Intel Reader Vs. ZoomReader

The Intel Reader and ZoomReader can both help people read. Both OCR printed text and then read the text aloud. The ZoomReader has more features then the Intel Reader. In my test the ZoomReader app recognized and read the text faster then the Intel Reader. To download the ZoomReader app click here. Watch the video above for more information.

ZoomReader Review (Giveaway)

ZoomReader is a combination of a text-to-speech reader, OCR (optical character recognition) reader and zoom magnifier. The app is compatible with the iPhone 4. ZoomReader can help people with many disabilities and challenges including low vision, blindness and dyslexia. The app uses the iPhone 4's camera to magnify printed text up to four times its original size to allow people with low vision to better see the text. ZoomReader can also change the contrast when the iPhone is held over the text to make it easier to read. ZoomReader also includes a lighting fast OCR feature that converts printed text into electronic text that can be read aloud. If you are unfamiliar with OCR click here. Once the text is converted to a digital format it can be read aloud by an included text-to-speech voice.

One tip for improving the OCR quality is to turn on the camera flash. You can also add new text-to-speech voices for $2.99. The app has many customization options that allow you to change the appearance of the reading experience. Another killer feature is the voice activation powered by Nuance. To turn on speech activation touch the microphone in the top left. The voice activation feature allows you to take pictures and zoom in on text with the sound of your voice. For example you can say "take picture" to snap a picture of a document. To learn more about Nuance's accurate speech-to-text engine click here. The ZoomReader app is perfect for people with low vision, dyslexia or blindness. The app is $19.99 in the iTunes app store.

Two lucky winners can win this app for free by checking back on this site for giveaway information and promo codes. Watch my video review above for a demonstration. Click read more below to see screen shots and how to videos. Do not forget to check the Assistive Technology Blog in the next few days for giveaway details.

Using a Digital Camera As a Scanner in Kurzweil

Kurzweil 3000 is a great tool for reading text from the web or printed material. With Kurzweil you can scan a document and it will recognize the text (OCR) and read it back to you. If you do not have a scanner near by and need to read a printed document you can use a digital camera to import the picture to Kurzweil. Watch the video above for step by step instructions. When you open the JPEG file in Kurzweil it will recognize the text within the document and read it back to you. Also you can use Kurzweil's great annotation options to alter your document. When using this method the picture of the document must be clear with the document in the center of the picture. When using this method the OCR quality is below average but is still better than nothing.

Intel Reader Demo

Check out this video about the Intel Reader. This video shows some features of the Intel Reader as well the text recognitiond speed (OCR) and accuracy.  The Intel Reader is great for quickly getting text into an electronic document that can be read aloud. For more information about the Intel Reader check out one of these links. Intel Reader: First Impressions, Intel Reader Unboxing, Intel Reader Give Away, and Intel Reader.

Intel Reader Vs. SayText iOS App

This video is a comparison of the Intel Reader and SayText iPhone app. The Intel Reader recognized the text much quicker then the SayText iPhone app. The SayText app is free from the iTunes app store while the Intel Reader is $900. Both were very accurate at recognizing the text within the article (OCR). Once SayText recognized the text you could use VoiceOver to read the text aloud. With the Intel Reader it was quicker and easier to take a photo of the text in focus. Both methods are good for getting print material into a accessible format quickly.   

Intel Reader: First Impressions

I have had the Intel Reader for about a week now and it is helping me a lot. I used it to study and read the newspaper. The Intel Reader is very easy to use and has  very large buttons. The software is very simple and there is the option to read the Intel's menu items aloud for people who can't see or read the items. In order to read a document with the Intel Reader you must take a picture of the document and then the Intel Reader recognizes the text in the document. The Intel Reader does take longer than I expected to recognize the document. For a one page document the scan time was about one minute. Also, the read makes a few more recognition mistakes than Kurzweil, but its accuracy is still very good. Unfortunately, the Intel Reader doesn't have many additional features. Some features that I wish were included are a built in dictionary and the option to highlight text. The Reader comes with two computerized voices that are above average quality. The Intel Reader is still a great tool for reading documents quickly. Also, for completing worksheets and assessments Kurzweil is a better tool because of Kurzweil's fill in the blank features and other annotation options. The Intel Reader helped me a lot while reviewing for tests. If I need to read section of handouts in my notebook the Intel Reader worked great. The Reader is a great tool for quickly accessing text but I wish Intel had included more features. I would recommend the Intel Reader for people who struggle to read or can not see the text on the page. Keep in mind that the Intel Reader does not allow for any annotation.

OCR apps for iPhone and Android (update)

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) uses a camera or scanner to recognize printed text. Both Kurzweil and the Intel Reader use OCR in order to read documents. Using an Android phone or an iPhone you can take a picture of text and have an app recognize it. Two of these app are Page Scanner and DocScanner. DocScanner has an Android version as well. The apps sell for $5.99 and $4.99 respectively. DocScanner has a more polished user interface than Page Scanner. Both apps can create plain text files and PDFs from an image. Once the document is in plain text format, VoiceOver, which is built into the iPhone can read it back to you. DocScanner has the option to  save your document in dropbox. Their are also many other OCR apps for iPhone and Android. These apps are great if you are on the go and need to read a document quickly. These app are available on iTunes and DocScanner is available on Android Market.

Update: Zoom reader is an other OCR app for iPhone that deserves consideration.

Intel Reader Unboxing

I just received the Intel Reader that I won from the Care Innovations Facebook contest. Click here for more information about the Care Innovations Facebook giveaway. Watch the video to see an unboxing of the Intel Reader and some additional information. The reader is very small and light but has extremely fast text recognition. It is powered by an Intel Atom processor which is the same processor that powers many netbooks. The software and hardware are easy to learn. The Intel Reader has very large buttons that are well spaced which makes navigation easier. The image capture is extremely accurate because of a five megapixal camera on the bottom. I have only had the Intel Reader for a couple of minutes but expect a full review later in the week. Until then click this link to check out an overview of the Intel Reader.

Intel Reader Give Away

Care Giving which is a partner of Intel and GE will be giving away an Intel Reader to someone on their Facebook page, stay tuned for details. The contest is not currently happening but check back for a post when it start. The winner will be the person with the most votes. The Intel Reader is a great assistive technology device that takes pictures of text and then reads it aloud. I will be doing an unboxing of the Intel Reader in the next couple days.

Intel Reader

Recently I won an Intel Reader in a contest. I will be receiving the device in the next week and will make a video and write a short review.

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