Features
Letterboard is a communication board for people who spell out what they want to say. Tap large letters to write a message, then tap the speaker to have the device read it aloud. Letters and phrases never speak on their own.
A look at the board
Two and a half minutes, with narration. Every frame is the app itself, drawn by the app, so nothing here is a mock-up.
Spelling and speech
- Large letters that never move. The board fills the screen and keeps every letter in the same place when the device is turned.
- Speech only when it is asked for. Only the speaker key speaks. Typing, choosing a phrase and changing a setting never make a sound.
- No prediction, no autocorrect. Every letter is the speller's own.
- A message line that behaves. Tap it to place the cursor, or use the arrow keys; undo, space, backspace and clear sit under the board, and a pencil opens it for editing with a keyboard.
- Show the message in large letters, for reading across a table.
- Phrases you use often, saved and reordered, and editable from the start.
Boards that match the person
- The alphabet in groups. The alphabet can be divided between two and six smaller boards with keys to switch between them, for people who begin on a set of small boards before moving to a single one. Where it divides can be changed, and a marked letter is never parted from its own letter.
- Alphabetical or keyboard order. A phone-style keyboard with local letter rows, numbers and capitals is one setting away.
- Arrange the letters yourself. Drag or tap to move any key, place optional symbols in empty cells, and add up to two rows and two columns, so the board can match a printed one the person already uses.
- Numbers and maths. A number board one tap away, typing into the same message line. The app never works out the answer: the person writes the whole sum, and it is read aloud as written.
Keys and colours
- Where the speak and delete keys sit. Beside the message as usual, or moved onto the board — a large speak key among the letters and delete beside the text it removes — or a wide speak bar under the board. The speak key can be placed wherever it suits, like any other key.
- A colour of their own. The speak and delete keys take a colour that is not a letter colour, and their icon turns black or white by itself so no choice can hide it.
- Six themes, your own colours, saved palettes, with a warning when letters would be hard to read.
- Row and column colours. Alternate rows, alternate columns or a chequerboard take a second shade, so the grid is easier to follow.
- Settings for using the board: keep the screen awake, ignore an accidental second tap on the key just used, and lock settings so they cannot be changed by mistake. The board, the phrases and the speech are never locked away.
Languages, privacy and price
- 24 languages for both the board and the interface, chosen separately, each with its own layouts and phrases.
- No accounts, no advertising, no analytics, no tracking. Everything stays on the device. The Android app has no internet permission at all; this page and the web version set no cookies.
- Free and open source, under the GNU General Public License v3. See the licences and the privacy policy.
- Speech uses the voices already on the device; the web version can also download a built-in Latvian, Estonian or Lithuanian voice that then works offline.
Questions, or a language you would like added? Write to support@letterboard.app.