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EyeQ from Infinite Mind is our runner up" and second choice.
Though the software has the same basic functionality as Speed
Reader-X, they are not identical and the price really makes
a difference.
EyeQ Screenshots.
The reading screen
shows a passage and times your reading.
The reading screen
is where you spend most of your time.
A hilighted cursor
moves to indicate where you should
be looking.
Before each
lesson you must complete eye exercises.
Here a basketball pops around the
screen.
After the
basketball you watch a series of
images. The images repeat and do
not have any particular significance,
that is to say, they are not a
coherrent sentence and are not
telling any story. These are random
images that stream accross the
screen.
After the
reading test you can see a progress
chart.
The software
also includes games, a screen saver,
and some help sections.
Ease of Use:
EyeQ uses is well designed and simple to use. Progressively
harder lessons teach speed reading techniques. You are
limited to completing one lesson per day. The software
will not let you complete two lessons in a day.
Feature Set:
EyeQ includes 12 7-minutes sessions. They are supposed to strengthen
your eyes, widen your field of vision and increase your reading
speed. Each session increases in speed.
The Reading Test tests your reading speed and lets you view
your progress on a progress chart.
The EyeQ program includes several games to enhance your ability
to process information faster. These include mazes, two point
training and number find games. The games may appeal to young
children but older users will skip them.
EyeQ has the ability to switch reading materials for adults,
teens, and children. The reading materials can be switched
to different levels to provide fun and interesting stories
for every age.
The Mini-exercises are short practice exercises that involve
watching a tennis ball or basketball bounce around the screen
and small icons streaming accross the screen. We did not find
these
exercises
to be useful and it was unclear exactly what you were supposed
to gain from them. They felt like a waste of time and filler
to make the program feel bigger. There is no way to skip the
exercises(that we could find and we looked).
The Screen Saver is supposed to allow you to practice reading
while you do other things. Words move around the screen coming
closer and farther. This felt very gimmicky and looked like
a last minute add on. We did not find it to be useful.
Ease of Installation:
There was no problem during the installation. The software
comes on CD but does require an activation code. On at
least one test we had to enter the code three times. There
were no problems other than the code.
Help/Support:
The software has a Resource center and help section that were
very useful. The package also includes an Eye Brain book and
video. The website has a FAQ um provides you with email support
as well as FAQs on their homepage. They offer both email and
phone support. We tried the email support by asking a question
that was covered in the manual. We did not receive a reply
within 48 hours after being sent at noon on a Monday. When
we did not receive a reply we did call the support line. The
person on the other end had to thumb through the manual but
did answer the question.
Fundamentals:
EyeQ effectively covers all key fundamentals to give speed
reading students a solid foundation to learn speed reading.
The system is based on research from the 1980's according to
their website. The manual does have information on how speed
reading works and memory. This program covers all the fundamentals
and more.
Effectiveness:
Effectiveness was not rated due to the nature of speed reading.
Speed reading is very subjective and requires practice that
is beyond the scope of this review. I can however say that
after going through the lessons I see the logic in speed reading
and the basic concept does make sense to me. The visual intake
of words should be possible with practice.
Summary:
EyeQ contains the basic information needed to learn speed reading
and has an excellent practice layout. EyeQ is priced at $250
for the deluxe edition and even higher with other options which
makes it the most expensive software we tested. The price was
important in the evaluation since it was almost ten times the
closest competitors.
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