Nokia Announces kReader Mobile as the American Winner of the “Calling All Innovators” Competition

WELLESLEY HILLS, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The kReader Mobile from knfb Reading Technology, Inc. (www.KNFBReader.com), a leader in the development of assistive technology software for the blind and reading impaired, is the Americas regional award winner and a Grand finalist in Forum Nokia’s Calling All Innovators competition. In addition to the award, knfb Reading Technology Inc. will receive the $10,000 America Tech Showcase regional prize. The global competition included more than 520 entries from 57 countries.

“We have been very gratified to be able to help thousands of blind and reading impaired individuals to read all of the print in the world around them from their cell phone”

Nokia award winners are selected for their ability to think big about the opportunity to impact the quality of human life with mobile applications. The kReader Mobile software makes it possible for an individual to have access to everyday print on their mobile phone. The user snaps a picture of any printed material, such as a book, email, restaurant menu, receipt, sign, handout at a meeting, and many other documents, and the device then reads the material out loud. The software also converts the image to editable text, which can be translated, dropped into an email, or put into a search engine. The kReader Mobile can read print in 16 languages and can translate from any of these languages to any other.

“We have been very gratified to be able to help thousands of blind and reading impaired individuals to read all of the print in the world around them from their cell phone,” said Ray Kurzweil, CEO of knfb Reading Technology, Inc. “And we are excited by this recognition from the leading cell phone company as we hope to bring our ‘snap and translate’ and ‘snap and search’ capabilities to every cell phone user.”

The Grand Prize winner of Nokia’s Calling All Innovators competition will be announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later next month.

About knfb Reading Technology, Inc.

knfb Reading Technology, Inc. is a joint venture between Kurzweil Technologies, headed by CEO Ray Kurzweil, a thirty-year innovator and pioneer in assistive technologies and the inventor of the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind; and the National Federation of the Blind, the largest, most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States. The company’s Mobile Reader Product Line, includes the knfbReader Mobile, designed for blind and low vision individuals, and the kReader Mobile, designed for use by sighted individuals with reading difficulties. The products are distributed in the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, and the Pacific Rim. For more information, please visit www.KNFBReader.com.