Perhaps the following from Access World will help:
What's on this Page: A Review of the SayText, Prizmo, and TextDetective iOS
Reading
Apps
Janet Ingber
When the K-NFB Reader Mobile was released in January 2008, it revolutionized
how
people with visual impairments could scan and read printed materials using
their
cell phone camera. The K-NFB Reader Mobile's software, an Optical Character
Recognition
(OCR) program, was developed by Ray Kurzweil and the National Federation of
the Blind.
That software, however, can only be used on a limited number of Nokia cell
phones,
which not all carriers support, and although the K-NFB Reader Mobile is
self-voicing
(which makes the cell phone fully accessible), a separate screen reader
program must
be purchased and installed. The K-NFB Reader, Nokia phone, and separate
screen reader
can be a very expensive combination.
Users of iOS devices (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, etc.) now have several
choices for
OCR apps. Although these apps do not have all the capabilities of the
pioneering
K-NFB Reader Mobile, they are extremely inexpensive, and no additional
screen reader
is necessary.
The apps reviewed here are SayText, Prizmo, and TextDetective. SayText and
TextDetective
are designed specifically for people with visual impairments. For this
review, each
app was tested three times using a printed sheet (a letter), a glossy page
from a
magazine, and a book page, on both an iPhone 4 and an iPhone 4S. (The iPhone
4S has
a more sophisticated camera than the iPhone 4, but the slight improvement in
performance
is not enough to warrant getting the 4S.) Lighting conditions were the same
for all
tests.
Getting Started
These apps need good light as they will not work in very dim lighting
conditions.
Finding the correct distance between the document and the camera lens takes
some
trial and error, and it's not always the distance that the app instructions
recommend.
Depending on the size of the page, it may take several scans to capture the
entire
document. The document needs to be flat, since any wrinkling or folds will
cause
the app to read as gibberish. If scanning results come back as a combination
of words
and gibberish, try a different scanning distance, make sure the document is
completely
flat, and try scanning with more available light (and be careful not to
block the
light with your body).
SayText Version 1.3
As described in the iTunes Store, SayText Version 1.3 is a free product
created for
users who are blind or visually impaired. It requires iOS 5.0 or later.
When the app loads, there are four available buttons: "Take Picture,"
"Tutorial,"
"Settings," and "Info." The tutorial is easy to follow, but unfortunately,
the app
does not work properly. According to the tutorial, the user must place the
iOS device
on the document with the camera facing down, then slowly lift the device up.
When
the document is in focus, a beep should sound. The camera takes the photo
and then
translates the result into text. While the document is processing, the user
can tap
the screen to check on progress. Once the document is converted, you swipe
right
to hear the text.
During all the testing, the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S never made a beep
sound and
never snapped a photo. You need to activate the "Take Picture" button, which
brings
up a new screen with a "Camera" button, and activating that button causes
the camera
to take a picture. When the app indicated that OCR was complete, I attempted
to read
the text, but all I got was gibberish.
The app did not read the printed page, the glossy magazine page, or the page
from
a book. I used sighted assistance to try to get a better image but still had
the
same result. My next step was to check the
AppleVis website
to determine if other users have the same problem. There are many comments,
and
everyone that posted a comment seems to have had the same experience.
SayText is a very disappointing product. According to the instructions, it's
easy
to use and gives good results, but we were unable to get the app to read
anything
during testing.
Prizmo Version 1.1.7
This $9.99 app works on all iOS devices running iOS 3.1 or later. The iTunes
Store
description of the app claims that Prizmo will scan and recognize the text
from your
photos of text documents, business cards, bills, and even whiteboards, and
with the
use of Cloud technology, you can share that information with your other
devices as
well as with other people. Another highlighted feature is that this app has
speech-operated
shooting for taking the image that you want read.
This app is somewhat complicated to use. When the app loads, there are
several options
from which to choose, including Settings, Text, and Business Card. In the
Settings
menu, you should turn off the alignment grid and turn on the speech control
option,
which allows the user to take a photo by voice rather than by activating the
button.
This can help with image stabilization. Since VoiceOver's volume will
decrease significantly
once the camera option in the app is activated, you might want to wear
headphones
in order to hear instructions at a normal volume.
Once out of the Settings menu, place the iPhone on the document with the
camera's
lens in the middle of the page, using the side of the document to ensure the
phone
is straight. After lifting the phone 7 to 9 inches from the paper, double
tap the
"Text" Button. When the next screen loads, activate the "Camera" button.
Your phone
will vibrate when the camera screen loads; you'll hear the VoiceOver prompt,
"Say
'Take Picture' when ready."
Once you take the picture, activate the "Use" button, which is the last
button at
the bottom of the screen. On the next screen, activate the "Next" button at
the top
right, which activates the processing screen. Once processed, VoiceOver will
announce
that the document can be edited, and you can read the results by doing a two
finger
swipe down. After you have reviewed the document, activate the "Next"
button. On
the new screen, there will be several options, including "Save,"
"Translate," and
"Copy." Doing a three finger left swipe will bring up additional options,
such as
"Mail" and the Cloud app. Activating any of these buttons will open up the
appropriate
page. Activating the "Done" button in the upper right corner of the screen
will close
the screen and bring the app back to its home screen.
Prizmo did best with the letter and the magazine page. Although one scan of
each
did not give all the information and resulted in some gibberish, most of the
information
was read. Prizmo had more trouble with the book, especially with text
closest to
the fold.
TextDetective version 1.0.4
This $1.99 app works on iOS 5 or later and was designed for people with
visual impairments.
The app description states that TextDetective allows you to read, edit, or
copy and
paste the recognized text from the image that you take into other documents
or e-mails,
and to store it in a History tab. While the description states that the app
works
best with the iPhone 4S and is also useable with the iPhone 4 and iPod
Touch, it
cautions iPad users due to the difference in that device's camera placement.
TextDetective is relatively easy to use. The user holds the device in
landscape mode
with the "Home" button to the left. When the app loads, there are four tabs
on the
bottom of the screen: Scan, History, Tips, and Feedback. By default, the
Scan tab
is selected.
To use the app, align the "Home" button with the edge of a document, then
lift the
phone up until it's about 8 to10 inches away from the document. Double tap
the "Start
Scan" button. When TextDetective finds the document, the phone will vibrate.
This
can take a few seconds, especially with the iPhone 4, but VoiceOver will
speak conversion
progress messages as it's happening. Once the app has finished processing
the document,
a new screen will appear with the text. At the top right of the screen is a
button
which allows for reading the entire text or individual segments. Whatever
has been
scanned is automatically saved in the History tab.
The TextDetective app did best with the printed page. Like Prizmo, it also
worked
well with the magazine page, and though it performed better than Prizmo with
books,
it still needed several scans for each page. TextDetective showed the most
difference
between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S in processing speed, with the 4S
giving a
somewhat better scan.
Conclusion
By far, the best app of the three was TextDetective, with its solid
performance and
reasonable price. I do not recommend SayText as it had the least effective
results
by far.
Resources
For more information and to download these apps, use the following links:
SayText
from the iTunes Store
Prizmo
from the iTunes Store
The
Prizmo Tutorial
from AppleVis
TextDetective
from the iTunes Store
Please direct your comments and suggestions to
[email protected]
-----Original Message-----
From: David Chittenden
Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2012 1:21 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Look Tell organizer, any recent scanning apps
I use Prizmo and Text Detective. Prizmo Has better recognition but is more
finicky to use.
David Chittenden, MSc, MRCAA
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +64 21 2288 288
Sent from my iPhone
On 07/10/2012, at 7:21, "Tara Prakash" <[email protected]> wrote:
Thanks Richard and all. I may have misunderstood this app. This won't
serve my purpose.
So, which is/are the most recommended scanning apps to read documents,
menus etc?
----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Turner"
<[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2012 2:12 PM
Subject: RE: Look Tell organizer
I believe you mean LookTel Recognizer?
The one that allows you to take a picture of an object and record an
audio
label that will play the next time you point the camera at that object.
However, you want to make sure that you get the object to fill as much of
the shot as you can and that it is unique enough to not be confused with
something similar.
Be sure and read its description in the app store before buying so you
know
what you are getting.
HTH,
Richard
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf
Of Tara Prakash
Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2012 11:05 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Look Tell organizer
Dear all.
I remember reading positive stuff about look tell organizer on this list.
But where is the app? I couldn't find it on the app store. I tried with
space "Look tell organizer" and also without space "Looktell organizer"
There is no result found. Any ideas?
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