speech

Intel debuts text reader for the blind

Intel is doing its part to help people with sight or reading disabilities enjoy the written word.

The company announced on Tuesday the debut of the Intel Reader, a handheld text-to-speech device that can read any printed text aloud to those who are blind or have difficulties seeing or reading.

The Atom-powered device uses a high-resolution camera to capture images of any printed text, which it then converts into digital format to read out loud. The Reader can be used as a standalone device to snap pictures of text. But paired with Intel's Portable Capture Station, which can hold the Reader in place, the device can grab huge amounts of text, such as an entire book, according to Intel.

"We are proud to offer the Intel Reader as a tool for people who have trouble reading standard print so they can more easily access the information many of us take for granted every day, such as reading a job offer letter or even the menu at a restaurant," said Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Health Group, in a statement.

A check at some of the retailers selling the Intel Reader revealed its base price to be $1,499, with the Portable Capture Station an additional $399.

Weighing one pound, the Reader is the size of a paperback book. The tactile buttons and voice-operated menus that control the device have been designed so sightless people can use it, Intel said. Individuals with poor vision can also zoom in or out of the display and increase the font size of its text.… Read more

Talking time manager

Say the Time provides a simple tool for managing time and staying on task. Its signature voice alarm system was fun to use, but ultimately it's not much better than other alarm programs out there.

The program's interface was simple to understand and operate, since it broke all actions down into the easiest process and left no room for error. Things were so smooth we were able to set up reminders in a matter of seconds. The program basically functioned like many alarm systems we'd tested where we entered a date and time for an alarm via … Read more

Navigon iPhone app gets more new features

For the second time in as many months, Navigon has released an update to its MobileNavigator GPS app. The big news this time? Text-to-speech.

Since MobileNavigator debuted in late July, the App Store has grown crowded with competitors, including CoPilot Live, iGo My Way, and TomTom.

But not one of them offers the coveted text-to-speech feature (yet), which announces actual street names instead of just saying "turn right ahead."

MobileNavigator 1.2.0 adds that highly desirable capability--along with a few others. A new integrated iPod control provides one-tap access to your media library. A new location-sharing feature … Read more

Talking TV technology to bridge the disability divide

There are less fortunate people in the world unable to enjoy the brilliant sights and sounds offered by the latest home A/V technologies. Fortunately, help is on the way in the form of a new "Talking TV" technology tailored for the visual and hearing impaired, dyslexic, and elderly.

Co-developed by Ocean Blue Software and the U.K.'s Royal National Institute of Blind People, the world's first talking digital TV system offers enhanced information accessibility and ease of use via two complementary approaches.

Currently implemented in a set-top box, the system delivers onscreen text-to-speech capability with … Read more

Hands-on: IM+ for iPhone's speech-to-text feature

Typing on the iPhone/iPod Touch's keyboard can be arduous. This is never more evident than when trying to bang out messages in several instant-messaging conversations at once. Shape Services, the makers of the popular IM+ instant-messaging app ($9.99 App Store link), have realized this, and are soon rolling out a new version of the app that includes speech-to-text, albeit at a price.

Taking advantage of Apple's recently released in-app payment system, 99 cents a month gets you the feature, meaning that the annual cost of continuing to use it is about $12 a year. Not bad … Read more

Plug-in opens up federal courts, with your help

If you want to use the Internet to peek at documents filed in federal court cases, it's usually possible. It's just relatively expensive.

The U.S. Congress allows the federal courts to charge a fee--currently set at 8 cents a page--to search for and download documents. The database, called PACER, is strict about charging and even levies fees for searches that result in no matches.

Which is why a pair of Princeton University graduate students, with some help from Harvard University's Berkman Center, have developed a Firefox browser plug-in called RECAP (PACER spelled backward). It's … Read more

Dynamic touch screens help the speech-impaired

Eight out of every 1,000 people have a lot of trouble communicating vocally, be it from a traumatic event such as a stroke or the onset of diseases such as Lou Gehrig's (ALS). As recently as the 1960s, it was a big deal for those who were effectively mute to be able to type out their thoughts one key stroke at a time. (Stephen Hawking first used a DECtalk DTC01 voice synthesizer developed by Digital Equipment in the early 1980s.)

Welcome to the next generation. In a great feature article in Scientific American, Larry Greenemeier weighs in on … Read more

Speak your e-mail

Business professionals who spend a substantial amount of time behind the wheel will find a helpful dictation secretary in MyCaption. A simple interface mirrors the application's ease of use. Click to record an e-mail up to 3 minutes in length, or a memo, task, or calendar item. You can opt to review the e-mail message before sending it out. MyCaption then uploads the content to secure, Amazon-hosted servers, where it's transcribed using a combination of machine-based speech recognition and human transcription, and rerouted.

Thanks to human interception during lengthy dictation, e-mails were accurate during our tests. More complex … Read more

Magellan Maestro 4700 unveiled with new look

Magellan has recently unveiled its newest model, the Magellan Maestro 4700 GPS device. This new unit features an updated aesthetic, a slim profile, and a 4.7-inch wide-format, color touch screen.

You can talk to the Maestro 4700 using its voice command feature; and it will talk back with its text-to-speech capability, using proper street and POI names.

A Predictive Traffic feature works similarly to TomTom's IQ Routes by analyzing past traffic patterns to predict and avoid known trouble spots. However, it looks like the Maestro 4700 does not receive live traffic updates.

The Maestro features Magellan's OneTouch … Read more

Rightway Spotter, Dale Jr. Edition is fun, flawed

When we first saw the Rightway Spotter, Dale Jr. Edition GPS navigator, we thought we'd have a bit of fun testing it and, at first, we did.

The unit comes preloaded with the voice of NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt, Jr. giving turn-by-turn directions and, if you're headed to the right place, offering colorful commentary about landmarks. There are also pictures and videos of Dale, Jr. that we could view directly from the device with its multimedia playback functions. Even the menu icons and the vehicle position marker have been replaced with Dale's #88 regalia.

We were having … Read more