knfb Reading Technology, Inc. Showcases the Enhanced kReader Mobile at Assistive Technology Industry Association Conference

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--knfb Reading Technology, Inc. will showcase its superior Mobile Reader product line for the learning disabled — featuring the first cell phone that reads and translates — at the Assistive Technology Industry Association Conference.

“This innovation gives people with learning disabilities a mobile tool to cope with the large amount of reading required in business and everyday life. It gives them easy access to print, almost instantaneously, anywhere and at anytime”

The portable, handheld kReader will be shown on January 28-31, 2009 in Booth 107 at the Caribe Royale All Suites Resort and Convention Center, located at 8101 World Center Drive, Orlando, FL 32821. Conference attendees can see demonstrations of the kReader Mobile in the Grand Sierra Ballroom, Wednesday, January 28 from 5:30pm-7:30pm, Thursday, January 29 from 10:15am-12:15pm and from 2:00-6:00pm, Friday, January 30 from 10:15am-12:00pm and from 2:00pm-5:00pm, and Saturday, January 31 from 9:00am-12:00pm.

The kReader Mobile is a major advancement in print access for individuals with learning disabilities. The software, delivered on a multifunction cell phone, allows the user to snap pictures of any printed material and have it read aloud immediately. The first of its kind, the pocket-sized device allows struggling readers to have print analyzed and read aloud in real time and in real life situations. The latest version is now able to read in a variety of languages including French, German, Dutch, Belgian Dutch, Italian, and Castilian. Additionally, the software is able to translate between languages, displaying and reading aloud translated text.

knfb Reading Technology is the brainchild of Ray Kurzweil, a thirty-year innovator and pioneer in assistive technologies and the inventor of the world’s first print-to-speech reading machine. The kReader uses a combination of unique intelligent image-processing software with text-to-speech and text-tracking features, which makes interpreting text much easier for individuals with learning disabilities. They can now enlarge, read, track, and highlight text using the phone’s large, easy-to-read display.

"This innovation gives people with learning disabilities a mobile tool to cope with the large amount of reading required in business and everyday life. It gives them easy access to print, almost instantaneously, anywhere and at anytime,” said Ray Kurzweil, President and CEO of KNFB Reading Technology, Inc.

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 latest products, the Mobile Reader Product Line, which includes the knfbReader Mobile, designed for blind and low vision individuals, and the kReader Mobile, designed for use by sighted individuals with reading difficulties, was launched in January of 2008. The products are distributed in the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, and the Pacific Rim. For more information, please visit http://www.knfbreader.com.