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LG engineers book-reading phone for the blind

Voice controlled

LG has demo'd the world's first ebook reading mobile phone, pitching the product at the visually impaired. The LF1300 is entirely operable, the company said, using voice commands relayed through a bundled Bluetooth headset.

The 16mm-thick handset's audiobook facility takes text files - some 300 of which will be made available free of charge from LG's website via a PC or downloadable straight to the handset - and reads them out loud using speech synthesis technology.

lg's lf1300 handset for the visually impaired

It's also got an MP3 player on board, though with only 17MB of memory, buyers will need to invest in a memory card to make the most from the phone.

The LF1300 will be made available through LG Telecom, LG's carrier subsidiary, for around KRW400,000 ($420/£223/€332). It will only be offered to the registered visually impaired, blind or dyslexic, LG said. ®

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