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Again from the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. Intel has proposed a reader designed for the visually impaired. With this devise you can take a photo of any text (menus, letters, magazines) and have the gadget read the text aloud to you or change the font size digitally. Users can also download e-books to be read or listened to.
From the Guardian
Tracy Counts, the Intel Reader’s marketing manager, told the Guardian that the product’s developer is dyslexic and knows how hard it is “to get printed text in a format he could listen to and understand. He went to the general manager of our group and pitched the idea, and Intel Health got behind it because it fits with the whole idea of digital health, which is helping people to be independent.”
The $1,500 price tag is a deterrent, but the Guardian suggests that schools and libraries might find it a worthwhile tool. Over at Engadget, there is an informative video explaining all of the Intel Reader’s functions.
It will also be interesting to see if Intel runs into any legal flak, as Amazon did when it was forced to remove the text-to-speech feature on a number of Kindle titles after several publishers cried foul over claims of audio book rights not being respected. I hope they don't as this could be a great tool for the visually impaired, and even those with gradually worsening eyesight.