Intel has released a new portable digital device called Intel Reader that can convert printed text to digital text and then read it aloud to the user. It can be useful for people who have vision problems or who have problems reading. This device will be priced at $1,499 and an additional mounting stand for Intel Reader to facilitate the capture of text, will cost $399. However, don’t confuse Intel Reader with Amazon’s Kindle or other similar eBook Readers which allow users to read digital books, since Intel Reader is basically targeted at people with vision problems and is suitable for reading (speaking) text aloud directly from the printed books.
In U.S. alone, as per the estimates of Intel, there are about 55 million people who are unable to read or have difficulty in reading due to various causes such as dyslexia, vision problems, blindness or some other cause. Intel Reader is likely to help these people to read books independently and without any help from other people. The device can read text aloud at a speed of about 120 to 250 words per minute which is more or less equivalent to the normal speed at which we talk.
Intel Reader has the dimensions of a normal paperback book, measuring approximately 6.5 inches by 5.35 inches by 1.3 inches and it weighs about 625 grams. It has an Intel Atom microprocessor, a 5-MP digital camera, and 4 GB memory out of which about 2 GB memory will be available to the user. It also has a Linux-powered OCR (optical character recognition) software to convert printed/scanned text into digital text and another software that will convert digital text into the spoken words. It can store equivalent of about 1,200 pages of a paperback novel.
While this device has definitely got the potential to help visually impaired people, its steep price would possibly be a major impediment for its spread amongst masses.
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