Intel E-reader

Intel announced an innovative e-reader today that wants nothing to do with being a Kindle-killer. This e-reader, in fact, arguably has more educational implications than the current generation of e-readers. Intel’s product, demonstrated below, is designed to turn written text into spoken words and can convert either text files or pages photographed with the built-in camera.

As Intel’s press release describes it, the Intel Reader is,


a mobile handheld device designed to increase independence for people who have trouble reading standard print. The Intel Reader can assist the estimated 55 million people in the U.S. who have dyslexia or other specific learning disabilities, or have vision problems such as low-vision or blindness, which makes reading printed words difficult or impossible. The Intel Reader, about the size of a paperback book, converts printed text to digital text, and then reads it aloud to the user. Its unique design combines a high-resolution camera with the power of an Intel® Atom™ processor, allowing users to point, shoot and listen to printed text.


Unfortunately, the Reader runs almost $1500 a piece. For those who need it, it’s a relatively small price to pay. However, educational institutions may find the price truly burdensome. At 30 seconds to process a standard page of text, the current iteration is fairly slow. However, a device that makes ordinary books accessible to those with substantial disabilities is worth a look; it’s also worth a look within the next year as the price of components and the technology will undoubtedly come down.


Intel estimates that there are as many as 55 million people in the U.S. who could use its device. Foss says that the Reader will give many of them a new freedom to read books, magazines and newspapers that would otherwise be inaccessible. Users simply hold the Reader a few feet above the paper they want to read; it snaps a photo, and within seconds converts the page to text, which it can then display in a large font or read out loud.


The device can play back scanned items, but it also supports MP3s, WAV files, text files and the DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) format, used to publish books for people with reading problems. The battery can power about four hours of playback between charges.


Intel also makes a briefcase-sized docking station that can hold and power the reader while it's being used to scan a large number of pages. The company will introduce a U.K. version of the Reader in a few days and plans to roll it out in other countries as well, Foss said.