No Tie, LLC has recently released AutoVerbal Talking Soundboard for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. The application provides a way for those who have difficulty communicating the ability to speak to others. From the description:

3 ways to speak: (1) 100′s of built-in phrases in over a dozen categories (2) Program several buttons to speak your CUSTOM messages such as your name, address, family, etc. (3) Type ANY message and have it spoken using TEXT-TO-SPEECH!

Empower yourself or people with Autism & Non-Verbal patients you care for! One price for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch! Elegant interface, quality recognizable images & customizations allow for quick & easy communication! Very affordable! Don’t pay hundreds out of pocket or worry about Medicare or rationing devices. Everyone can have AutoVerbal! – iPad, iPhone & iPod touch universal support! Pay one price! – Users/caregivers can customize the first row of buttons by touching HELP to enter CUSTOM MODE! – 100′s of buttons use Premium TTS voice, prerecorded, even when the Internet is not available! – Custom TTS phrases use Premium voices when Internet is available, Standard built-in voices otherwise.

The application is currently on sale at a special introductory price of $0.99 in the US iTunes store.

It’s wonderful to continue seeing affordable assistive solutions powered by Apple’s iOS and the devices which run it. Here’s hoping that the days of expensive, dedicated assistive devices are coming to a close.