Kibo Reader Android App Overview

Kibo is an Android app that aims to be a one-stop solution for all the reading and learning needs of people with print disabilities.

This app is accessible with the Talkback screen reader. The app includes features to provide a pleasant reading experience whether the text is printed, handwritten, in audio or in digital formats such as DAISY format or EPUB. It supports English and several other international languages. This app has been developed by Trestle Labs from India and it also supports several Indian languages. The app supports book search, download and reading from the Bookshare and Sugamya Pustakalaya online libraries.

The app features are explained below. You can also refer to Kibo tutorials on YouTube .

Kibo Download and Installation

Kibo: Access Simplified App can be downloaded free of cost from Android Play Store.

After installation the app will require login with a Google account.

Kibo makes use of Text to Speech voices (TTS) to read aloud the text. You can set your preferred TTS voice for different languages after installing the app. The app will show the TTS voices available on the device and give you the option to download additional voices. The language and TTS voice preferences can be changed at any stage by going into the app settings.

Kibo Features

On opening the app the following functionalities are listed in the home screen.

1. COVID -19 AssistThis is a recent addition. COVID 19 Assist provides easy access to important information about the pandemic.
2. View Recent FilesUsers can see the last 10 documents opened and can resume reading from last read position.
3. Capture & ReadThis feature enables users to take a photo of the print documents with the phone camera and have it read aloud. The app converts the image to text using OCR technology.
4. Read your DocumentsUsers can open files from the device storage for reading. Kibo supports PDF, TXT, EPUB, MP3 and DAISY format. The app will show all the files of the selected type available in the device. Users can filter the list using the folder dropdown available at the top of screen and tap on the file they want to read.
5. Read your Audio Books On choosing this option, the app will list all the MP3 files available in the device, both internal and external storage. Users can select the files they want to read. Users can filter the list using the folder dropdown available at the top of screen for easier selection. Alternatively, MP3 files can be selected in the File Manager available in the device and in “Open with” Kibo should be selected.
6. Open ebook LibraryThis feature provides direct access to Bookshare and Sugamya Pustakalaya online libraries. Users will need to login to the library with their membership credentials and can then search, download and read books from these libraries. The login is required only once. The books downloaded are added to the “Bookshelf” available in the menu on this screen.
7. Read from image This feature allows users to read text available in images stored on the device. After selecting this option, users can browse the photos or files section of the device and select an image. After OCR, if the image has any text, it is read aloud. Users can also select image file in device File Manager and choose to open it with Kibo for reading.
8. View save files The files processed by Kibo for reading appear here.

Reading options in ebooks i.e. EPUB, DAISY format

Kibo offers rich navigation within ebooks. When a text based document such as an EPUB is opened, the following options are available for reading and navigation.

• Play/Pause – To start or pause reading
• Navigation – Use left/right buttons to go to previous/next word, sentence, paragraph, page, section and chapter – as per the selected level of navigation
• Audio-Highlight – This feature helps highlight content being read aloud and save it as a note.
• Write-notes – This feature allows users to add text notes.
• Table of Contents – This feature provides navigation to a desired chapter/section in EPUB and DAISY format Books.
• Levels of Navigation – Choose the level of text-navigation – (Word/Sentence/Paragraph/Page/Section/Chapter). In case of an audio file, you can select navigation by 10, 30, 60 seconds.
• Add Bookmark – This feature allows you to add multiple bookmarks in the same document.

The app remembers the last read position and provides option to resume reading or restart from the beginning. .

Accessibility options

The reading experience can be customized by adjusting the following in app settings.

• Font size
• Reading speed
• Enable/Disable Talkback reading
• Enable/Disable Color Inversion
• Enable/Disable Processing Sound (audio clues)