The Intel reader is first and foremost a great, noble idea: it’s a device that can read out loud for the visually impaired. Some might say that the Kindle, for instance, can read out loud the pages already stored, so what’s new? What is new is that the Intel reader can take pictures and read the text from them, and that means a lot for those that have problems with their eyesight.

The idea behind the Intel reader was to create a device that can do all the tasks itself: take the pictures, recognize the text and read it out loud (the reading speed is customizable), and all that without the impaired person having to rely on somebody else. To help, the manual is in Braille and it also comes with an audio CD that explains how the device works.

The Intel Reader is build around an Atom microprocessor and comes with 2 GB of internal storage. That is enough for half a million text pages or 600 scanned book pages.

The Intel Reader: A Great Idea, Decent Execution, Huge Pricing

But the truth being told, the Intel Reader is a long way from perfection: it has problems reading newspapers as well as stop signs, and the reading is decent at most. But what I honestly cannot understand is why this product is currently priced at $1500. It is indeed cheaper than a Braille reader, but is Intel really looking to make huge profits from visually impaired users?