[nfb-talk] Fw: Thought you might be interested in this Ed.

[Ed Meskys]

A friend in Ireland sent this to me. I had not seen it on any nfb list, which surprised me. Ed Meskys
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Matthew Hayes 
To: Ed Meskys 
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 11:07 AM
Subject: SPAM: Thought you might be interested in this Ed.


KurzweilAI.net, Jan. 6, 2010


At CES today (Wednesday, Jan. 6), knfb Reading Technology Inc. unveiled the free Blio eReader, the first to preserve the image-rich format of books and magazines, including their layout, typesetting, images, color and graphics, while also supporting full media functionality, including video, graphics, and web links. 

The Blio software application will be available for desktop and tablet PCs, netbooks, and mobile devices (including iPhones and iPods); users can download Blio at blioreader.com in late January 2010. 

"The e-readers on the market today don't offer the reader or the publisher what they want or need," said knfb Founder and voice-recognition inventor Ray Kurzweil. "So we moved the experience from the boring 16 shades of grey text to an exciting level, and we do it without adding another costly piece of hardware to lug around." 

A read-aloud feature provides further distinction from other eReaders. A synthesized voice synchronizes with follow-along word highlighting, so the consumer can look and listen in tandem, an important consideration and attractive feature for travelers, language learners, young children and the vision impaired. 

Downloading and syncing books 

Through a partnership with Baker & Taylor, the world's largest distributor of physical and digital books, Blio offers a library of more than 1.2 million titles across genres. Blio's full-color, graphical book display technology allows for a comprehensive catalog of image-rich titles, unparalleled in today's market. 

Purchased books are stored in a personal virtual library, giving consumers limitless access to their downloaded content. This library seamlessly migrates from one device to another, allowing readers to begin a book on a home PC, then pick up where they left off on a mobile device. 

"With our cutting-edge, 3D book technology, Baker & Taylor's market leadership and the vast collection of online books that we have jointly collected from the world's leading publishers, we believe we have the key to transform the book industry," Kurzweil said. 

Blio offers a large selection of books that otherwise don't translate well into eContent, including cookbooks, travel guides, how-to books, schoolbooks and children's stories. Blio's capabilities have captured the interest of hundreds of top publishers, who are partnering with Blio to dramatically grow the consumer's choice of titles. 

"knfb Reading Technology's innovative approach is second to none, and Blio certainly will make waves in the industry. We're thrilled to help make that happen," said Tom Morgan, Chairman and CEO of Baker & Taylor. 

Interactive reading tools 

Blio's active reading tools deepen comprehension, adding dimensionality to a user's reading. Highlighting, underlining and annotating help emphasize information and let the user review important points later. Blio's rich feature set allows the consumer to create a personalized list of reference websites, for one-touch look-up of highlighted phrases; adjust reading speed, and font size; translate to or from English in an embedded translation window; and insert and save text, drawing, voice, image or video notes directly into your content, and then export to create lists or study materials 

knfb Reading Technology, Inc., is a joint venture between Kurzweil Technologies, headed by CEO Ray Kurzweil, and the National Federation of the Blind. 

Full disclosure: KurzweilAI News is published by KurzweilAINetworks, an affiliate of Kurzweil Technologies. - Ed. 


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