for a while and it does seem to work to speed up my reading but I feel a pressure to keep up that takes the fun out of reading for me. I can set it so that I can keep up okay. That isn't a problem. It's just more fun when I can speed up and slow down without even thinking about it.
> 
> ...


Never heard of Spritz, either. But, again, I don't read much on my tablet or phone and I'm guessing that one would need the screen technology on those sorts of devices for it to work well.


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

Hmmm... I haven't tried it, but it doesn't seem like something I would like.

Does _anybody_ actually read one word at a time other than when they first learn? And I would imagine it would be very difficult to keep your eyes still while reading - my natural inclination would be to look past the word on display to see the next few coming up. I think it would be particularly difficult to use if you wanted to read aloud as you definitely need to see words ahead of time when you're doing that.

I'm not quite sure I can see the _point_ of it - surely it would be more healthy for your eyes to be moving, to be focusing and refocusing etc. rather than to be staring at a fixed position?

Weird!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Linda . . . I had a lot of the same thoughts: surely it's better NOT to just STARE at one place for a long period of time! Wish the video showed how it worked, but it doesn't.

Now, I can see it being useful for little kids who are just learning. . . . but, even then, what you want is to get them to where they look at whole phrases and grasp concepts as much as just the meanings of words.


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## tsemple (Apr 27, 2009)

I'm looking forward to trying it out. I have tried Spritz a little bit. My impression is that you need to need to use it for awhile before it can really be comfortable. Maybe even 50-100 hours. I would not pre-judge it, as some of us here are doing. I remember when I first started listening to TTS and audiobooks: it was a little uncomfortable, attention wanders, etc. This is a similar thing. 

If you have an Android device, Spritz will work with any reading app that supports TTS. 

My only complaint is that it is not going to work with Personal Documents, or even all books you purchase from Kindle Store, maybe not even news subscriptions, which is probably the thing one might feel most comfortable about breezing through. I think the reason is so they can compute the relative word timings once on a server, and have those available for anyone downloading the book. There are language-specific behaviors as well, so it would add computing complexity to do it on each device. It's actually pretty smart, but it involves tradeoffs.

And yes, I think even Voyage would be capable of powering Word Runner mode. After all it would be refreshing only a tiny area of the screen.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

tsemple said:


> And yes, I think even Voyage would be capable of powering Word Runner mode. After all it would be refreshing only a tiny area of the screen.


Maybe.

I'm not convinced it'd be an improvement, however. Like all eInk kindles, the Voyage is touted as being more like reading a paper book than the experience on a computer, tablet or smart phone. Seems like that feature would take away that 'book like' experience.

Plus, I think the technology now is such that the whole screen changes at once. I suppose they could program just a portion of the screen to change, but I'm not sure how it would work even then. It sort of seems to me that if it moved with your reading speed then it would be refreshing the whole page even more often. 'Cause you'd have to keep moving the next sentence/word to the 'reading point'.

Whatever the device, I can't see it as something that I'd want . . . though I guess for some the option would be a godsend, for example if you had limited or no use of your hands to turn pages -- or because you were reading as did something else, like needlework or some other handcraft.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I can't say that I would care for it having looked at a video of Spritz. I do think it would help train one for speed reading  and I do think it's something that would be useful for reading on very small screens, such as the new watches.

More info:

Amazon's description of it:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201852380

An article about it that includes a GIF that purports to show Word Runner:
http://the-digital-reader.com/2015/09/18/word-runner-is-amazons-solution-to-the-speed-reading-problem-and-it-just-may-work/

The Spritz website which includes a video showing how Spritz works:
http://www.spritzinc.com/

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Thanks for the link to Spritz.  Doesn't appeal to me for casual reading. Can see it possibly be useful for other stuff but . . . even then . . . I usually want to skim until I find the part I want to read more closely and to do that I need to see a whole page at once.

And actually, while I was reading the demo, I got a phone call. Paused it and then went back afterward and kind of had no real clue what I'd already read. Maybe one just needs practice. 

I agree on a teeny tiny screen it could be really useful.


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## tsemple (Apr 27, 2009)

It is going to require some practice. But of course it is optional, not everyone is going to like it or even feel inclined to try it out, or may try and give up. But I think it is fun Amazon has done this.

And yes, I'm sure Spritz is trying to get this into as many smart watch applications as possible.


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