[Trainer-talk] Some initial thoughts on the ZoomReader IOS Application from Ai Squared

[S A. Marositz]

ZoomReader is a magnification, OCR, and TTS program designed to run on the Apple iPhone version 4.2 and higher from AI Square, the company that makes ZoomText screen magnification software.  It is $19.95 and can be purchased from the App Store.

How it works:
There are 3 basic steps to using ZoomReader.  The main screen contains a button for "Light and Flash Controls," a slider for "Camera Zoom Control,"  and 3 buttons for "Adding a photo from the Library," "capturing," a photo from the phone's camera, and "Color Filters."  The user can either tap the "Capture Picture" button, speak "Take Picture," with the voice recognition enabled, or Double tap the "take Picture button," if they are using Voiceover.  The iPhone will make the shutter sound to let the user know it has taken the picture and there is a short delay while ZoomReader displays the text on the screen.
The second step is the Process screen.  Here the user has a choice to "Save the image or "OCR" the text.  Both of the controls are also accessible with voice recognition.
If the user selects "OCR" or says "Read," there will be a short delay, not more than about 5 seconds, then ZoomReader will begin reading aloud from the "Read Picture" screen  using the application's TTS engine.  ZoomReader comes with Realspeak Solo Direct Tom but you can download others from within ZoomReader for $2.99 each.

The Pros:
ZoomReader is fast.  It takes significantly less time to take a picture and OCR it for reading with TTS than with a traditional flat bed scanner and literacy software.  ZoomReader is portable.  Because it is software on a smart phone, the user could conceivably use ZoomReader anywhere and because it uses the iPhone flash, it can even be used in conditions where the lighting isn't great.  Zoomreader is inexpensive.  ZoomReader invokes memories of the KNFB Reader that runs on Symbian but instead of the $1400 that software still costs, ZoomReader is under $20.  Note: I have not tested the KNFB Reader Mobile in 4 years so I have no idea how it compares to ZoomReader.

The Cons:
Recognition Accuracy.  I was hoping to use ZoomReader on the title pages of student's textbooks as a quicker way of identifying them but I found I only got a usable result about 1 in 3 attempts.  Obviously, ZoomReader is only quicker than using a flatbed scanner if it works on the first try.  The iPhone has a small screen.  Of course, ZoomReader can't help that and its portability is one of its greatest assets  but for large bodies of text viewed under magnification, the iPhone screen just doesn't have enough area for it to be used like a video magnifier for someone who needs the text magnified.  This problem is compounded by the recognition accuracy mentioned previously.  There just isn't a lot in the way of help documentation.  Perhaps if there were easily available tips for taking pictures, my results would have been better.  Instructions for using Zoomreader are at:

http://aisquared.zendesk.com/entries/481505-zoomreader-help-system

Notice there are instructions that tell the user what each function within ZoomReader but no tips for taking pictures for best results.  There is a very good article in the Zoomed in Blog by Derek Bove, called Taking pictures of Every Day Items:

http://www.aisquared.com/blog/2011/08/using-zoomreader-on-everyday-items/?utm_source=ZoomNews+from+Ai+Squared&utm_campaign=f1a8958f04-Blog+Summary+%2329&utm_medium=email

I found though when I followed these instructions, My results did not improve.

The bottom line:
ZoomReader is a very good, affordable, App and can be used in a pinch.  The results were better than with some other OCR solutions I've found available for IOS devices but still not good enough for everyday use.  You can download it from:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zoomreader/id414117816?mt=8&ls=1

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Thanks
Stephen A. Marositz
Assistive Technology Specialist
Pasadena City College
626.585.7242