Points taken Tristram. However, to begin with the simplistic approach, which I accept may not be a good place to start, the constituent parts, namely a PDA and a Digital Camera, even a relatively high end one, are both products which have come within the pockets of many individuals who probably have both. And their aggregate price comes nowhere near the cost of the KNFB. Surely the potential global market for something like this must be much bigger than might be thought at first glance, particularly if it was priced at a point which brought it into the financial reach of more people. And then, if the likes of the Gates Trust could be persuaded to give it a leg up, who knows what might be possible. -----Original Message----- From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Tristram Llewellyn Sent: 02 August 2006 15:50 To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [access-uk] Re: TALKING PICTURES "I know to well that fairness doesn't enter into the equation of the pricing of commercially produced products, even when a US charity/VI rights group is involved, as appears to be the case here." A charity like NFB should I think at least be applauded for being brave enough to have some involvement to push research in the direction of users needs. Likewise Kurzweil incorporated and others will have trouble convincing venture capitalists to make the investment required in a product that would have a limited market and therefore would take longer to get the payback. Investment from interested groups means a project like this actually gets off the ground at all. Whilst such resources can be made available It may however not have the resources to plough in such that production units can be produced at anything below a commercially viable price, notwithstanding addional costs of servicing users etc. The other aproach would be to not get involved with any research on that basis bringing everybody closer to the same notional level, and leave the desires of users to coincide (or not as the casse may be) with the free market to provide for the needs of a particular small and specialised group. Regards. Tristram Llewellyn Sight and Sound Technology Technical Support www.sightandsound.co.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: Ray's Home To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 2:53 PM Subject: [access-uk] Re: TALKING PICTURES Agreed Tristram, and if its thought that I believe a truly portable, on the move, ocr reading device could be had for a couple of hundred quid, then I'd like it known that I definitely do not think that price tag will will ever be seen for something like the KNFB device. If it were to come in for less than 2k then I would think that would be a price that begins to look more affordable and, dare I say it 'fair' although I know to well that fairness doesn't enter into the equation of the pricing of commercially produced products, even when a US charity/VI rights group is involved, as appears to be the case here. From Ray I can be contacted off-list at: mailto:ray-48@xxxxxxxx -----Original Message----- From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Tristram Llewellyn Sent: 01 August 2006 4:20PM The problem of being able to OCR from a picture taken with a normal camera like in the KNFB Reader has occupied some very clever people in Kurzweils research arm for quite a number of years in researching and developing this technology. Whilst it is almost inneviable that others may try to get into this market you are not very likely to find a £200 competitor to what has only just presently been brought to market this year in the form of KNFB reader in the very immediate future. Regards. Tristram Llewellyn Sight and Sound Technology Technical Support www.sightandsound.co.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: Chipmunks To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2006 2:07 PM Subject: [access-uk] Re: TALKING PICTURES I think a little while ago, I read about a phone being marketed in Korea came with ocr. Of course, I have no idea how it compares to the Kurzweil Reader. Doris At 01:49 PM 8/1/2006 +0100, you wrote: >Just had a look at the KNFB portable reader and it's very >impressive. However, a sighted colleague has raised an interesting >point. If we have phones which can talk and which have cameras on >them, how long will it be and what would it take before they can do >the same thing at a much smaller cost? 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