After a premature and fleeting appearance last month, Apple's new Spoken Edition section is now available on the iTunes Store and the Podcasts app. As the name suggests, Spoken Edition consist of narrated content edits of various publications, so we will be learning everything they have to tell us without having to read it on our iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or from any web browser.
Apple says the Spoken Edition will come in especially handy in situations in which we are too busy to read the content but that allow us to listen, saying «Too busy to read your favorite website? Listen to her! These audio versions give you loads of great narrated stories. They are perfect for getting the latest information when you drive, work or just feel like you relax«.
Spoken Edition, find out about the latest without having to read it
Right now, Apple offers content from several English-speaking publications, such as Huffington Post, Reuters, Slate. .Mic, Wired, IGN, Bustle, Fusion, Gizmodo, Jezebel, Lifehacker, TIME, Skift y Playboy (Playboy narrated ...). Like the rest of the publications, the Spoken Edition section is divided into categoriesas briefings, Millennial Mindset, Policy in Perspective, Inclusion and Identity o Money Talks.
Spoken Edition content uses a technology of SpokenLayer what happens to audio the content of RSS feeds. Contrary to what we might think, SpokenLayer's technology makes it seem that the text is being narrated by a person, something that is far from listening to the content with the famous voices of "Loquendo".
The chapters of these spoken editions are rather short, something understandable if we take into account that what we will be hearing will be the text read from articles on a web page. The good thing we already know, that we will not have to read it and we can do other things while we find out everything, but the bad thing is that, logically, we cannot skim an article. In any case, the Spoken Editions have already arrived officially.
