Modern neural TTS often requires a cloud connection. The old Ivona engine could run entirely offline, a massive benefit for privacy-focused users or those in areas with poor internet.

While Amazon Polly no longer offers the original Ivona Eric, it does offer a voice named (British English male) that was built on Ivona’s technology. Brian is Eric’s direct successor. You can try it for free (first 1 million characters/month) via the AWS console or third-party Polly apps.

Note: Ivona was discontinued as a standalone consumer app, but the voice models live on via Amazon Polly.

But Eric's life took a surreal turn when he was "discovered" by the creative community of the internet. Because of his clear, versatile tone, he became a favorite for: Animated Storytelling: