If you have a close friend or family member who is visually impaired or has reading disability, the Intel Reader would be a perfect gift for him/her this Christmas. Intel Reader is not one of the ubiquitous e-readers that have flooded the market. Standard e-readers are of no use for people who have weak vision. Similarly, the contents displayed on the screens of e-readers carry no meaning for people with reading or learning difficulties or dyslexia sufferers. For these people, audio books are the only viable alternative to e-books. Intel has created an e-reader, which for the first time will read aloud the printed content. Moreover, the user interface of Intel Reader has been designed for people with specific disabilities.
Intel Reader features
Intel Reader has a 5 megapixel camera. When you hold the reader above any printed content, the camera snaps the image of the content. The Optical Character Recognition engine of the reader converts the image of the text into ASCII text, which is then read aloud by the integrated computer of the device. The text to voice function of the reader is efficiently managed by the Linux powered software. Intel Reader could also convert the scanned images into texts with large fonts, which people with weak vision could read aloud on their own. The 2GB internal storage space of Intel Reader could store up to 600 images of printed contents captured with the reader’s camera. With this reader, users can hear the contents of novels, magazines and newspapers.
Besides reading aloud scanned texts, Intel Reader can also be used for listening to MP3, WAV and text files. It also supports Digital Accessible Information System. Moreover, users can also adjust the reading speed. Intel Reader is powered by ATOM processor. It sports a large 4.3-inch LCD screen.
The six-cell battery of the reader supports up to four hours of text to speech and five days of standby time. Audio jack and USB port is fitted in the device.
Price and availability
Intel Reader carries a $1,499 price tag. It is an affordable alternative to more expensive text magnifiers and Braille readers.
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