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The Blio eReader Platform from Ray Kurzweil and Company
December 29, 2009 19:55
In mid-October we posted about eReader technology for the visually impaired coming from Ray Kurzweil's (knfb Reading Technology). The software (there is no knfb device) was developed in collaboration with the National Federation for the Blind and a partnership with Barker & Taylor. The reading software is made available for free and Kurzweil and the others involved make money via the sales of books.
OK. now let's jump ahead to today. Numerous sources including Wired and Engadget Mobile discuss new, perhaps said better, updated eReader technology (a platform) from Kurzweil callled Blio.
NOTE: The Blio software is an updated version of the knfb technology originally announced in October.
From Wired:
Blio is not a device. Rather, it is a “platform” which could run on any device, but would be most obviously at home on a tablet. The software is free and available currently for PCs, iPod Touch and iPhone.
The article goes on to mention that knfb technologies, the company we mentioned at the top of this post, also developed the Blio software.
Differences betweeen the Blio Platform and Others:
Supports:
+ Full Color
+ Video/Animation
+ Text-to-Speech (using Dragon NaturallySpeaking dictation software)
+ Preserves Original Page Formatting
From the Article:
Blio creators are also working with major book publishers to port their e-books from the Adobe PDF format to Blio for free. They are trying to partner with Google to bring its massive library of free book titles available in Blio.
The article concludes with a chart (supplied by Blio) that compare features between the Blio and other eReaders.
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