>From the Braille Monitor, December 2009.
A knfbReader for Christmas?
by Michael Hingson
**********
From the Associate Editor: In the midst of the holiday season, a
fortunate few may receive a knfbReader Mobile as a gift. Others may be
saving to purchase this useful technology with a tax refund in early 2010
or may be looking at a number of alternative funding sources as the new
year approaches. Michael Hingson, director of the NFB's national knfbReader
Mobile distributorship, has asked that we provide some updated information
about the new phone that supports this technology and publish testimonials
of several satisfied knfbReader Mobile users. Here is the information:
**********
Since its introduction in January 2008, the knfbReader Mobile has
become an integral part of the lives of thousands of blind people
throughout the world. This is a portable device consisting of software and
specific cell phones that are powerful enough not only to take a high-
quality picture of a printed page but also to process that image, recognize
the characters on the page, and read the page out loud to the blind user.
The Reader provides a level of reading independence that blind people have
never before experienced.
We who are blind are finding new ways to use the knfbReader Mobile to
make us more productive on the job and in our personal lives by reading
what we want, where we want. Because the hardware platform used by the
knfbReader Mobile is a commercially available cell phone, the Reader is so
portable that people are taking it everywhere, including restaurants,
classrooms, the office, libraries, and almost anywhere print is found.
The most common cell phone used to power the knfbReader Mobile has
been the Nokia N82. It has served users well and has helped make the reader
affordable. Earlier this year Nokia announced that the N82 was being
discontinued and would not be manufactured after June 30, 2009. At the same
time Nokia announced the introduction of a new cell phone, the Nokia N86.
After considerable testing and evaluation by knfbReading Technologies, it
was determined that the N86 would be a great replacement for the N82. In
fact it has some features that may make it a better hardware platform as
time goes on. Here is a brief description of some of the features of the
N86 and the ways they contrast with those of the N82:
The Nokia N86 was introduced as a high-end multimedia cell phone with
the ability to take clear high-resolution pictures as well as to record
high quality audio. It incorporates an eight-mega-pixel camera instead of
the five-mega-pixel camera contained in the Nokia N82. The N86 camera also
contains a wider angle lens, which may in the future permit taking pictures
of larger pages. The new hardware incorporates a dual LED flash instead of
the xenon flash of the Nokia N82. Typically dual LED flash systems are not
as bright and have not provided as high quality an image for good optical
character recognition. The flash on the new system, however, is bright
enough to provide excellent character recognition and to permit the
elimination of the special polarizer filters that were required on the
Nokia N82.
The Nokia N86 uses a faster processor, which means that the time
between taking the picture and speaking the text is shorter. It takes no
more than twelve seconds for the new hardware to take a picture, recognize
the characters, and begin reading aloud.
One of the most exciting features of the Nokia N86 is that its keys
are more tactile. The basic function keys are larger and more raised than
those of the Nokia N82. The new phone is a slider phone rather than a candy
bar phone, descriptions that describe the shape of the N86 and the N82. In
the N82 the function keys and the number keypad are on the front panel of
the unit. In the N86 the keys to operate the phone are on the front panel,
while the keypad is accessed by sliding the entire top of the phone out of
the way, revealing a keypad containing much larger number keys.
Other features of the new hardware include nearly eight gigabytes of
internal storage as opposed to the two gigabytes of storage available on a
micro SD card, which comes as part of the Nokia N82. A micro-SD slot is
also available on the Nokia N86, should the user wish to add additional
storage. The extra memory capacity means that more and larger files can be
stored on the new knfbReader Mobile hardware.
The price of the N86 is a bit higher than its predecessor. We still
have some Nokia N82s available, but we do not expect to have a supply of
these older models for long. For pricing and availability of both models of
the knfbReader Mobile, contact Michael Hingson by phone at (415) 827-4084
or email at <i...@michaelhingson.com>. Also be sure to ask for the contact
information for your closest NFB dealer.
**********
The following personal accounts of the way in which the knfbReader
Mobile can be used and has enhanced lives are taken from users who have
offered their comments on the knfbReader Mobile listserv or who have
provided feedback to knfbReading Technologies. Here are some user comments:
**********
Gary Wunder: I use my knfbReader to handle the print mail that comes
into my office, including my monthly pay stub--hallelujah--but I also use
it in the many, many situations where people apologize to me for bringing
in an agenda at the last moment. Another use I have for it, since many of
us use a common printer, is to figure out which documents are mine and
which belong to somebody else. Before I had the knfbReader, I would simply
carry the stack away and bring back what was not mine. This caused
something of a problem if the person who actually owned the printout I had
taken came between the time I took it and returned it. It is great to be
able to stand there at the printer and do what everyone else does.
At home I like being able to go out and get my mail, bring it back,
sit on the couch, snap the envelopes, and determine which I want to deal
with using a live reader, which I want to throw away, and which I want to
read myself with either the knfbReader or the K1000 system. One of the
things I like best about using the knfbReader is that I am not constantly
tied to my office but can read wherever I want. I spend so much time in my
office that any time I can step away and still do something productive is a
blessing.
Jan Bailey: We have six-sided files at work, with a print list of
what is contained in each side on the file's cover. These are bulky files
that do not work well with a flat-bed scanner, but they work well with the
knfbReader. I just look up what's on each side, find the correct side, and
snap pictures until I find the document that I'm looking for. I don't have
to take the file apart and try again to put it back together correctly. I
am a counselor, and I use my knfbReader to read medical and school reports,
agendas at meetings, and menus when I go out to lunch. I've even read some
menus that are posted up on a wall. It's fabulous.
Marilyn Rushton: I am a vision teacher, and I work in three public
schools. As you can surely imagine, a lot of printed information comes to
my attention. The knfbReader does a good job with staff/student bulletins,
particularly when the device is set to bills and memos format. It's great
fun to stand at an office counter reading the daily bulletin.
Although most of my students use Braille, I have one student who has
chosen to read large print. The knfbReader has proven invaluable for
ascertaining what materials have come in for this student. It's wonderful
not to have to ask another busy teacher or secretary to give me this type
of basic information. I am pleased that the reader can process enlarged
print, and it works well for most clearly photocopied worksheets. In
addition I am able to sort and read most of my inter-office mail.
Kathleen Millhoff: We're using pretty old equipment here, and I'm not
often sure if the printer has run out of ink, partially printed, or just
spit out a blank page. Now with the reader I wonder no more. I used to take
time during the day to mark in Braille all the papers I collect as I go
from school to school or to other agencies. I still mark things or file
them, but now I can wait until I get home to check what I have, decide if I
want to keep it, and determine how to file it. I'm often asked to do
various presentations; I always felt that such requests forced me to get
really organized with my handouts. Preparing for these is much easier now,
and, should that all-time accommodation known as a sighted person not be
available, I'm good to go with my reader. Because of funding restrictions
it is not always possible to order the latest in tactile children's books
from APH or wherever. I've found I can pick up little board books at second-
hand stores and make my own. The reader helps a lot with this; often just
one or two words appear on a page.
Al Robbins: I find the knfbReader Mobile helpful at work. In addition
to echoing the comments others have made, one task I manage is with
envelopes. I have to write many letters and then print my envelopes out. I
always like to verify that the address is printed accurately on the
envelope. Prior to dropping my letters in the mail, I snap a picture of
each to verify that they have been properly addressed. I also use the
reader a lot at work to identify and sort currency.
**********
There you have the views of several contented knfbReader Mobile
users. This holiday season consider giving yourself the gift of
independence, flexibility, and convenience that this revolutionary
technology represents.
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