Archive for July 31st, 2010
Copia’s $99 eReader no comments
A couple of days ago the WSJ wrote about a change
of plans at Copia. Instead of offering six different ereaders (which never made any sense, but they didn’t ask me) Copia will now offer two ereaders: a 5-inch model for $99 and a larger 10.1-inch touchscreen model for $299. Both of these ereaders have LCD displays.
Actually this is not new. Copia revealed their changed strategy at least a month ago, although the Copia website is still only showing the original ereaders – I can find no mention of the two new LCD models.
Pardon my skepticism, but I’m really starting to doubt that we will ever see anything from Copia. The company is taking so long to launch their product that by the time it arrives it will be old news and irrelevant. The only interested parties will be those users – said by the WSJ to number in the hundreds – invested in the program through their participation in the beta.
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Books from RFB&D Now Available on Intel Reader no comments
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) is the largest provider of educational audio textbooks in the US and has more than 270,000 members. RFB&D has announced that members can now use the Intel Reader to access its entire collection of DAISY-formatted audiobooks. From the press release:
Getting started with the Intel Reader is easy for RFB&D members. They can simply log into their online accounts on the RFB&D website to obtain a free User Authorization Key (UAK), install it on the device, and download their DAISY audiobooks. The content can then be transferred to the Intel Reader and listened to anytime, anywhere. The device stores members’ third-party content access keys for their convenience. For more information on the RFB&D UAK process, visit http://www.rfbd.org/intelreader/.
Users will also need to download the Intel Reader 1.0.1 software upgrade to enable their device to access RFB&D content.
The Intel Reader scans printed text and
converts it to audio which can be listened to immediately or stored for later. It is designed for use by those with visual impairments with easy-to-use buttons and intuitive menus with both audio and video navigation.
This is all well and good, except that the Reader itself costs $1500, and may not therefore be accessible to some of those who need it.
Intel does seem to have formed alliances with some advocacy groups, and there are programs to help put assistive technology such as the Reader into the hands of those who are in need but cannot afford it.
For scanning large amounts of text there is the Portable Capture Station, which is a docking and scanning platform for the Intel Reader. The cost for this accessory is an additional $400.
