Intel Launches Ereader for the Blind
Intel this week launched the Intel Reader, a device aimed at helping the blind and people with reading-based disabilities such as Dyslexia or low vision.
The Reader is, of course, Atom-powered and while at first glance it looks a lot like an ereader, it's not your average Kindle copycat. The device combines Intel's Atom processor with with a 5mp camera. The camera captures an image of the printed text and the Reader then converts it into a digital format, which it plays back to the user in a "lifelike" male or female voice. It can also display with different levels of magnification on the device's 4.3-inch 16:9 LCD.
The Reader boasts a 4GB Intel SSD, as well as USB and mini USB support, weighs 1.38 lbs. With a fully charged battery, it can play over 4 hours of text-to-speech or .mp3 audio, capture and process over 85 images of text or remain in standby for up to 5 days. It also comes with the option for purchasing the Portable Capture Station, which aids users in capturing large amounts of text, such as a chapter or an entire book
Available in the US through select resellers, the device comes with a hefty price tag. Don Johnston is selling it for $1,499 and the capture station will cost you an extra $399.
More here if you're interested.
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this shows love for the blind but how will they know which buttons are which in the first place?
that sounds awesome! until we get to the price....
that sounds awesome! until we get to the price....
"Don Johnston is selling it for $1,499 and the capture station will cost you an extra $399."
Is it a toy or necessity item? is it covered thru insurance? I am not sure who can afford this....
haha i dont want to be mean, but how can a blind person read the menus and use the buttons, how do they update it? dont tell me they have to hook it up to a pc lol
Don Johnston is selling it for $1,499 and the capture station will cost you an extra $399.
You're right, this isn't a Kindle at all.
Misleading article title. Legally blind would have been correct. This doesn't use braille....
this shows love for the blind but how will they know which buttons are which in the first place?
Like most everything else, they get taught, they remember and they use the device. I can use most of my devices by feel alone without having to look at it.
this shows love for the blind but how will they know which buttons are which in the first place?
Ever heard of braille?
ermmm.... they point the camera... and take a shot... so if there blind how do they know where to point??? is there a voice prompt??? "a little to the left... no your other left... stop... up......" there is a station for helping with converting chapters, however i don't see the blind buying alot of non brail books, i beleve there's a much more cheaper version called an audio book although navigating that library is an entirely different undaertaking... o ya one more question how would they know if it freezes or just runs out of batteries?
haha i dont want to be mean, but how can a blind person read the menus and use the buttons, how do they update it? dont tell me they have to hook it up to a pc lol
Guide dogs?
ermmm.... they point the camera... and take a shot... so if there blind how do they know where to point??? is there a voice prompt??? "a little to the left... no your other left... stop... up......" there is a station for helping with converting chapters, however i don't see the blind buying alot of non brail books, i beleve there's a much more cheaper version called an audio book although navigating that library is an entirely different undaertaking... o ya one more question how would they know if it freezes or just runs out of batteries?
hmmm.. i have an idea for the freezes.. imagine Loud Scream Of Death like the BSOD but with voices(whines more like it)... anyway.. to know a battery is gonna run out isnt really hard to put into a feature.. even normal handphones now have vibration and/or certain sounds that signals that the batery almost empty...
"I'm Blind NOT DEAF"- sum1 i dun remember..
At first glance it looks more like a walkman, not an ereader. Random.
I can't see this being very popular, though I suppose it's good they're trying.
A blind man already invented cell phone software that does the same thing. Take a picture and it reads to you. And I think this was over a year ago.
""I'm Blind NOT DEAF"- sum1 i dun remember.. "
Illidan Stormrage, Warcraft 3.
My dad lost his sight to diabetes over 10 years ago and he used to read constantly. Right now he gets by with the Library of Congress tape deck for books but it's difficult for him to get new books or the ones he wants (you put a list in for the books you want and you may or may not get the exact ones you want because of availability). It's a good system but it is difficult to get current stuff, especially periodicals, which limits most of his immediate news intake to listening to cable news (/shudder).
This looks like a great portable solution for blind/low vision, however I wonder about the size of the buttons. My dad is fortunate that he hasn't lost all his tactile sensation in his hands (a frequent problem for diabetics) but he doesn't have enough to read braille. The recessed buttons almost look a little too 'modern' and streamlined to give it a cool "iLook" rather than being a little more practical in size/layout which does concern me however. But, then again my dad does manage just fine using the flat touchpad on the microwave and that doesn't even have a tactile response.
Is it a toy or necessity item? is it covered thru insurance? I am not sure who can afford this....
No, this won't be covered by anyone's insurance. It's, "Experimental."
And you thought the Apple tablet was going to be an overpriced e-reader!
This could be a great asset to schools teaching the blind/sight impaired. And that is probably why Don Johnson is selling it since they make alot of stuff for children with physical and mental disabilities.
I don't know why but I thought that this would be like a eReader in braille that generated bumps on the fly >_<
Anyway. this sounds pretty interesting as well