Press kit Reading Trainer for iOS – Info
1. Brief description of the app
Reading Trainer is an award-winning interactive educational software for iOS, Android, Windows 8 and Windows Phone with more than 750,000 paying costumers around the world. 12 different kinds of exercises are specifically designed to help the user increase his reading speed and his retention rate at the same time. Reading Trainer also lets the user improve his foreign language skills, as it supports English, German, French, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese PT, Portuguese BR, Russian and Turkish. Support for Japanese and Korean on some platforms is scheduled for release in 2015.
2015: Best in test of speed-reading products: “Stiftung Warentest”, famous German magazine for independent consumer reports
2011: Apple iTunes Rewind 2011 – Winner: iPhone App of the Year
2. Reading Trainer at the iTunes App Store
Reading Trainer for iPhone at the App Store
Reading Trainer for iPad at the App Store
3. Press release
„Reading Trainer for iPhone“ – App of the Year 2011
With iTunes Rewind, Apple awarded the best iOS apps of the year. This year, "Reading Trainer for iPhone" was awarded the prize for the best iPhone app in German-speaking countries. Apple's editorial commented that "due to this useful app to increase reading speed and retention they were able to read more books and magazines this year."
Users of this educational app especially appreciate the combination of fun with measurable training successes. This is ensured by a total of 12 different types of exercises, which can be used in English, German, French and Italian.
The Heku IT GmbH, located in Garching near Munich, is responsible for the technical realization of the app, whereas the didactic concept has been developed by Holger Backwinkel and Peter Sturtz. Peter Sturtz, Matchpoint Media: “For more than twelve years we have conducted trainings on speed reading. Heku IT has created an app which perfectly implements our successful strategies.”
The price for the app is 2,39 €. By the way, Reading Trainer was first developed for iPad, and the app is also available for iPad on the App Store for 3,99 €.
(12.13.2011, 1008 characters)
5. Background information about the app
"Reading Trainer" – The iPhone App
After the huge success of the iPad version we developed the "Reading Trainer" for the iPhone. Here we were able to draw on the experience we gathered with the iPad App.
Based on the iPad App, we developed, apart from a brand new iPhone friendly design, additional features and upgrades (i.e our presence on Facebook), optimized functions, introduced a ranking system and also taking into account feedbacks and demands of our customers.
Whilst developing the App we worked closely with Holger Backwinkel and Peter Sturtz. With over 500 reading trainings, our experienced consultants integrated their specialist expertise and user preferences in every phase of development. And you realise it, just by working with the App for a few minutes.
The result is an App that can be used on the iPhone and iPod and is just as effective as the iPad version, but based on our experience gained over the past months even more sophisticated and user-friendly.
6. Key messages and Unique Selling Points
- Improves your reading speed and retention rate
- Improves your mental capacity
- Award-winning educational software
- Highly motivational and incredibly fun gaming concepts
- Exercise for your eyes
- 12 different exercises
- Concentration training and self evaluation
- Available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Turkish and Russian
- Detailed statistics to track your success
- Read faster and more effective
- Get your daily work done faster
7. Market successes of Reading Trainer for iOS
- Winner of the iTunes Rewind 2011 Award, Apple's App of the Year 2011 in DE, AT and CH
- Reached the #1 position paid overall charts in 8 countries
- Reached the #1 position of the education paid charts in 38 countries
- Reached the top 10 of the paid overall charts in 25 countries
- Reached the #1 position of the paid overall charts in Russia in less than a week
- Was featured “App of the Week” in over 20 countries, like Germany, Switzerland, UK, USA (education category), Italy, France, Spain, Mexico and in almost all Spanish speaking countries of South America
- Headliner of Deutsche Telekom Newsletter, sent to more than 600.000 users
- Official educational software of schools in the U.S. and recommended in the UK
- The iPhone and iPad versions received 16,351 costumer ratings around the world with an average grade of 4.5 out of 5 stars
8. Market success of Reading Trainer for Android on Google Play
- Reached the #1 position of the education charts in Germany and France 5 days after introduction on Google Play
- Reached the top 10 of the education charts on Google Play in 20 countries
- Received 8,504 customer ratings around the world with an average grade of 4,7 out of 5 stars
- Holds a top 10 position in the German education charts for 32 months
9. Market successes of Reading Trainer for Windows Phone 8
- Reached the #1 position of the paid overall charts in Germany
- Reached the #1 position of the education charts for paid apps on the Windows Phone Store in the UK, the US and 39 more countries
- Received 832 customer ratings with an average grade of 4,6 out of 5 stars
10. Market successes of Reading Trainer for Windows 8
- Reached the #1 position of the paid overall charts in Germany
- Reached the #1 position of the education charts for paid apps on the Windows Store in the US and 43 more countries
- Reached the top 10 of the overall charts for paid apps on the Windows Store in France, Italy, Russia and Switzerland
- Received 589 customer ratings with an average grade of 4,4 out of 5 stars
11. Market success of Reading Trainer for Android on the Amazon Appstore
- Reached the #1 position paid overall charts in Germany and Spain
- Reached the #1 position of the education charts for paid apps in 7 countries
- Reached the top 15 of the overall charts for paid apps in 7 countries
- Received 330 customer ratings with an average grade of 4,6 out of 5 stars
12. Development highlights
- Reading Trainer for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android & Kindle Fire were developed independently
- Reading Trainer for Windows 7 & 8 were developed in close collaboration with Intel and Microsoft as part of their Top App Program
- Reading Trainer for Windows Phone 8 was developed in close collaboration with Nokia & Microsoft
13. Press reviews of Reading Trainer for iOS
appstorm.net, 9 out of 10 points, March 27, 2012: "This app is definitely great. On the course of about two weeks, I’ve improved my reading speed significantly. It requires a lot of practice though, and you need to keep training periodically in order to maintain your speed. But worry not, no exercise is boring and you start seeing results in just a couple of days, which really motivates you to keep training."
ipad-apps-review-online.com, February 4, 2011: "If you really want to increase your reading speed, this is the tool you should get."
ipadmodo.com, February 21, 2011: "Students and anyone who reads regularly can benefit highly from speed-reading. Reading Trainer comes well recommended as an education app […]"
allmyfaves.com, December 17, 2012: "Every day you are able to see how the exercises help you improve, including your words per minute. The Reading Trainer is a really helpful app; not only can you improve your reading speed, but also your retention level. Whether you’re reading tens of documents a day or even just skimming through emails, Reading Trainer is a great addition to your phone or iPad."
Chip Online (German), January 11, 2011: "By means of concentration games Reading Trainer really improves your reading power. So far the only interactive speed reading app for your iPad."
apptalk.de (German), July 4th, 2013: "Reading Trainer is not for nothing the #1 education app in the education category in more than 10 countries. We tested the app for a few days in our newsroom and can confirm: regular exercise leads to noticeable success! The app brings real benefit, is very well done and fun. Reading Trainer is definitely one of our favorite apps and can be absolutely recommended."
londoninternational.ac.uk, July 4th, 2013: "Double your reading speed with the Reading Trainer app, it will help your reading and improve your memory retention at the same time."
madeforipad.ru (Русский), August 9, 2013: "Выводы: Приложение «Скорочтение» действительно очень эффективно для развития скорости чтения. Главное - заниматься регулярно. Попробуйте и вы сами в этом убедитесь. Рекомендую!"
everydaylife.globalpost.com, August 2013: "The 21st Century Fluency Project also has a list of what it considers the "Best 100 iPad Apps for Middle School Students." "Reading Trainer" is the highest ranked instructional app and offers a dozen different exercises that can "help you to increase your reading speed while improving your retention rate at the same time." The app also supports Spanish, Italian, French, German and Russian for those who want to improve their foreign language skills."
androidweblog.org (Spanish), Octubre 2013:"Seguramente tu dirás, yo no necesito esto, yo se leer y punto, sin embargo en el ámbito educativo y laboral, leer rápidamente es indispensable, principalmente en todo aquel que lea mínimo media hora al día, secretarias, directivos, estudiantes, compradores y vendedores, etc, lo mejor es que nunca sabes cuando la necesitarás, así que no está de más aprender a leer más rápido."
graphite.org, 2014:"Games can be used for brain training, and progress stats can motivate teens to get even faster. Beyond the focus on reading speed, these brain exercises can help teens think fast, too." Rating: Good
14. Press reviews of Reading Trainer for Android
androidtapp.com, 4.5 out of 5 points, December 17, 2012: "Should you Download Reading Trainer? Reading Trainer is a beautiful and useful app that can help anyone who spends time reading on a daily basis. The app fundamentally helps improve reading speed and comprehension but also aids concentration, memory and mental agility. Aside from the langue/flag issue mentioned above and the need for examples before certain exercises, the app is almost flawless in its delivery and is great to use. Exercises feel like mini-games so you feel entertained at the same time as improving your reading skills. It is a paid for app and there is no free or Lite version to try, but it’s definitely worth the small cost and I would strongly recommend it to anyone."
androidadvanced.com, December 24, 2012: "Reading Trainer is an extremely useful and wonderfully designed educational application for Android devices. It can help you to significantly improve your own reading skills."
15. Web links
More information on Reading Trainer
Landing Page with device and language selection
Product page in English
Reading Trainer for iPhone at the iTunes App Store
Reading Trainer for iPad at the iTunes App Store
Facebook fanpage of Reading Trainer
Business website of HeKu IT GmbH
16. Contact and publisher
HeKu IT GmbH
IT Solutions & Services
Parkring 4
85748 Garching near Munich
Germany
support@heku-it.com
www.heku-it.com
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