Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/20/lg_handset_for_visually_impaired/
LG engineers book-reading phone for the blind
Voice controlled
Posted in Phones, 20th September 2006 13:07 GMT
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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.
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. ®